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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to hate truely clean tidy houses!

199 replies

lisad123isgoingcrazy · 19/11/2010 22:27

My "friend" teased me today about my house always being cluttered Angry I have 2 young children and a dog and my house is neither dirty or untidy, just lived it!
I have toys, paperwork and books around the house.

Her house is always spotless and everything has its place.

Drives me mad

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 19/11/2010 22:28

yabu

i love clean tidy houses.

my house, i should add, is not tidy. it is cluttered and messy and full of crap.
but i would like it to be clean and tidy Grin

winnybella · 19/11/2010 22:30

What thisisyesterday said.

cerealqueen · 19/11/2010 22:32

I feel very uncomfortable in other people's clean and tidy houses. Whilst envying them and knowing ours will never be like that and accepting it. I'm sure people feel at home in our lived- in house.

thenightsky · 19/11/2010 22:46

OP... I know where you are coming from.

LadyViper · 19/11/2010 22:48

its not clutter, its an open plan filing system!

Meglet · 19/11/2010 22:48

YANBU-ish.

I wouldn't advocate a cluttered health hazard of a house but some stuff and mess is homely.

XP's parents have a weirdly tidy house, it doesn't look lived in Confused.

TragicallyHip · 19/11/2010 22:51

Your friend was a bit rude saying that.

But I can't live in a cluttered house, makes me uncomfortable...I'm not fussed about anyone else's house tho

LaWeaselMys · 19/11/2010 22:59

I'm all about the balance. I think it's why I like open book shelves, you can have stuff out but not actually have any 'mess'.

Mumwithadragontattoo · 19/11/2010 23:01

My parents and in laws both have houses where a single speck of dust would be immediately noticed. It can make things somewhat uncomfortable but I am also a bit in awe of how they manage it. I think it is nice to have a clean and tidy house but when there are children there it inevitably becomes a bit lived in. Some people take this too far though! I guess most people think they have found the right balance for them!

Rockbird · 19/11/2010 23:03

I would adore a truly clean and tidy house. I never have one despite my best efforts. I farmed DD out to my mother today to blitz the downstairs and tomorrow morning when DH has had control of DD for an hour it'll be back to square one.

spaceman · 19/11/2010 23:03

I spent the afternoon folding the towels in my airing cupboard the 'anthea' way so that none of the corners stuck out. I am still glowing from the affects. Yabu. A tidy house is the result of the goddess within.

cumfy · 19/11/2010 23:17

open plan filing system :o

cumfy · 19/11/2010 23:20

I am still glowing from the affect

I'm sure you are, I'm sure you are!

spaceman · 19/11/2010 23:25

Yes, well it was the airing cupboard and the tank was rather hot at the time.

brimfull · 19/11/2010 23:28

YANBU
Some houses are just too tidy and clean.
I have friend whose house is like a show home, in fact less ornaments than show home. It smells of bleach.
I can never relax in it , there is absolutely nothing on her kitchen worktops.

Original poster
lisad123isgoingcrazy · 19/11/2010 23:49

i do like a house I can sit down it without owrry about making wrinkles on the sofa!

OP posts:
Antalya1 · 19/11/2010 23:51

I love going into peoples houses when they are truly a mess..it validates my opinion that people with specklessley (yep real word!!) clean tidy houses are shallow... Grin

BreconBeBuggered · 20/11/2010 00:24

I love houses that are truly filthy. It's not often I can go back to my own house and think it looks spotless by comparison.

ChippingIn · 20/11/2010 00:36

antalya - I can assure you I'm not shallow! and Lisa - it may look spotless, but you are more than welcome to put your feet up on my settee and make as many wrinkles as you like - I can iron it when you leave.

ChippingIn · 20/11/2010 00:37

I like my house spotless - but I don't care what anyone else's house is like - so long as they don't mind me moving books/kids/clutter so I can sit down after I've put on the kettle it's all good :)

TheNextMrsDepp · 20/11/2010 00:41

I DREAM of having a clean and spotless house. I can't bear that "bath-scum" of stuff that collects around the edge of every room in the house, but I never seem to get rid of it. Sigh.

onmyfeet · 20/11/2010 00:43

Given a choice, I would pick the a spotless tidy house.
farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3695249115_82283e13b8_z.jpg

MardyBra · 20/11/2010 00:44

YANBU. MIL has a spotless house and I can't relax in it with the DCs. Every work surface needs to be carefully wiped every half hour, it seems. She's constantly faffing around with cleaning cloths, dusters, etc, rather than having a good chat. It took her a week to recover from our last visit.

spaceman - life is too short to spend time doing fancy towel folding. There are so many more fulfilling persuits - reading a good book, phoning a friend, hanging out on MN, pretty much anything really.

Original poster
lisad123isgoingcrazy · 20/11/2010 12:11

maybe im just jealous then Grin

OP posts:
BeenBeta · 20/11/2010 12:28

A friend of our came to say at the weekend and asked 'how 'do you keep your house so clean and tidy'.

A next door neighbour once commented 'this is the whitest house I have ever been in'.

OK we always take our shoes off, kids are only allowed in certain rooms and we clean once a week but it is just seems normally clean and tidy not OCD level.