Open the curtains or leave them closed?

[FrazzledKoala]

Curious to know what you do/would do - if you leave for work before it gets light in the mornings, and get home when it’s dark again, do you open your curtains/blinds in the morning to close them again when you arrive home or leave them closed all day?

I’ve been told that my choice is strange so wondered what other people do!

I always open the curtains in the morning even though you can only see the windows if you come through the gates onto our drive. Closed curtains equal empty house for me so I would prefer it isn’t obvious.

Growing up the curtains being closed all day meant someone had died . Stems from Catholic tradition of having the body at home for people to visit . If the sun comes out it warms the house a bit if the curtains are open. Close them as soon as it’s dusk to keep the heat in.

Open. The cats prefer it that way.

I open them so the houseplants get a "feed" during the day 😀i was also told that it made the house look more occupied and so less likely to be burgled, but I'm not really sure that's true...!

Are you speaking to us from the 1950s? “unhouseproud”? Come on🤣

OP I leave the one to the front open, and the one to the garden closed because no one can see through that one.

I open them. Doesn't feel right leaving them closed all day.

^ this. Am actually hedging my bets with half open …

Hi op, in your situation I would open my bedroom blind when i got up and make bed. I would then just leave front downstairs ones half open. This way it wouldn't matter if i was too tired to close them later. It would work better with venetian though, slightly tilted so they are good day and night really without adjusting.

Leave them closed, then all the nosy neighbours can get wound up over it.

Before you know it, you'll have a letter through the door, telling you how you are lowering the standards of the street.

Depends on the outside temperature. If it's not likely to go above 18deg outside I keep them shut to keep the heat in. Couldn't give a toss if anyone thinks I'm not house proud, we need to keep the bills down as much as possible

"Leave them closed, then all the nosy neighbours can get wound up over it."

"Before you know it, you'll have a letter through the door, telling you how you are lowering the standards of the street."

Or how unhouse-proud you are 😂

Same

Surely the house looks empty if the curtains are moved. So more likely of burglary.

I’d open them from a security point of view. We leave a lamp on all day in the house so it doesn’t look empty by the evening.

I open mine when it gets light, but before I leave for work I close them again. I hate coming home in the dark and all my curtains are open.

I thought curtains closed in the day meant there’d been a death in the house. I’m not sure if that’s a real Thing or something my mom told me is a Thing though.

I think the house looks empty though if you leave the curtains closed so when I lived in a house I opened them.

Open. Something off about always having your curtains closed all day

Open. Let any heat from the sun in. Closed all day during a heatwave.

Open them as curtains all closed in the daytime in winter is a giveaway to burgalars you're out?

Keep them closed. It's not something I even think about on a morning.

North facing front of house, everything remains closed. South facing back of house, everything is open.

According to my Nan that’s exactly what closed curtains meant!
Nowadays I just think it means people are in bed all day or couldn’t be arsed to open them.

I open them as I feel sad for my plants sitting the dark all day.

My cat wouldn’t be thrilled. She likes to see what’s happening outside.

Depends on how much time I have and whether I give it any thought. To be honest with peri menopause brain fog I'm pretty lucky I remember to get dressed in the morning before I leave.

My kids leave after me though and are home before me so I'm never sure on the days I forget whether they have opened them before leaving and then closed them when it gets dark.