To think people are getting scruffier?

[HomeIsHardToFind]

I am currently house hunting, I have been in a lot of properties recently and to be honest I have been shocked by the state of them!
They look fine in the estate agents photos but when you get there it's a different story.....plates and bowls piled up in the sink, crumbs all over work surfaces, disgusting ovens and urine stains/smells in the loo!
My 'favourite' was the house that had holes punched in the doors of every room (double checked the agents pics and they definitely didn't exist at the time they were taken!).
I get it, I can clean if we bought the house etc, but if you are selling your biggest asset and you want the most amount of money possible surely you make it look the best it can for viewings? I feel like I've stepped into an alternative universe at the moment!
I have also noticed that many more people out and about stink. Not just a bit of a pong or like they have a manual job and haven't showered for 24 hours but full on makes me dry heave absolutely stink!!
I put some fuel in the car this morning and the 'gentleman' that came into the garage as I was leaving smelled rancid, it must have been days and days since he had washed🤢 I could smell him outside in the fresh air!
Maybe I'm getting on (I don't think so, only early 40's!!) but I seem to remember people having more pride in themselves, their home and their families (don't get me started on some of the poor kids I've seen with such greasy hair it looks like it's been stuck to their head with chip oil☹️).
Sometimes I wonder if its COL biting but then I think about people I've known that grew up in the 60's and 70's that were dirt poor taking pride in how clean their mothers managed to keep them with nothing but soap and hot water, so I think the only difference is that the pride has gone?
Has anyone else noticed this or am I just unluckily surrounded by scruffy buggers?!

It's like 10p for a bar of Tesco Value soap so I doubt it's COL.

I've definitely noticed more smelly people out and about, but I thought it's to do with the cost of living crisis and perhaps not washing adequately and not doing laundry as often as before.

I do live in an area with high levels of deprivation, though, especially in some specific areas.

Maybe the properties are currently rented in which case I can understand why people wouldn't make the effort, especially if they are being evicted for the property to be sold.
I definitely agree with you about people stinking. I have a very acute sense of smell and it makes me wretch sometimes. I think a lot of older people are struggling, a lot of people are struggling to heat homes adequately so clothing smells musty, there are a lot of people ( especially middle aged / older men) with drink problems and you can smell it on them.
People are also working all hours to survive and couples often both working full time to survive and pay increased mortgages, so not a lot of time left for cleaning. there are a lot of ill people - long covid/ fibro/ ME type conditions- perhaps people just don't have the energy?
As part of my work I go into a lot of people's homes, a lot of houses smell, have excrement stains on the floor, full of clutter and dirt. There are a lot of people struggling and overwhelmed right now.

But it's not just that is it - there's the cost of heating water, washing and drying clothing etc. you can wash all you like with 10p soap but if you're not able to shower or bathe adequately and are putting dirty clothing back on you are still going to smell.

@Babyroobs I always managed to have everyone in clean non-smelly clothes when I was a single Mum on benefits. There's a lot of choice involved in what you choose to spend your money on in these situations.

Some very well off people put dirty clothes back on and stink.

It seems odd alright, on an average day our house is rarely visitor clean but if we were selling owed have it immaculate. Only thing is if people are renting and not given warning or you just happened to come on a bad day (not the hole in the door though!!!)

I looked around a house they hadn't even made the beds. Again I can look past that but I just wouldn't do the same thinh when presenting a house to sell.

Not just 10p for the soap though. It's heating the water,people not drying clothes properly because turning the heating on is expensive/running the tumble dryer etc.

Some houses from the outside certainly look, not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as they used to. Mine included to be honest. I used to have planters and hangers etc. But I just can't afford anymore. There is no excuse for the dirty louts across the road with their bags and bags of shit the foxes and cats keep getting into and spreading about the place!

