Am I being unreasonable to think Instagram perfect houses don’t exist ?

[ScarlettnotOHara]

I am a neat freak and like to think I have a good flair for interior design but I constantly struggle to keep the house tidy !! AIbu to think that nobody unless you have full time staff or ocd cleaning have these Instagram perfect houses/lifestyle? Just laughing at the video I just watched of an immaculately dressed lady arranging her hydrangeas and lighting her Jo Malone candles whilst her croissants bake in the oven 😂

They probably do, but most of them tidy up for the picture. You only see one clean corner, don't know what's going on in the other rooms.

I'm an interiors blogger and have a reasonably big following on Instagram - I often joke that the house is hardly ever as pictured! With 2 kids and a full time job it's impossible.

I sometimes post 'reality vs Insta' reels but people don't seem to like those as much as the seemingly 'perfect' ones! 😂

One of my neighbours has a house instagram account. House is immaculately beige and full of #gifted items and artfully displayed crap. Children can’t fart for being photographed and put on instagram. Children spend too much of their time wearing #gifted clothing, an apron and standing on a stool beside a bunch of flowers mixing cake mix with a wooden spoon.
Every time I see her she is screaming I the street at her poor kids.

My stovetop is often artfully adorned with a cascading pile of dirty pans...

I’ve just discovered this incredible account, which is exactly the minimalist aesthetic I aspire to but all DD’s plastic crap and DP’s wires prevent me from having: instagram.com/besspier?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

My parents house is like this.
They are 'clean as you go' people, so if they were making cheese on toast, the cheese would be wrapped back in the fridge straight away, the knife and chopping board would quickly be hand washed, dried and put away, the over would be quickly wiped down after. They'd take it through to the living room to eat then as soon as it's finished, they'd take the plate back to the kitchen, wash, dry and put away. Any crumbs would be hoovered up with the hand vac.

Now me on the other hand, I'd probably manage to put the cheese away (unless I wasn't sure if I was going to make another one) and the chopping board and knife would end up next to the sink. The plate will be in the living room for the rest of the day.

My theory is that since they have lived in the house for over 30 years, everything in their house has a well established home. They don't have incoming mounds of plastic toys twice a year, bags and bags of children's clothes that don't fit but you may use again in future, or piles and piles of kids artwork (that I can't possibly throw away). Plus they are retired, still quite young and fit and healthy. They have the time and ability to stay on top of everything.

I do not.

My house used to be supertidy and clean.... and then I had a kid.

My kid can tornado a room within two minutes.

I'm definitely a put-away person rather than put down. And I have had a major declutter (heading for minimalism) drive these past 18 months.

The result is a flat which is really easy to keep tidy and clean despite 2 DC.

But its not insta worthy cos the furniture is mismatched, old and comfy. And I won't replace until necessary.

Our new cat has made us even tidier - even cups need putting away immediately otherwise he plays with them and knocks them over 🤦‍♀️

Because they don't like footprints on their rugs or in the middle of carpets.

We have a room in our house that can go 2-3 weeks after a hoover and still have the lines on the carpet. It isnt like that because we are super proud or tidy. We just dont use it unless as we spend time elsewhere in the house as a family. I suppose that would be our Instagram room