Is everyone's kitchen as hectic as mine? (Photo)

[harlacem0507]

A little bit outing but I wanted to know if people can relate to this hectic kitchen of mine! It gets cleaned and tidied every day but most things I can't seem to store anywhere as have very little storage in my house, but honestly, does this kitchen seem 'normal' or very unorganized, messy, chaotic etc? Because I'm not sure if I'm being overly critical to myself for having a kitchen like this or I do in fact need to seriously organise it better! (The white blob is my son!) For context I have a husband and 3 children aged 13, 7 and 15 months and work part time.

I think so.

The working classes have spotless houses, generally speaking.

Middle class mess 🤣
I've a 3rd bedroom, and a messy kitchen rn. Does that make me middle class?

Jeez, do you really think that's chaos?? It's mildly messy. I'm just intrigued as to why so many posters on here are so uptight about their living spaces. Someone up thread alluded to the fact that their families probably wished they spent more time with them than cleaning and I suspect that's the case with a lot of posters on this thread.

Edited to add that this post I quoted referred to the far tidier photo on the page preceding this one and not to the original

I spent plenty of time with my kids when they were younger, thank you. I grew up in a house where my mum was a clean freak, she was obsessive. I am definitely not that, but I do appreciate a tidy home, though have messy days. My house is not perfect, but I do believe in having standards, everything needs a place, not stuff pilled on sideboards and work tops, hide it away. Doesn’t take king to tidy as you go. The airer thing I really can’t get my head round. They shouldn’t be in a downstairs living space. Spare room, or if no spare room in my own bedroom, I know space can be an issue. Never ever in a kitchen or living room. In the kitchen all the cooking smells getting into your laundered clothes, grim.

Looking at your floor plan it's obvious that you don't have anywhere else for the clothes airer so it needs to be there.I've tried to minimise my washing so I only wash on two days per week, it may be difficult for you considering the age ranges of your children but it gives me washing days and folding/ironing days.Endless washing drove me bad and nothing was being put away.Your kitchen is working hard as a laundry/ utility area also so I think you're being a little hard on yourself.
I struggle with my kitchen at times but leaving it tidy at night works really well for me.When it's reasonably tidy it's much easier to maintain.
Your cat is beautiful and is taking such an interest in the photo.
Remember the kitchen is the hub of your house and it's working hard, any tweaks you can make to increase its functionality will benefit you.
Consider baskets for the children's belongings as everything tends to migrate towards the kitchen.

Have you room for a tumble dryer, I have just bought a new Beko heat pump one for £350 so they are not all terribly expensive and the heat pump ones are cheaper to run, I'm expecting it to take ages to dry but at least it's out of the way

How did you feel coming down to a clean kitchen?
I learnt that it's worth getting everyone to help out with a clean of the living room and kitchen after dinner then you're not playing catch-up in the morning.
It's nice to come down in the morning and have a relaxing tea or coffee in clean surroundings, before the mayhem starts.

It's a massive space (same space again goes off to the left round the corner from the controversial clothes horse), so why wouldn't I have it there? It's near the utility room, has very effective under floor heating that dries it super quickly, and saves me time wandering around the house. As soon as the weather improves it is all outside anyway.

I think a lot of folk underestimate the old adage of "tidy mind tidy house". If you're depressed, cannot cope with cleaning it's a well known fact it's a vicious circle..I have a son with rapid cycle bipolar,you could eat off his toilet seat! My DD depression/menopause got into this cycle. Eventually not even making her bed. I don't care how others live in the main. I did have one friend when DD was at primary school,who changed a dirty nappy,left it on the worktop and didn't want her hands...I had always just had a drink, didn't need one. Surely you would have to tidy before you could prep the next meal. One thing the 2 kitchens in the pictures have in common they are big, mine is just 7 feet, open plan one end of the living room. I have 2 tiny worktops, everything has to go straight away. We have 2 dogs, daily tins, washed out, straight away,a recycling bin just outside the kitchen. I don't use bleach, I do have long-term health issues.

That's true, but that was a reply to a poster suggesting having a chronic illness means having to lower your standards, which isn't the case.

I absolutely don’t allow my cat on the kitchen table.
He completely fucking ignores this.

Looks fine to me OP. It isn't dirty, just a bot of stuff out. Looks homely. Floors look clean you are doing great.

That's the thing though, being tidy isn't being uptight, It's tidying as you go.

It shouldn't be taking that much time away from family. That happens when things are left to accumulate.

Also, whoever is old enough to complain about cleaning taking too long, is old enough to help.

Putting the butter, milk, eggs away after you're done, empty packets in the bin/recycling straightaway doesn't take
a lot of time.

OP is upper class.

Homes in the UK are terribly designed when it comes to laundry matters...there's absolutely no thought whatsoever as to how and where people are meant to wash and dry their clothes
..so I absolutely don't judge the airer in the kitchen

The bike in daily use living in your kitchen isn't good, outside with a lock on it.

I completely get this, my kitchen is similar and my clothes airer is in there next to the only working heater. Clothes smell fine.

The thing is with your patients stuff is it has no connection to you so much easier to get rid of and clean up. My own stuff I keep the most random shit.

Was recently in hospital and there was a HCA that was obsessed with arriving on shift and clearing over bed tables. She asked me if she could take my uneaten pot of rice pudding, I thought she was taking it back to the kitchen but no she threw it in the bin! What a waste I would have kept it had I known 😀

You are doing great @harlacem0507

Cat on work surfaces?.... May I suggest a water pistol? Each time it lands on a surface, there would be consequences. Cats soon learn.....

Given that you have small children and are working, absolutely normal to me. I have a galley kitchen so no use to anyone, but my dining room and lounge looked like this. Now they're teenagers it's a lovely tidy place, but it just wasn't then. Weirdly I miss it, it felt homely

I recon that some (not all ) posters are typing away how they would never have a kitchen like that . No way it would never happen. Typing how perfectly clean and fantastic they are.

But in reality they are thinking gosh i better tidy my kitchen

Bloody rude.

Rather bloody rude than cruel but hey ho, some people actually like animals.

I love animals. I don’t allow my dogs to sit on the dining table 😂

Why is this directed at me? You realise I'm not OP, right?