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?!

I really don’t think it was worth you policing thread.

And yes, it is pertinent when an item is 200% more expensive than someone says it is.

About the lack of personal ckeanliness - as a child, I grew up in real poverty. No bathroom or indoor toilet, no heating or washing machine. My parents made sure that we were all (4 kids) clean and tidy, our shoes polished, clothes ironed (I probably had 5 outfits to wear)

Yes, when someone’s says it’s like 10p and it’s actually 30p it’s totally worth attacking them.

I thought this was going to be about lowering aesthetic standards and people going to the supermarket in pyjamas or living in gym wear.

I’m absolutely feral about presentation, but I always start and end the day clean (I encounter a lot of mud at work!). What the OP is describing is next level grim.

I don't assume renters keep their homes to a lower standard than homeowners, if you read my post you would see that most of the properties I have looked at are owner occupied!
For reference me and my husband work full time and have 2 (now older children) we still manage/d to keep ourselves and the house clean and tidy.
Like I've said before, this post isn't really about people that smell a little bit musty because they are struggling to wash and dry clothes properly (sorry to anyone offended). It is more about those that are clearly not washing their clothes/themselves for days (weeks?) at a time.....it is a very strong smell of BO that you don't just notice, it hits you!!
I do think that for most people keeping their homes & themselves clean and fresh is probably optimal, I doubt many enjoy living somewhere with dishes piled up in the sink and the loo stinking of urine no matter how much they say they don't see the benefit of housework!!
Of course there have always been people like this but there definitely seems to be a huge leap in numbers at the moment, especially younger people that had to be prized out of the shower before spraying themselves in lynx/impulse, plenty of 15-25's smell foul at the moment.

There are definitely more people around who smell bad. I’ve noticed it’s often people in uniform. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that long, hard shifts wearing polyester that you then put back on and do the same in the next day is going to have that result. I wonder if employers don’t provide as many sets per worker as they used to in a crappy attempt to cut costs, or if they make staff pay for them, so they try to buy as few as possible.

Why so dramatic?

If anyone’s attacking anyone, it’s you attacking me.

Get a grip. And yes, you’re another one who doesn’t have to buy 10p or 30p soap I bet but happy to spout off on how plebs can afford it.

It sounds very sad, if your self respect is based on demonstrating cleanliness to others. The performative aspect turns it from reasonable (keeping your home in the state you like) to annoying and judgemental.

I want to keep my home healthy and practical for me. I don't give a damn about ticking someone else's boxes.

I would understand if the OP complained about major disrepair, but plates in the sink and crumbs on the worktops, really?

I wonder if a lot of people have some degree of depression that impacts their self care. The last few years have been really tough, so it wouldn't be a surprise.

Oh don't be so picky

I think the reasons have already been given

Mental health issues, lack of time in a fast paced world, COL

There also used to be a bit more community in the past that you don't see these days, where you might care how well turned out you were.

I think this must be a factor as it is for me. I have to choose between having a tidy home, laundry, having well groomed, well cared for kids or taking care of myself and I can't do it all so the self care goes out the window. I generally look and must smell worse than I'd like because of this. I wouldn't call it life, I'd call it survival.

It used to be that the man would go to work and the women would either only work PT or not work at all and would have time to cook and clean all day.

Someones home who has an adult at home all day is going to be a lot tidier than one with both adults working or a single parents.

I think we have a lot more stuff now too.

We also have lots more other activities - phones, internet, Netflix etc which means that people are less bored.

People also dress sloppily nowadays thanks to fast fashion.
Im always fascinated looking at old photos taken in public places (Ie high street) and people look put together and polished.

For those who are not having financial troubles, could it be that working from home has made people think that they don’t need to wash as often?
My head of dept reeks and I am sure it’s nothing to do with money. I think he just thinks showering (and teeth brushing 🤮 for that matter) doesn’t need to be done every day. He seems to be able to do both for client meetings, so maybe we’re just not deemed worthy of the effort.

I think this is also true. COVID has really hit some people hard with the self isolation. You also didn't need to present yourself to the outside world as much. Lots of depressed adults, with less money, greater stress and a decline in public services to support them. Heating water now costs a lot more than it did two years ago.

Maybe there is depression ... having to sell and not wanting to buy forced to.
Domestic violence too by the sounds of things.
My ex husband tore all our doors off including kitchen and fridge door and ripped out electricity and phone cabels. Threw an iron at the tv and smashed sauce bottles up the walls of the kitchen.
Then we finally got him out and he was happy to leave the children living like that. It took me ages and help from a charity to get it to a reasonable state to market it but it looked terrible in my opinion still.

Cleaning and maintenance require time and money which people often don't have. I think to some extent people have given up - everyone working all hours, still broke, can't rely on anything they're paying taxes for, shelling out a fortune for poor quality housing - they just can't be bothered any more.

Do you have a spectacularly low level of comprehension?
It wasn't just a few plates in the sink, they were piled up...even if there were 4 people in the house it was at least a couple of days worth of washing up!
The crumbs weren't just a few from that morning, they were the sticky kind that had hardened onto the worktop over days, the urine stains around the loo....god knows! How long do you have to leave urine before it turns that nasty orange colour and stinks the upstairs out?
Cleaning any of that up would hardly be 'performative' would it?
Good to know you have incredibly low standards though.

I went to the shops today and I noticed the exact same thing. Sooooo many people smelled musty. I think it must be cost of living with the price of heating and tumble drier. Some people also smelled of old BO.

I mean I didn’t look amazing, just normal. Jeans, converse and a jacket. But all washed and dried well (ie no musty smell). I had a shower and done my hair in the previous 24 hours. Deodorant and teeth brushed.

I agree with this and it has been raining endlessly where I live! Usually I’d get washing out on cool dry days but it’s currently impossible - it’s warmer in the daytime now, so we don’t have heating on as much and you can’t dry clothes on cold radiators in a house that’s 16 degrees.

I think that’s some people. I don’t believe for one moment this is the general condition of the population, this doomsday Orwellian view of the British population all walking about minging, in sub par houses , depressed is a minority, not the majority.

That sounds really tough.

People used to know their neighbours. And then you'd get those who would gossip and it would get around the community. People tended to not travel so far for work, so gossip could stop your husband from getting a promotion. Bank managers would interview you before you'd get a mortgage and it would be based partly on his opinion.

My grandma lived through this and really cared what her neighbours would think. The front garden was always neat, she wouldn't leave the house without hair styled and a little makeup, the curtains and windows had to be washed and opened early enough that people wouldn't think she had slept in.

But now why would we care. My neighbour see me taking out the bins in my PJs all the time. There aren't the same consequences. And the only reason I keep myself and my house clean, tidy and presentable is because I take responsibility for my own health/mental health and those in my family.

I don't think the majority of people are walking around stinky and going home to filthy houses though are they?
My house is generally clean, but scruffy as anything because we can't afford to do the work. I don't think that's unusual at all.