To wonder why people can't keep their houses in a basic state of cleanliness?

[HarderToKidnap]

Disabilities aside, why can't people keep their homes basically clean?

I work part time, have a messy dog, a demanding toddler, am extremely lazy but my house always looks OK. You couldn't eat your tea off the top of the door frames but the kitchen surfaces are clean, floors hoovered, sofas plumped and inviting, toilet free of poo crumbs. It's easy and doesn't take long. So WHY do I go round to so many of my friend's houses and see they live in complete pits? Gritty nasty sofas that are horrible to sit on, filthy kitchens, poo smears and crumbs all over toilet, minging hand towels, floors covered in bits. IT IS NOT HARD to do the basics. I've just done a house once over and it's taken 45 minutes.

I understand not wanting to spend all day dusting your books or whatever but when people are coming over why wouldn't you want them to feel clean and comfy in your house? I'm not talking about people that physically can't do it because of illness or disability, but the rest of you? WHY??!!!

[SPsTotallyMullerFuckingLicious]

Username I only have the one toddler but there's nothing smug about it.

[Tee2072]

Also, bleaching the loo is so bad for the environment.

Just for the record.

But how does the stuffing get pushed to one end AU?!?!

[Viviennemary]

Give them a daily and weekly list of chores. I'm sure they will thank you. And go round like Kim and Aggie with a shocked face saying I don't know how people can live like this.

[Retroformica]

I can promise you it's easy with only one child. I have 4 kids and 2 animals. 45 mins per day would not be enough to keep on top of my house

[hashtagwhatever]

oh yes my house was alot cleaner with just the one child.

now four. not so much

[GobblersKnob]

WHY??!!!

CBA

HTH

[pianodoodle]

I know quite a few people with four children who work and their houses aren't mingin' so it must be doable.

[Thumbwitch]

I think some people sit on cushions! We don't though.

[Jeremiad]

Agree with Thurlow. Full time work + a long commute = out of the house for at least 12 hours every week day.

My house is clean enough, but by god I resent every single second I have to spend cleaning it. I hate housework so much it makes me cry. Never understood this 'oh, I just whizz the hoover round every day' mentality.

But then, my ancestors were all peasants, or in domestic service. There's no nobility in fucking cleaning . It's what you do if you have no choice.

[curryeater]

OMG have just seen "poo pick in garden". BOGGLE BOGGLE BOGGLE. You don't like other people's house because.... biscuit crumbs on sofa. And yet...

Let me get this straight. This is presumably dog poo? It gathers in the garden? And you.... periodically... pick it up? And you have a toddler?

[mind explodes]

[nickelbabe]

my house is a tip.

i work 6 days a week, DH works 5 (but weekends), neither of us come home until gone 6 in the evening, we're both out at church on sundays.

friday nights are choir night.

we have a toddler.

we basically get in, eat, go to bed.

so, YABU.

it is very hard to keep a house clean and tidy

[JourneyThroughLife]

I agree too OP, it doesn't take much. My house is always clean as well as tidy, easier now there's just me but it was still pristine when I had two small children, a rabbit and a husband...
Oh yes, and I plump up my cushions every evening, before I turn the lights out in the living room to go off to bed (with plumped up pillows..!!!)

[conorsrockers]

Was going to tell you to hook your judgey pants out yr ass - but apparently you've not got any on under your fur coat

I had a spotlessly clean house and ironed everything, including dusters and socks when I had one child (and I worked f/t).
Now there are 7 in my house including 4 boys, and we live on a farm in a ruddy great house. The only thing that is always clean is the kitchen - otherwise I would have a nervous breakdown (and we have a cleaner once a week!).

Maybe you might revisit your opinions in a few years when the third comes along

[Boreoff]

Basic levels of hygiene is surly a must? Some people are lazy, sum

[HavantGuard]

The kitchen surfaces are always spotless as are the sink and loos. The sofa is a 60s leather thing that doesn't need plumping. The rest fends for itself. The dogs eat any crumbs.

[SaucyJack]

Because we quite simply have better things to do with our time.

[HarderToKidnap]

My toddler is INSANE. I am not smug about him, believe me. He's pretty cute though.

Ok, if you only had 45 minutes a day then obviously you choose bake off. But if you only have 45 minutes day that means you work full time which means your kids probably aren't in your house creating chaos all day which means you only have dinner and bath to clear up. So your house is probably lovely.

And to clarify, I'm not talking about everything totally spotless. Those people who do clean top to bottom every day, under furniture, polish inside of windows, have no clutter are also strange and very much not to be trusted. Just the very basics needed for you and others to feel comfortable in your home.

[Nancy66]

I'm too afraid of mice not to keep kitchen surfaces clean and crumb free.

Genuinely puzzled by people who seem to have shit-splattered homes though

[kaosak]

Joking apart, I do live in a big, old house and it is really hard to keep clean and tidy unless you spend silly amounts of time doing it.

Honestly 45 mins would get all 3 bathrooms beautiful - then there is the rest of it....

I do go mad though if we have friends or family over, I will put aside a day to thoroughly clean and tidy everywhere before they arrive. I am mortified if someone pops by and the place is a tip, I need notice people notice!

[Jan49]

I'm intrigued at you giving the house a once over in 45 minutes. If I vacuumed every floor of my small 3 bed house and spent just 10 minutes on each, so not a very detailed clean, that's 90 minutes. Plus half an hour to clean the bathroom items. I spend longer than that daily on washing up and cooking.

When I had a small child I worked FT and I had difficulty finding time to do any household chore other than cooking and washing up, so I can understand why floors might be messy. I've really only now got to the point where I can have a clean tidy house, with a ds who is an adult, and that's because the carpets are nearly new and look the same whether I've just vacuumed them or not, and only the bathroom seems to get dirty. Before, it was always a case of one part clean and other parts needing cleaning.

[HarderToKidnap]

I'm feeling very attacked re the poo pick. The garden is spot checked regularly throughout the day and poo picked as and when required but a special check is made prior to the arrival of guests. Before the bloody dog brigade gets on here he IS walked every day but seems to need to poo very often.

[DystopianReality]

I love going to see my friends, spending time with them talking, empathising, listening, laughing and always come away feeling the better for that. I couldn;t and wouldn't give a toss about the state of their house, I love them, not their house.

[pianodoodle]

And to clarify, I'm not talking about everything totally spotless. Those people who do clean top to bottom every day, under furniture, polish inside of windows, have no clutter are also strange and very much not to be trusted. Just the very basics needed for you and others to feel comfortable in your home

Oh

In that case I'm done defending you OP

[Floggingmolly]

Maybe you have a comparatively tiny house? Or you know some rank people; I've never been in any house that had a shit stained toilet, for example, even if they hadn't Hoovered that day?