Or is it impossible to have a perfect house

[Senoritaono]

I have a pretty small house and one DC. Everything except the kitchen is in nice enough condition I think, although we haven't changed the decor since we moved in. Seeing everyone's homes on video calls has made me feel like everyone has a beautiful home and mine feels quite shabby by comparison! Do people just show off the best bit of their homes with a lovely bookshelf behind them or are other people doing constant maintenance and decorating to keep everything perfect all the time? My kitchen is old and really needs replaced and the cheap linoleum floor that the last owner put in is a mess! Always planned to replace it but DD came along and there was never time to make big plans. The garden needs work - mainly just concrete and want to put some grass down for DD to play on. Bathroom needs painted since a new shower was put in last year and some ceiling paint flaked off when some tiles were removed to let the plumber get access. Are your homes always immaculate? How do you keep on top of it all? Not sure how we will be able to get a anyone in to do anything while Covid is around either!

[billy1966]

We have a really lovely home and a lovely garden.
But having a nice home to enjoy is important to us.
My home is my sanctuary.

Storage really helps in a home.
Not holding on to stuff you no longer use nor need really helps too.

Doing small jobs that need doing helps.
Maintenance of a home and garden to keep them looking well takes time and effort.

A freshly painted house that is tidy and clean is a very good start to having a nice home.

Not permitting children to make a complete mess all over a house also helps.

My children have been taught to keep their rooms tidy.
To tidy up after themselves.
To leave the bathrooms is a decent condition after they use them, same with the kitchen and living areas.
Do the like this. No.
But I have insisted that they learn to tidy up after themselves.

This makes a huge difference in a house of 6.
It means we live in a nice, organised, tidy house.
We all play a part in that.

[areyoubeingserviced]

Well, I must be extremely dull. I like to have a clean home.
I look after my home because living in a shabby home would have an adverse effect on my mental state.

[Bluntness100]

Some people care and some don't

Most do care, even if they are living in a home they feel is untidy/shabby etc. That’s the reason there is bitchy comments against those who are able to maintain their homes.

Very few people look at their run down or messy home and feel some form of pleasure. Very few look at peeling paint or ancient Lino and think “I’m such an interesting person”. Genuinely they feel dismay or a desire to blank it from their minds, because focusing on it, causes a feeling of dismay.

[NotMeNoNo]

The thing is, a nice home can be tidy and decorated and pleasant to liv

[Stripeytopgirl]

It comes down to many things. Money, mainly. We’re always doing something but then we have to save up for the next thing & the next thing - it’s an on going project.

& it really depends how important it is to you, I get genuine joy from pottering around the house making things look nice. Some of my friends just find it a chore so don’t bother as much.

But YANBU, I genuinely think maintaining a property & making it all PERFECT takes a lifetime.

Unless you have buckets of money to throw at it all at once! (The dreammmm)

[Ireolu]

We bought a house that had not been decorated since the 70s last November. The kitchen and bathroom had been done in the last 15-20years though. We kept that as is (couldn't afford to change anyways) everything else got done quick in 4 weeks by recommended team of builders in time for us to move out of our rental.

In the next week we to have the drive and garden done. Not looking forward to the noise/dust or expense

We are generally tidy. But not extreme.

[flirtygirl]

"Only dull people have immaculate homes"

Is bullshit. It's a defensive crap non statement.

It's about priorities. Some people care and some don't. Most except the absolute poorest can improve their home. A tin of paint does not cost much. You have to know where to buy it from.

Lots of decor, furniture etc can be found very cheaply, even diy materials.

But it is about priorities. People who say it stayed like that for 5 years or 8 years show that it was not high up their to do list.

It is possible that in 5 or 8 years, you never had 2 or 5 or 10 hours to do anything to your home, but I doubt it. Also decluttering and tidying up are free. Most places look better just by doing that.

Children and pets are an excuse, if you care you work with what you have, including working around your household members. If you don't care then you don't bother.

[Zenithbear]

Immaculate isn't important. To me what's important is having things that you love in your home, decoration to your taste, lots of storage for all the necessary crap, being ruthless with clutter and a decent degree of cleanliness.

[Rosebel]

Our house is rented and it's in a horrible condition but the landlord (MIL) won't let us do anything. Needs rewiring, replumbing, ceiling is falling down in the hall, kitchen is tiny and needs replacing.
Thankfully we're moving out in August, was meant to be May but for obvious reasons was put on hold.
The house we're moving too is lovely and landlord has offered to decorate every 3 years. I can't wait.

