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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to wonder if anyone with children ever actually has a house that looks like they don't?

93 replies

CheerfulYank · 21/11/2014 18:05

I have a friend who has no children but has always said that when she does, she will have a home that looks like children don't live there.

She was at a mutual friend's the other day. Mutual friend has a four year old and a newborn, and she had just received a new swing from her ILs.

Childless friend said that she would be "so irritated" with gifts like that because sue doesn't want junk all over her house. Friend with the newborn said "well kids do have stuff." Childless friend said "well there will be a high chair in the corner of course."

I think she's in for a massive shock. I do try to keep my kids' things fairly tidied away in baskets and stuff, but you can definitely tell children live very here!

But then I thought, she is very organized and only wants one, so it is possible.

Anyone actually have a house that looks pristine with kids?

OP posts:

TweeAintMee · 21/11/2014 21:13

If your friend's house remains immaculate/child-invisible then perhaps she intends to spend all her time tidying and cleaning rather than spend any time in his/her company. Perhaps she intends to send it out to off site daycare or maybe to sit quietly in a corner or perhaps to start by training it to do domestic chores really early - first word might be 'mop'. Does she have really big cupboards that she can hide the toys/child in to keep it tidy?

insanityscratching · 21/11/2014 21:25

As a child I lived in a house that showed no sign that i and my 5 siblings lived there. It was miserable tbh. Dm was stupidly houseproud, we weren't allowed to have toys out, to make a mess, to move the cushions, to lie in bed( because dm hoovered upstairs at 7.30am every day). We never had paints or glue if we had a book out and left it unattended whilst we nipped to the loo it would be back upstairs in the cupboard before we got back. It was so restrictive, it was the first thing people commented on when they came to the house and dm was immensely proud of that.
I'm very mucha slattern the opposite tbh and I think I'm happier than dm ever was.

DancingDinosaur · 21/11/2014 21:26

My house is pretty tidy these days. Theres no visable toys in the living room, although there is a bit of kids artwork on the wall. I don't even need to tidy up when someone calls in with no warning. I guess the kids are at school though, so less time for mess, and they always tidy up after themselves these days Good storage helps too.

Mezzalune · 21/11/2014 21:29

My house is spotless. I have never been able to have a messy house. During the day there are toys about but the house is always very clean and tidy. Having Childten isn't an excuse for a messy house. Yea it's not easy keeping it nice but is certainly do able.

I get jealous looks from mums and comments about the fact my house is so neat but its what works for me. I could neecr relax in an u tidy house.

I tidy as I go along throughout the day and mop the floors, vacuum the house, clean the bathroom and kitchen every day before lo goes to sleep. Then I have the evening free to relax.

Mezzalune · 21/11/2014 21:32

I'm not
Obsessive about it tho. We do have messy play and my toddler is allowed to be a normal kid. I just make sure I tidy up afterwards.

Kids don't need to live in an untidy house to be able to play freely.

I know my sister in law gets very down about her house being untidy. She has a three year ol. She keeps saying thy she can't have a tidy house with a child about but she is lying to herself. Sometimes you just need the motivation to I prove your situation.

Mezzalune · 21/11/2014 21:34

Also, just because you have a beautifully tidy house doesn't mean you don't play with your children loads. It takes no longer to clean a house than it does to write a few posts on netmums.

But if it
Makes the untidy mums feel better to think that then so be it. Is none sense though

Original poster

CheerfulYank · 21/11/2014 21:43

That's not necessarily what I mean though Mezzalune :) I have a friend who is very tidy and she does have a more or less spotless house...but it still looks like children live there. Their things are organized and tidy but still there iyswim.

OP posts:

DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 21/11/2014 22:13

Our house was untidy until DD started to clean it in her midteens. "I don't want my friends to think you're pigs". Hooray for snobbery!

I was once in a house where there were 2 preschoolers, and what wasn't unsullied white gleamed like naval brass. He glowered, she twitched. Not good.

QTPie · 21/11/2014 22:14

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Redcoats · 21/11/2014 22:22

My house looks like 20 kids Live here!

My friend has 3 DCs and hers always look spotless. Even when they had the back of the house knocked out for an extension, it still looked tidier than mine.
They do have toys but they're all tasteful wooden types which are more 'displayed' rather than waiting to be played with. Id like her to adopt me.

Flossiefloss · 21/11/2014 22:27

During the day our house is a mess of toys, discarded clothes and the cushions off the sofa all over them floor - it looks like half a dozen children live here not just one. At night once the boy is asleep, the only clue he lives here are his books on the shelf. I can't relax properly in the evening with his mess around.

RedSoloCup · 21/11/2014 22:33

I actually live in Barbieland and I love it :)

Toys are not mess they are an explosion of happiness :)

#thatisall

BlackeyedSusan · 21/11/2014 22:43

children live here.. and it shows...

StillSquirrelling · 21/11/2014 22:56

I try my very best to keep all the kids' stuff contained in either their bedrooms or the playroom. It never works though! Even before you set foot in the house you are confronted by an enormous pile of wellies and crocs in the porch!

Having said that - our bedroom is kid-free, so are the living room and dining room (apart from the Disney placemats!). So we do have some child-free sanctuary in our own home.

When I was growing up we moved around a lot (Army family) and in each of our homes there was very little sign of children living there except in my room or my sister's room. My mum was desperately houseproud and we just weren't allowed to make any mess or leave clutter lying around. It was most depressing and I spent most of my childhood around at my friend's child-friendly houses instead

Kellie1991 · 21/11/2014 23:34

My house is generally very clean and tidy and organised I am a bit ocd but anyone walking in would know a child lived there.... There's a highchair in the kitchen little people shoes in the hall along with a buggy in the hall we do have a playroom where all the toys are tidied away at nighttime when he goes to bed but during the day they are usually pulled into the living room... We have bath toys in the bathroom. Stair gates on nearly every door, a huge fireguard which usually has some nappies and wipes sat on the top and when he was a baby the house was even cleaner but we always had a swing a bouncer and a playmat in our living room.... I don't like tonnes of toys and baby stuff piled in a corner of a room but if it's all organised I'm more than happy for people to see it. Its my child's house as well!

See how long that lasts when she has a kid lol x

DrCoconut · 21/11/2014 23:48

I know someone with DC whose house is always immaculate. So are her, her DH and DC. They/their house look like they are in a Vertbaudet photo shoot at an ikea showroom all the time. No idea how they do it .

Bulbasaur · 22/11/2014 00:22

I have one. She is only 7 months. The house is littered with toys. They're like tribbles, and they come in sets. I found a sock in the toilet once (how the hell!!). Good luck keeping baby stuff contained to one section of the house.

But, it is fairly easy tidying up after her, I just chuck all the toys in a box at the end of the day in a few seconds.

dashoflime · 22/11/2014 04:31

You can have childrens things around and still be tidy. In the living/dining room we have a high chair, a box of toys and a ride-on car.
When the table is cleared and the toys are back in the box, the room looks nice. I dont understand why you would need to remove all evidence of children to enjoy your home. They live with you, too!

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