What do you do to keep up appearances?

[MewMew101]

My example is an odd one, but I bought a bottle of the Fairy Max Power washing up lid (the one with the amazing lid). Once empty, I filled up that same bottle with a cheaper alternative.

It’s much better in terms of practicality, but the bottle also looks nicer. 😁

Does anyone else do something like this? Or am I just crazy?

When I fart I look pointedly at the dog.

I read on here years ago about 'Stunt Pineapple' and it cracked me up. But I've now been doing it for years since then too! Always have one in the fruit bowl to look good, it never gets eaten, our current one is about 6 months old I think 😎😁

Oh and I decant cheaper hand wash into a pink posh one but that's not because I care about others, it's cos I think it looks nicer in my pink cloakroom!

A relative always tells me she's bought Yorkshire teabags because she knows they're my favourite, and I humour her and tell her she's very kind. I know they're not Yorkshire Tea because they're the wrong shape.

Ours was a Jane Norman bag

I had stunt fruit for years that went back and forth to school with DS1. He has food issues and rarely ate anything much so the stunt apple would be in the lunchbox on Monday and would be finally eaten by DH on Friday night. We had a serious case of the lunchbox police at his primary school.

Nothing else I can think of though. I'm not that into brands. Mind you- I DO have a Louis Vuitoon handbag that DH bought at an estate auction that I only bring out when I am seeing one particular aunt. She is a true snob and once berated her (adult) daughter for buying jeans from Tesco all the way through a Christmas lunch to the point her DD - who was then over 40 - started to cry.

So yes, reading that back, I DO do that sometimes. I should have just told Aunt to shut her face though tbh. (My dad did).

My kids claim to not like the Aldi coco rocks type cereal. So of course we decant into a Kelloggs box. And no. Of course they can't tell

Same !!! I bought a non spill version of a washing up liquid bottle it’s so good I just bought a different brand and poured it into the better bottle !! Not to keep up appearances thou I don’t give a crap about that !

I can’t imagine caring enough to refill expensive packaging with cheaper stuff just so people think I am spending too much money on soap😂

Also a Jane Norman school unfortunately it wouldn't fit me so I'd occasionally buy something and mum would return it just for the bag 😆

I really like mark's and sparks carrier bags. More so the quality seems better than the others... It isn't just a carrier bag it's an m and s carrier bag, etc.

I've been filling Heinz tomato ketchup bottles with Aldi's own for a year. My daughter can't bear anything but Heinz apparently 😉

Following on from my comment about Top Shop carrier bags. Since M&S food hall have stopped doing plastic bags of any kind the carrier bag of choice in these parts is the very lovely and very sturdy Waitrose carrier bag. It's a thing of beauty and everyone walks out of M&S/Tesco/Lidl advertising Waitrose instead.

Oh WOW! I have a Versace blush I bought my mum.
She sadly passed away in 2012 and I treasure it.
To add she was the Queen of Keeping Up.
After receiving her Versace prezzie she went to the counter to introduce herself - she loved doing that.
And noticed there was a Versace hand mirror and tissue holder on the display for people trying stuff on.
Asked the lady politely - oh I’d love one of each where can I get them? Told they were retail display only.
She would pop by regularly, never asked again, but the odd lip gloss or two would be bought for gifts.
When the counter got a refresh of course she got a call - would you like to collect your mirror and tissue holder?
Brought up in poverty during WW2, she worked hard, saved well, and lived by the ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ motto.
It worked like a charm. I’ve seen her go for afternoon tea in five star hotels and ask at reception if she could be shown around the most expensive suite. They would clearly know it wouldn’t be as a potential guest, but she just had charm. And obviously on her way out someone would present her with a load of guest toiletries.
I miss her.
And I wish I had her charm, but I don’t!

Oh your Mum sounds like she was an absolute sweetheart @PeggyMitchellsCameo 💞

I was sitting here judging all these responders who refill bottles and so on and feeling a bit up myself because I don't do anything like that until I read your post and realised I also have a stunt tea towel. Here it is!

I have extracted myself from my own backside now, thank you for the reality check!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_classics/2749425-What-naice-things-do-you-make-sure-are-visible-to-visitors

You're welcome

When I was growing up the thing at school was more reverse snobbery, ie we had to have army surplus schoolbags not designer shops. I'm still trying to get out of that mentality and flaunt things like diptique candles.

Yes to the stunt tea towels and Aldi "Jo Malone dupes" in the bathroom....

It just occurred to me that I have a stunt tea towel… It’s from the White Company

I thought everyone had a stunt tea towel for house viewings and 'nice' hand towels etc for guests (we pretty much dry ourselves on whatever rags are available 😆)
I don't hide my Aldi washing up liquid, shower gel, hand-wash etc, I'm the one using it so it doesn't matter.

I wear a bra and shoes when I leave the house and clean my windows from time to time. Can’t think of a reason for doing these things other than keeping up appearances.

I eat my pineapples though!

I know someone who buys Aldi coffee at puts it in a Douwe Egberts jar.

Nothing, luckily I live in a poor area so nobody cares. People would probably take the piss out of me if I had something fancy

Omg I take back everything I said I have a stunt tea towel 🙈

I knew it!
I knew I was not alone in my tea towel snobbery, though yours are all nicer than mine...
I had not thought of hanging up the oven mitts. I will have to buy stunt mitts, mine are badly stained, clean, but stained, and Ariel and Oxy make no difference. I currently hide them behind my stunt tray, which is in the front of a row of 'lesser trays'.

We have a collection of Fortume and Mason tea caddies, filled with whatever loose tea we buy. Still good loose tea but not necessarily F&M.

I buy handwash and washing up liquid in large containers anyway and decant so most of my dispensers are clear pump bottles I got on offer somewhere, the content depends on what is on offer and where I shop.

Yes to tea towels and hand towels when we have guests. I recently did a cull of my really badly stained ones and the previous guest-ones are now reduced to normal duty and the next batch of never used towels is now waiting for guests. (my mum was of the opinion you can't have enough towels and we got at least one to two sets per year, all packed away)

One has a special gardening crown for when I'm supervising the serfs tending the vegetables - just in case one of the neighbours sees me.

One has to keep up appearances or else society will just fall apart, and one doesn't want that does one?