[geojojo]

We bought recently and bought a project because of its potential and amazing location. We don't have enough savings to make it perfect now so it will be a slow renovation, however I am getting really into interior design and have found ways of doing things cheaply and learning new skills. Before this house I wasn't massively bothered about how my house looked as long as it was clean and tidy and would have rather spend money on holidays or clothes. I follow this guy on Instagram who said that you should just put things in your house which bring you joy rather than to be fashionable or please others. I'm trying to live by that! As long as you are happy - people prioritise their money in different ways.

[SerenDippitty]

I do a weekly Pilates class via zoom and I make damn sure all that's visible is my fireplace.

[PipGirl404]

Comparison is the thief of joy!

If you're happy in your house and it's comfortable and you enjoy it - stuff it looking perfect!

I have what folk would call a "show home" type house. It's always clean and immaculate but that's because that is what makes me happy - but that changes! Some weeks it's a shambles and there's stuff everywhere and I just can't be arsed with it being tidy.

Roll with what makes you happy at the time is about all we can do.

[cyclingmad]

Or maybe those with immaculate houses just keep it that way, it isnt hard to do if you sint have much stuff cluttering up areas and I clean as I go. When I use something I out it back instead of leaving it lying about

Doesnt mean I dont have a soul I just do things differently

[Bluntness100]

I’m not sure all the slinging of insults at folks with nice homes is having the desired effect to be honest, I’m fairly sure it’s back firing 🤣🤣🤣

[NotMeNoNo]

My video calls have a carefully staged and tidied background. If I turned the camera the other messy side of the room would be revealed. Dont be taken in by staging or virtual backgrounds!

[Weebitawks]

Well we moved into our house when in was new 3 years ago, so everything was pretty spot on when we moved and it was just a case of decorating it to our taste. The walls were white so we didn't have to rush around.

Some of the walls we haven't painted are quite grubby

I most definitely pick a good spot for video calls.

[Ravenclawgirl]

I don't trust houses that look immaculate. It makes me think the people who live there have no soul

This

[BeatrixPottersAlterEgo]

@thenightsky i bloody well hope he is intending to replace it!

[SerenDippitty]

What's the phrase?

"Only dull people have immaculate homes."

Or

“Better a house unkept than a life unlived”

[Wiaa]

My house always looks untidy and shabby, it stays looking tidy for all of 5 minutes. I've no idea how people keep everything looking pristine. As for decorating we've not long finished the last room and the first rooms done look shabby again now. As it happens we're having an extension soon and every room except the bathroom and ds4 room will need redecoration. It never ends

[cyclingmad]

Also I dont have too much stuff, not quite a minimalist but it does help to keep my house looking 'showroom' ready, then again I like walking into a room and its look like that so yes i might live comfortably but end of the night the throw on the sofa is out back, cushions put back in right place and when I wake up in the morning and come down it makes me smile as it looks beautiful

[OurChristmasMiracle]

I moved about 6 months ago and mine was freshly decorated, carpeted and new kitchen and bathroom when I moved in so it probably does look show homey. I’m a single person on my own. No kids at home and I clean up behind myself. It’s not a massive space but it does almost always look spotless.

[sassbott]

Why do you need someone round to paint a bathroom or lay Lino? Both are simple DIY jobs.

My house is far from immaculate but each spring I get a list of jobs up that I want to get through that year. Unless you have money to burn paying someone else to decorate (I don’t), I’m with the posters saying if you do little parts each year, you stay on top of it. Otherwise I do think over time that tired paintwork etc starts to make anyone’s house look grubby.

[questionsquesiotionsquestions]

We moved into our flat 4 years ago and painted one small wall. We’ve decided to sell so I’ve painted most of the flat and we’ve done up the garden. I’m so surprised how cheaply and quickly we’ve pulled it together.
But what else is can you do in lockdown?
I doubt in our normal day to day life we would have ever found the time!

[cyclingmad]

My house is now 95% perfect just need to redo the downstairs toilet and bathroom but even they aren't bad it looks out of style compared to the rest of the house.

I painted all my rooms myself including ceilings. I did invest in an interior designer to help with furniture and room designs and was worth every penny.

You can easily do things on low budget like paint the bathroom and ceiling yourself. You can get some fake grass to cover your concrete and some plant pots with flowers for colour.