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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to make sure the house is clean and tidy before we go away on holiday

80 replies

GreyskullsInBed · 18/05/2012 17:25

DH is having a paddy about me "wanting to come back to a show home"
And although I think that would be an overestimation, I do always feel wierd coming home when we have spent time in amazing places. Therefore I want to house to look it's best, rather than a pit when we walk in.

I want that holiday feeling to last 12 hours at least before i have to trip over lego or pick up stuff from the floor.

I am not talking about redecorating, just making sure there aren't cups that need washing and straightenng beds and cushions etc.

Before we go I will tidy the boys toys away in their rooms so they aren't scattered around.

Apparently I am being unreasonable.

I will let the MN jury decide and accept my fate and Whatever your opinions I will share them with DH so we can together see if IABU.

OP posts:
startail · 18/05/2012 18:15

YANBU
Never managed it, packing is a nightmare in this house. Never anytime for tidying and changing beds, but one can dream.

donnie · 18/05/2012 18:16

no, not unreasonable at all. I am totally obsessed with this and deep clean my house whenever we go away,I run myself intot he ground fretting about it!

supernannyisace · 18/05/2012 18:19

Oh I like to make sure that it is all tidy too. It often works out okay though- if we have an early flight - as I do it all the day before- and no one gets time to make a mess then inthe morning.

I clean out the kitchen bin thoroughly - and leave a carrier bag next to it for rubbish.

Nothing worse than coming home to a smelly, messy house.

YourFanjoIsNotAHandbag · 18/05/2012 18:25

YANBU I do the same thing.

It's just feels a bit better coming home to a tidy house.

marriedinwhite · 18/05/2012 18:34

Completely agree with you. I always change all the beds the day before we go and make sure the house is immaculate in the days leading up to departure. I can't bear the thought of leaving or coming back to a mucky house and I'm not houseproud.

cabbagesoup · 18/05/2012 18:56

YANBU - I book my lovely cleaner as my once a year treat, she comes in for 2 days while we are away, costs me £100 and she does the whole house, windows, skirtings, mops, cleans out microwave!! the whole thing, she even disinfectes the bins, and puts fresh bedding on, does any left over ironing etc.

I get home and it's BLISS... not only does it look and smell clean with hoover marks and all, I know that for a whole week at least that it is clean under the clutter that explodes!!

It's the best!! and I would recommend it to everyone...

TheArmadillo · 18/05/2012 18:57

YANBU - we were talking about this at work today coincidentally and all agreed that its horrible coming home to a messy house.

SkinnyVanillaLatte · 18/05/2012 19:01

The one time we did just abandon ship,and leave the house a mess (it was either that,or not go) we all hated coming back to a mess.

There was no mouldy cups or that sort of thing,just toys etc strewn around.It's like a 'cold' mess when you come back to it after being away,not a warm mess that's part of the general fabric of family life IYSWIM Confused

elizaregina · 18/05/2012 19:01

YANBU, totally agree, just cleaned house myself, so lovley to come back to a house thats ready to go!

A friend used to buy closed lillies so on returen they had opened and fill the house with scent, i wasnt able t do that though

cherrypieplum · 18/05/2012 19:45

I have to scrub before I go away! If anything happened to me I wouldn't want people to think I was a slob!

MollyMission · 18/05/2012 19:53

I always leave my house tidy.

I even leave the radio on to entertain potential burglars.

Joke!

Psammead · 18/05/2012 19:56

I generally keep the house tidy, but I always go the extra mile for guests and for going away.

BalloonSlayer · 18/05/2012 19:59

Before you go away on HOLIDAY????!!!! (four question marks and four exclamation marks entirely intentional).

I do that -

  • Before we go out for the day

and, if I possibly can

  • Before I go to work

And sometimes even

  • When off to the supermarket

My Mum always said, tidy the house before you go out for a long time, so that your heart does not sink when you walk back into it.

A lot of what my Mum always said is shite. But that one isn't.

You want to be glad to be home don't you? Not some sad sack who cried because they didn't want to come home off their holidays.

Yah yah yah
Nah nah hah
Nnnnnnnnn
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

cherrypieplum · 19/05/2012 11:42

Balloon Slayer your mum was right. Just realised I do a mini version on day trips too...

I'm very often mopping while my husband stamps his feet in rage that we will be late!!

HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 19/05/2012 11:44

YANBU, I do the same

We are going on holiday next week and the day before my mum is having my youngest for the day so that I can hoover and dust the house, change the bedding etc.

I'd hate to come back not only to the horrid freezing weather here but to a dirty house too!

bamboobutton · 19/05/2012 11:48

YANBU!!

i wish my kids were older so that tidying wasn't a sisphyian task.

i dream of having a tidy house full stop, let alone from coming home from a holiday.(that sentance looks wrong. oh well!)

sooperdooper · 19/05/2012 14:07

I always do this too, last time we went away (only a UK wkend so didn't matter if we left 30mins later) and DP was rushing me out of the house as I was trying to finish cleaning up and didn't understand what I meant, when we got back to a mess he understood

I hate getting home all chilled and feeling like I have jobs to do, ruins the holiday feeling

bochead · 19/05/2012 15:32

I loathe housework, but comin back to a messy house after a holiday is such a downer.

ohforfoxsake · 19/05/2012 15:33

You are right. DH is very, very wrong.

Wingedharpy · 19/05/2012 16:40

I'm with you too on this one. It is to give you the feeling that it's lovely to be home when you walk in through the door on your return and you certainly wouldn't feel that if the place was an absolute tip. It would just add to the depression of returning from somewhere gorgeous to a minging midden.
I've come to the conclusion in my old age, that men (generally) do not feel quite the same as women (generally) regarding their nests. Keeping the nest spick and span helps to nurture the soul and add to the feeling of well-being for some of us. For others, it doesn't have the same importance. There is no wrong or right - just differences.

PoppyWearer · 19/05/2012 17:43

YANBU OP. I do this too, and my DH also tells me I'm crazy. Although he does like to walk back in to a tidy house. Hmm

passivehoovering · 19/05/2012 17:47

YANBU.

I do the same and always have. Since living with DP and being told that this is unreasonable, stressful and in the realms of OCD I have doubted myself.

FartBlossom · 19/05/2012 17:50

YASooooooNBU You go away, have a lovely time and you have to come home. Why make it worse by coming home to a tip? Our last house was a right state, needed lots of repairs, we had lots of junk. When we went away I hated coming back. Now we have moved to a nice house and got rid of all our junk, coming home isnt as bad.

DizzyCow63 · 19/05/2012 17:51

I'm with you OP, my sister stays in our house and dog-sits when we go away, and much as I am grateful, I dread coming home, as she leaves the place a bomb site, food that's gone off and stinks in the fridge, coffee cups everywhere, dirty dishes in random places! Angry

maybenow · 19/05/2012 17:52

i would always take the bins out and do all the dishes for hygeine reasons,

but not necessarily change the beds (unless they need done anyway.. and surely that just creates more laundry for when you get back?)

and i'm not sure what 'straightening the cushions' means? ours just sit where they were last sat on Blush