to think that taking care of a home is seen as lowly, dull and a waste of time?

[lowfatiscrap12]

I'm not talking about the wohm vs sahm thing before anyone jumps in!
Do you think it's become fashionable to slate anyone who likes keeping their house clean, cooking, baking, sewing, gardening etc? That it's seen as the lowest form of work? I'm on another forum and someone just posted a link to an American blog where a Mother (who works outside the home too) posts recipes and writes down what she's done around the house that day and what her and her dh's routine consists of when she's not at work. The person who posted the link said : 'what an empty life, who has the time to make cupcakes?'
Now I'm not a great cook and I've not got the cleanest or tidiest home, but I don't have a problem if someone is house proud or likes to bake. Why would I?
Surely we all need to eat? We all like a clean kitchen, an empty dishwasher and not to have to wipe 3 inches of dust off the telly before switching it on? And we all have to do it. Even those lucky enough to have cleaner... unless the cleaner is coming in daily, we still need to stick our marigolds on and get stuck in from time to time? Where's the harm in being houseproud?

I am glad this isn't another boring, judgey, awful,pointless, self-promoting WOHM v SAHM thread, otherwise I would have to hide it like that other thread....... too many scary women

I have a cleaner but I do enjoy pottering around the house and garden. It makes me happy. The cleaner obviously makes it a million times easier but I love having a tidy, clean and organised house. I am not stressed if it isn't but I enjoy it more when it is. I can potter in the garden for hours, I find it very rewarding and relaxing. I love it when my seedlings come up and I love picking the flowers that I have grown. I play badminton with some quite elderly ladies and it's amazing how much they enjoy doing things around the house ( not so much cleaning more jam making, sewing or gardening)

I think it is a shame if people feel embarrassed if they live in a messy house. It really doesn't matter as long as they don't mind. Things should be hygienic but dust and mess never did any harm.

Blogging about housework type things is a bit dull though. I won't be doing that.

Making cupcakes and arranging flowers and that sort of thing might well be enjoyable to some people. Scrubbing skidmarks off the bog and making sure there's enough juice/milk/bread, doing the laundry and putting it away, doing the washing up and putting it away, this is basic necessary shitwork which someone always has to do. It needs to be done, therefore someone has to do it. It is, in fact, honest work and not shameful. But it's work and therefore needs to be valued, not just seen as something you enjoy because you have a vagina and therefore, no matter whether or not you work in a wage-earning job, it's all yours.

Worra, love that expression!

I work stupid amount of hours... But I've always loved cleaning OCD we have a cleaner who puts up with my insanity but to me a couple of hours blitzing the house then sitting down and surveying my perfection is true happiness. It is usually fleeting as my two monsters then trash the place again
Not sure I'd blog about it but hey some people blog about what clothes they wear, or what bird calls they hear so it's not that weird I suppose

It's horses for courses, really. Personally I would hate to have the sort of life that's dictated by domestic servitude, but other people don't mind it. For me, there's more to life than sweeping floors and baking cupcakes.

Well, I don't find it inspiring enough to blog about. I don't understand those who do, nor those who read them.

whats the blog

It bugs me. I don't know how the women who are crafting, baking, cleaning etc have any time to spend with their children. I'm not being a bitch, I honestly don't know how they can give the children the attention they need because I can't...

I hate housework and am still appalled (3 years later) that my job (SAHM) means I have to do it. I gave birth to my children so they are my responsibility and I do that with my whole heart (& body) but none of that applies to my house! I also find that if I try to do everything that needs to be done (which I do get a guilt attack about & get giddy with periodically), I fail and am cranky with the children, on edge that they'll mess it up again (which they will of course, as is their nature) and feel like I miss them even if they're here...

I'd love to be organised and on top of my housework/chores etc but I can't seem to do it all and shower and cook and entertain & educate my children.

Also, those 'perfect' mothers seem to look down on those of us with food on our clothes & books spilling out of the front door...

Necessary though housework is, it is a pretty thankless task. The most unfortunate thing about it is that people only notice when it hasn't been done.

Exactly sanguinechompa ! That's not exactly fulfilling is it?!

LittleBugsMum my dm actually didn't have time to spend with us for that reason - I'd rather have lived in a mucky house and received attention

I have always done DIY and cooking/baking with the DC and now that they are older its a very easy way to spend time with them. My DD and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen with one or both of us cooking or baking. Baking is what she does to relax and it's important to us.
However, I totally agree that when the DC's are younger it is more important to spend time with them than do pointless cleaning. We had a basement that was permanently trashed but we would tidy the living room every evening to maintain a little sanity.
The Kirstie Allsopp ideal is a ridiculously unrealistic though. People need to stop worrying about what other people do and think and they just need to do what suits them and their family.

Agree with the posters who have said that some domestic activities (eg cooking) can be creative, challenging and interesting.

Others, like ironing, hoovering and scrubbing the loo, are simply not. No two ways about it, they are dull.

They also don't require much in the way of qualifications, brain power or outstanding talent (though of course some people are better at these tasks than others). That is probably why they are thought of as lowly.

Sooo... I guess I'd be a bit at someone who delighted in hoovering. And (controversially) I might conclude that they can't be very bright if they don't find it dull.

I find most housework dull.

But I wish I didn't, as my mum's OCD about having a spotless home means that I feel ashamed about the messiness of my home.

And my mum is university educated, and continually doing OU courses now she's retired to stop herself getting bored, so I don't see any correlation between someone liking housework and having an empty life, or being 'not very bright'.

But does she actually enjoy housework darkfever or is it just that her OCD means she can't relax until it's done? Slightly different things?

She's incapable of sitting still if the house is dirty or untidy in any way, so maybe the second one...

There are lots of hobbies that don't require brainpower or talent but aren't thought of as dull. I would hate to laze around in a spa all day, or go fishing, or watch a game of cricket but I enjoy potting up seedlings and enjoy doing a bit of housework even a bit of ironing loo skidmarks definitly not included