Question about your housekeeping standards vs how you were brought up

[Loverofallthingsleopardprint]

If you were brought up in a clean and tidy home, do you keep a clean and tidy home yourself or have you gone the opposite way and become a little bit of a slob?

Or if you grew up in a messy/dirty/disorganised home, what are you like now? Are you messy now yourself or do you prefer a tidy house?

My standards are the same but my home is not as clean and not as tidy because I work 10-11 hours a day (so i feel like I'm living in chaos). My mum didn't have a job and had a cleaner.

My mum spent 4 hours a day ( every day ) cleaning a 3 bed semi.

Every ornament would be washed in soapy water. All surfaces would be washed, doors and skirting boards washed. Bleach on everything. Floors hoovered several times a day. Windows washed inside and out. Full deep clean of the entire house every day. Plus full kitchen clean after making dinner. She'd put her food in the microwave, clean the kitchen then heat it up and eat it. Constant rewiping of surfaces all day.

She wrecked the stone fireplace by washing it daily with her bowl of hot soapy water.

She moaned constantly about how she had to do everything but every time we tried to pitch in we'd get yelled at for doing it wrong and told to leave it because she wanted to do it her way. 🙄

This was for all visible areas.

All cupboards were stuffed full of junk. You daren't open them because you'd never close them again! The cubby was literally knee deep in empty food tins and papers and stuff.

Am I like that? Hell no. House is clean and tidy including cupboards and storage spaces and if something isn't needed it is thrown away/recycled/donated.

My mum was much, much better at it than I am but then she also gave up work in her early 40s and had the time. I have a busy job and live alone so don't exactly have much spare time to do all the housework as often.

My husband's mother was house proud to the point of OCD. That is NOT a phrase I use lightly (cleaning something that was already clean if she needed soothing) in the same way some people would have a cigarette or alcohol or food.

He values my, erm, relaxed approach to house work ! As a life long up yours to his mother.

My Mum and Dad kept a clean, tidy house. So, I've no real reason to be like it.

The kitchen is clean.

The rest is tidy and uncluttered just not polished to within an inch of it's life.

My husband gets a bit uncomfortable if I ever get too keen with the housework.

I did it once because at that time we were selling the house.

So he kinda gave in and remarked, 'oh alright.'

Childhood home was immaculate because of my mum. Annoyingly so to me, because all the rules about glasses, plates, the sinks, the bathroom, the dining table used to drive me mad. I always thought I was messy like my dad but her influence is actually quite far reaching because my rooms when I lived away for Uni were the cleanest and tidiest student rooms and this has increased with age. My dad also has got increasingly fussy with age and is very particular about cleanliness and tidiness. My house is now very similar to my mum’s but I don’t think I have so many rules. I’m probably delusional about that though and DH and kids would probably disagree!

My mother was obsessive in maintaining some areas of the house, e.g. to the point of scrubbing the insides of her kitchen cupboards weekly. Other areas generally tidy. She is still the same now, only it is her bathrooms and sheets that are obsessively maintained, yet her house will be thick with dust and her kitchen positively grimy.

I am generally clean and tidy throughout, weekly cleans for all areas and sheets but don't stress if there's a few pots on the counter or the floors haven't been vacced for a week.

Neither of my parents were obsessive about housework (both hated it) but house was always clean and tidy (if occasionally a little dusty).

I am pretty houseproud, but have some chronic health issues that make it hard for me to keep up at the moment, so it's a bit hit and miss these days :/

My mum never stopped cleaning. She washed the kitchen floor at least once a day, the oven every time she used it etc etc. Conversely, bedding was changed 2-weekly, if that.

We have a cleaner once a week. We clean our ovens once a year and that's when a nice man with a van comes and does them. Otherwise, we are pretty relaxed about it. The house is always tidy, but not eat-off-the-floor clean.

All bedding gets changed at least once a week though.

Mine is generally acceptable. I had a horrible mother (Dad had the sense to leave) who sat on her arse and did nothing. I cooked, cleaned, did the washing (by hand) and took my siblings to school from ten.

My DM was a 10 on the clean scale when I was a kid. She's let things slide to a 9.5 now she's nearly 80. I'd say I'm a 6. I do like the place clean and tidy but I'm prone to leaving clothes on the bedroom chair, refusing to wash up more then once a day (and sometimes even less), and regularly failing to put clean laundry away. However compared to a lot of people, my house is pretty tidy. I slobbed for about 6 months at uni and then my upbringing caught up with me and I realised that I couldn't live like that.

