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Original poster

Is your house like a show house all the time?

119 replies

amialazycow · 29/10/2023 20:49

So I'm sitting here in my living room, I'm not long in from work and the place is so untidy. I'm fed up of being the only one that does anything so I'm just sitting down and having a cup of tea. There's just bits of shit every where. I mean it's not completely horrific but it's just not how I want it to be and I'd die if I had unexpected visitors.

Is this how it generally is in most homes when people are chilling or are people tidier than my family?

OP posts:
PangramAddict · 29/10/2023 21:02

Nope. DP would like it to be, but refuses to tidy up. I love having shit and clutter everywhere so even when it's tidy it's a lot of visual information. His fucking whining is starting to piss me off though so I'm clearing it out slowly.

Movinghouseatlast · 29/10/2023 21:03

I absolutely love my house when it's all tidy and clean. It makes me really happy! But it's not often like that. I don't even have the excuse of not having time, it just bores me to do the work. At the same time it frustrates me that I don't do it.

gotomomo · 29/10/2023 21:03

There a happy medium, though ours is on the pigsty end of the spectrum

Original poster
amialazycow · 29/10/2023 21:07

An honestly its bad, I agree reading back it doesn't seem so bad, but there's heaps more stuff knocking about that I haven't mentioned, hence the wine opening 😂

OP posts:
NoraLuka · 29/10/2023 21:07

Mine never looks like a show home no matter how clean and tidy it is because the furniture is all completely random. We have a bookshelf I bought, a dining table DP bought, then the rest was second hand or given by friends and absolutely none of it goes with anything else. I guess we’re environmentally friendly but I still dream of hiring a skip and buying those ready made rooms from IKEA (this will never happen!)

AnnaTortoiseshell · 29/10/2023 21:09

Going against the grain here, and only since you asked, the house is clean, tidy, and ‘reset’ every day before the kids go up for bath and bed, so we can come back down to a nice clean space downstairs and chill for the evening.

If people were coming round I’d want to change out of my PJs but other than that it would be fine. I can’t relax in a mess.

Original poster
amialazycow · 29/10/2023 21:11

I have a few friends who always seem to have perfect tidy homes but I'd love to see what a little unexpected visit would reveal.

I think my kids are very messy. They are so lucky to have rooms each and have them
Decorated lovely but they never hang clothes up. I often find dirty knickers and wet towels on the floor when I return from
Work in the evening ! Makes me 😡

OP posts:
mamaduckbone · 29/10/2023 21:11

Hell no! I wish it was but I just don't have it in me.

Original poster
amialazycow · 29/10/2023 21:11

AnnaTortoiseshell · 29/10/2023 21:09

Going against the grain here, and only since you asked, the house is clean, tidy, and ‘reset’ every day before the kids go up for bath and bed, so we can come back down to a nice clean space downstairs and chill for the evening.

If people were coming round I’d want to change out of my PJs but other than that it would be fine. I can’t relax in a mess.

I want to be you !

OP posts:
SirChenjins · 29/10/2023 21:13

Not at all - it has tidy moments but that’s about the best I can say. It’s a lived in family home, and having grown up in a home where no mess was ever allowed I found it exhausting and wanted a home I could relax in.

FikaMika · 29/10/2023 21:14

AnnaTortoiseshell · 29/10/2023 21:09

Going against the grain here, and only since you asked, the house is clean, tidy, and ‘reset’ every day before the kids go up for bath and bed, so we can come back down to a nice clean space downstairs and chill for the evening.

If people were coming round I’d want to change out of my PJs but other than that it would be fine. I can’t relax in a mess.

Same here.

Custardslices · 29/10/2023 21:15

Mines a show home. I have 7 bedrooms so do cheat a little by having a cleaner in every other day.

SeaPool · 29/10/2023 21:16

My home is well lived in and it shows. When I visit other people's houses I much prefer it if there's a bit of a muddle as I feel I can relax more and not feel that I've got to put a doily under everything.

StillWantingADog · 29/10/2023 21:16

No.
the idea of people “popping round” almost brings me out in a rash. When I know people are coming I run around doing a quick tidy.

bur it’s never ever a “show home”. Just sometimes tidier than usual.

Farmhouselad · 29/10/2023 21:18

I'm with @AnnaTortoiseshell my house is the same. Everything has its place and everything goes back on its place. Its a fairly minimalistic house. I even hoover my kitchen drawers. I cannot rest if there is any kind of mess. When the house is in order then I feel mentally calm. My bathroom towels are in matching bales, my mugs all match. Anything not used in 6 months is binned/charity/sold. Likewise anything broken/with missing bits. The fridge is fully cleaned every week & restocked. The larder is continously stocked. We have a good supply of batteries (all sizes), light bulbs etc and never run out. Everything is organised. I enjoy running the house like this, it's all my doing/work. My lot don't help. But then I don't really enjoy doing out loads and am happy at home

bellamountain · 29/10/2023 21:19

I think storage is key, the more you have, the easier it is to hide stuff. The Ikea pull out box units are amazing for kids toys. We don't have a big home but do have built in wardrobes and cupboards.

waltzingparrot · 29/10/2023 21:23

I can be ready quite quickly because I've learnt just to stick all the crap that's normally lying around in the laundry baskets and go and stick them in the garage. Then when the visitors have gone I put all the crap back where I got it from and wait for the next visit.

therealcookiemonster · 29/10/2023 21:24

I like to think of my house as a piece of performance art. I've titled it " descent to madness"

weegiemum · 29/10/2023 21:25

My downstairs is usually pretty tidy, as the teen who still lives here keeps most of her mess in her room. Or rooms, since dd1 got her own flat dd2 has spread out and one room is now a clothes/makeup room! Until her Grannie comes to visit and then she has to tidy that up!!

We don't make much mess. Unless the dog gets into the bin, or dd2 has been cooking!!

House looks like a show-home for about half a day after the cleaners have been. After that, it's tidy!

Spudlet · 29/10/2023 21:26

Yes. One of those reality tv shows where people come in and make tutting noises at the state of it all 😳😂

In all seriousness I do straighten up the living room before I sit down for the evening and keep the kitchen in an ok state, but our house is very tiny and does not have enough storage, so we do have a bit of a constant battle against clutter going on, and we do seem to be slowly losing!

beenwhereyouare · 29/10/2023 21:27

Yes, if the show is Hoarders. 🫣

Namechangeagain2023 · 29/10/2023 21:28

If you exclude the teen bedrooms which I no longer enter then yes pretty much. Downstairs is usually immaculate, upstairs less so but nothing I couldn’t sort in 5 minutex

DistrictAndCircle · 29/10/2023 21:30

Mine is like a show house most of the time.

And by that I mean that mine is the type of house you would show someone if you wanted to demonstrate that it’s possible to live in a festering dump without contracting dysentery.

It actually annoys me that we put so much effort in for visitors, to pretend that we’re normal. Why can’t my children survive like this the rest of the time, rather than having every toy and item of clothing in Western Europe flung across the floor?

Riverlee · 29/10/2023 21:31

My dh wishes it was!

gerteddy · 29/10/2023 21:32

I mean it's a show home right after it's all been done. I try but it's never lasts for long. Prior to the kids it was cleaned on a wkend and was pretty tidy and clean until the next wkend. Not these days within an hour it's getting messy and the kids spilling stuff 🙈

I had someone round on Friday morning. It was only to collect something but I had a mad dash tidy before she arrived. She was like 😮 ur house is so tidy! I was like eh u shld have seen it 30mins ago when I got bk from dropping the kids off at school 😂