Yes well not everyone gets benefits to top them up - especially not single older people on a low wage who get no help. And people who are on benefits with no kids will get very little compared to those with kids ! Good for you managing to keep everyone in clean clothes but some families find this more difficult for a whole number of reasons, debts, financial abuse etc.

When we had no kids and fairly junior jobs we just about managed to work 40 hours plus commute and also tidy the house. Now we have more senior jobs plus kids and it’s an impossible task. Tons more laundry and ironing, tons of toys to clean up, extra meals to cook, then we spend hours doing homework and taking them to activities and playing with them. It eats up all of our time. I barely keep on top of the laundry never mind keep the house clean!

Harder to get clothes dry when you can't afford heat, hard to get everyone showered every day due to cost of heating water, etc etc etc

People are getting poorer, like cannot afford to put the washing machine on that often poorer.
Also, drying clothes is a fucking nightmare.
Like giving the kids a bath or shower in a freezing cold house does not sound great.
And, yes, the lost of morale I can sense it amongst the people walking in the street too.

Estate agent could’ve quite easily touched up the photos and brushed over damage with the doors.

my house is always tidy for viewings, but there are so many bloody timewasters out there I don’t blame a busy family leaving bowls in the sink if they are trying to rush out the door.

Also, regarding holes on doors, maybe the Estate Agent used a bit of photoshop for that one?

You only have to read the threads on here about how often people shower to realise why there are so many smellly people around

I have also noticed a lot more smelly people (men) around. Enough to even wonder if my sense of smell is changing at 40. I don't think it is though. Possible hangover from Covid lockdowns with a bit of CoL crisis? But I had to leave a small shop last week because someone stank so badly. Yesterday I packed my groceries beside a man who couldn't have washed for weeks. You can wash over the sink with a flannel and cold water fgs.

I haven’t noticed the people smelling thing but lots of people have mentioned it so I’m guessing it’s COL combined with everyone feeling down.

As for the houses, it sounds like these might be rental tenants.

@Lumiodes move heaven and earth to get a cleaner. You’ll never look back.

I fully understand this! My house is always clean and tidy but not 'viewing ready' at all times, that is exactly my point - I put a massive effort into making it ready for people to look around, lots of people just don't seem to care 🤷‍♀️
Some of the houses we've looked at definitely had tenants in, obviously I wouldn't expect those to be pristine, but most of them have been owner occupied (we've been shown around by the owners!) and they are still scruffy and look very unloved!! They look like houses, not homes. It's quite hard to describe.
With regards to the smelly people though it seems like the issue has just exploded really recently.
There have always been smelly people but now there are so many of them and they absolutely stink!! Not just slightly musty clothes or unwashed for a day sort of smells, more like haven't washed for a week or changed clothes at all. It seems you either smell fresh as a daisy or you absolutely reek, there doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.
It does make me wonder if the lockdowns just removed societal expectations for so long some people just 'gave up'! Especially since pointing out that friends or family are not looking after themselves adequately is considered 'judgemental' or 'shaming them' rather than helping them fit into the society we all live in.
I'm sure COL plays a part as will medical issues etc but it does seem like a good few people could do with a kick up the arse to improve their standards.

Not noticed that people smell but alot of people don't have pride in keeping their gardens and outdoor áreas clean and tidy.
Remember when women used to clean the step lol
You don't see that now.
Lots of rubbish and litter around too.

Ah women these days

I think a lot of people are working so much they just don't have time/energy to bother.

I don't think I've ever read that anyone goes more than 2 days without a shower on those threads. Has there been threads I've missed where people aren't washing for an unreasonable amount of time?

Those were the days when one salary did a family. Who has time scrub their front step every Sunday?

My house is definitely not as tidy as it should be. I struggle to find the time, I’m a single parent with 4 children and work full time. Barely making ends meet so can’t afford a cleaner.

My house was always tidy when I worked part-time and only had 1/2 children (and a husband).

I find it very stressful that I can’t give the house the attention it needs.

Don’t judge.