I have a Lady who comes in for 2 hours a week who does the essentials. From that I will do the other stuff, last week was cleaning the oven and venetian blinds.

Both Mum and Gran worked, so I never had a house mum to learn from. My Mum reckons she was never taught as Gran said it was the Boys job. Not too sure about that bit though.. suspect that is Mum making excuses.

Super messy home growing up, dirty and disorganised. I could never bring anyone home as it was so embarrassing. Also everything was mismatched with half done diy. You could never find anything! My home is beautiful. I love styling it, I love being able to find everything and it's always pretty guest ready. I love living in a gorgeous environment just for myself. I'm not a martyr but I love it feeling like a luxury hotel!

Are you me?! My house is clean and tidy but normal standards but my mum despairs! (I don't even iron the bed sheets!)

My Mum kept a clean and tidy house. She wasn’t a martyr to it, but it was very clean and tidy.

I am not quite to her standard, but then again, she didn’t work while we were young, and I work full time, so I’m not going to feel bad about it.

I had good skills modelled to me. I just don’t have the time or inclination to follow them as meticulously as I my Mum did.

My house is usually clean, occasionally untidy.

My parents’ home was always clean and tidy and guest ready. They had exceptionally high standards. But they also had a daily cleaner so I don’t think it is a fair comparison.

Although, I remember when I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned in anticipation of a visit from them and my mum still went and bought some c,earning products the day after they arrived and spent the morning cleaning. I stopped making an effort for them after that.

I'm completely the same.

I do well considering!

Our house has never been quite as clean and tidy as mine growing up. However my DM was mostly a SAHM, whereas so far I've always worked at least a 30hr week, so I have less time at home to do it. Also my and DF are both on pretty much the same page in terms of cleaning and mess whereas it's more of an uphill struggle for me as DH is soo messy and has much 'lower' standards. He does do cleaning and will do anything I ask and if I don't ask, e.g. when I've been unwell etc he does do things off his own back but he does them less frequently than me and sometimes not to my standard. His perception of a clean house is warped though as his own DM is a hoarder so on comparison even our house at its worst when it's stressing me out seems really clean and tidy in comparison to the house he grew up in!

Same here. My parents don't own cleaning products Apart from washing up liquid. I didn't learn until well into adult hood that things get cleaner with cleaning spray, than with just a cloth and water

My house was just normal - clean and tidy but not obsessive. My dad is the tidier and main cleaner of the house, my mum will do it but finds it dull.
when I met my DH he was way messier than me but over the years he has slowly morphed into the neater and tidier one and i, like my mum, have grown bored with tidying and housework and now DH does at least the same, if not more than me.
I do cook more though and do laundry so it’s pretty equal - which again, ironically, is exactly the same as my parents house dynamic.

I grew up in a tidy and clean (but not obsessively so) home. I'd say I now have roughly the same standards, but thrre are some things I don't bother with at all - like cleaning the outside of windows and ironing bedding.
Mum was a single parent to two kids whereas I'm married and don't have kids, so it's easier for me to keep on top of things (but makes me realise how organised my mum must have been).

My mum kept a very tidy home. My brother and I had set chores daily to contribute.
my house is kept tidy and clean too. Probably more messy than my house growing up but there are more of us and I don’t really care. It’s homely! It’s never messy enough that I’d be worried about anyone dropping in unannounced.

I grew up in a large family in a small house. I hate clutter but my dh is a collector. It drives me mad. I feel like I battle every day to keep order. My parents' house is always a bit grubby and mine is clean, but I would love it to be more minimal.

@Antarcticant .I am exactly the same . I have one room that would be visitor ready in 5 mins but sadly they have to walk through the rest of the house to get to it !

Always had a clean tidy nicely maintained home as a kid.

Im the same, however i used to be ott wouldn't go to bed unless bleached all surfaces and hard floors. Or washed up even 1 cup and tea spoon.
And although im pretty fussy on everything, i will go to bed with say a few bits in sink or on drainer. / not cleaned bathroom after use ( it gets too stemay and shit ventilation so tiles normal have to be' squegeed ' down but will leave the odd eve.

My mother didn't really believe in cleaning (a quick run round with the hoover once a week, bathrooms and kitchens cleaned a couple of times a year - if that) so the houses I was brought up in were filthy.

I've kept her view that cleaning should not take over your life but haven't taken it to such extremes - I'd say my house is hygienic but not obsessively so.

Interestingly both of my siblings married people who had similar views on cleaning to our mother and their houses are similarly filthy.