To wonder how on earth people's houses are so pristine

[Cluelessat33]

So I'm a single Mum, two dogs, two cats, a 5 year old. After looking at my hallways today, which looked like it had never been hoovered, despite me hoovering it last night (and every night before). I cannot comprehend how peoples houses are so pristine. I mean honestly. I feel like I'm constantly washing up, clearing away, tidying away, hoovering, wiping, tidying. And the house still feels like a pit.

And then I stray by mistake across these Instagram video of people 'styling' their bookcase, or who have the time for a porch Halloween display and I wonder if I'm just sloppy and lazy. I take pride in my home looking tidy... it just never feels like it does. I hate unexpected visitors who need to use the loo, just in case the 5 year old has left a friendly floater in the loo since I last checked it.

Am I unreasonable for wonder where the heck these people find the time and energy. Am I a bit of a scummy mummy!?

Everyone has a certain amount of mess in their home. It's usually when someone has just done a good clean and clear up that you see it. Although, when I haven't gotten around to clearing up, everyone calls, when I do clean no one calls, I'm nearly inviting people in off the street to view my cleaned home.

Having raised 5 kids I found those HUGE plastic boxes were brilliant, 2 in every room downstairs, at the end of the night everything got put in, from toys, shoes, crafts etc, lid on and stacked ontop of each other.

We don't have pets for various reasons, I do notice though, one of my sister's who does clean non stop her house never feels clean when you go in, while it's tidy, it looks grubby and feels dirty, even though I know it's not but she has lots of pets so I definitely reckon that this is why her house feels grubby.

If you have a full time job, kids. husband and/or animals, forget it! I sometimes dream of having my own house that I keep clean and tidy rather than having to share with my family...

Animals make the mess, always paw prints on floors, hair, maybe kitty litter kicked around. Add in their beds, toys, food bowls, water bowls it’s a lot of stuff.
All I can suggest is cut down on clutter and have toy boxes everywhere.

My house is clean and tidy because it’s instinctive and something I just do automatically. I have a cleaner but day to day I’m just tidy as are 2 of my 3 children. I just close the bedroom door of the one who isn’t

Robot vacuum. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to Hoover but it keeps it looking clean between jobs. A few dumping cupboards to hide mess. cleaning wipes in a few drawers around the house.

Get a robot hoover - mine has been a complete game changer.

Single parent, two kids and one incredibly furry cat means there are always crumbs, clumps of hair, bits of cat litter paddled out of the litter tray etc etc. I’d hoover once a week and by day two it looked like I hadn’t even bothered.

Robot hoover goes on every day as soon as we leave for work/school (never overnight unless you want to run the risk of smearing a hairball across the living room). I’m not joking that I come in after work now and I’m amazed at how clean it is downstairs - can’t believe it’s actually my house and I didn’t even have to do anything. It’s really helped me feel a lot calmer in general as I don’t like mess but have so little time to do anything about it and can’t really justify the cost of outsourcing the cleaning. Rest of the house is a different story but at least there is one bit that I know is always clean now!

A house that's lived in is far better than a house that's pristine imo

See even this I find too much ☺️

I had one, but it kept catching under our coffee table, sofas, bottom of the sideboard, or in the forest of dining chair legs.

My two dogs create a ton of dust on skirting boards, hair on carpets and hard floors, damp pawprints on the floors, etc which doesn't help, and you have kids.

But mostly: when people post pristine houses on social media, they usually show one room or a tiny part of one room, and out of shot the rest of the house is probably a complet epigsty. People do those reveal videos where they reveal how their house actually looks on a day to day basis, and it's the same as the rest of us - mess and clutter, floors need hoovering or cleaning, laundry piled up etc. Don't buy into the myth that everyone has a perfectly clean and tidy house all the time, because if they have kids, pets, a job etc...they don't.

I so agree with everyone saying animals can be messy, it's only really easy to keep up with it when you aren't parenting though! As a gran I could now have a menagerie and still be 'visitor ready' complete with homemade cakes! Not so much when I was a mum though, plenty of time now to declutter, sort and organize . Do what you can and enjoy your life!

I've had a bit of success with the minimal mum method. And getting a timer and doing only 5 minutes in a room. Less stuff is definitely the answer. And routines even 5 minute ones. Also I've been watching the minimal mom on YouTube. She can be a bit of a smug pain in the neck but has some really good ideas. Like less stuff for a start. I know a few folk with pristine immaculate houses. But I will never be like them.

Not unreasonable you are a genuine kind normal person. Life is not about a spotless house

I don't get it either. My skirting boards, cupboard doors, normal doors are always so dirty. I don't get it!
I feel like newer houses somehow don't attract dirt as much!