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?!

Yes, the minority, but still a lot higher than pre-pandemic (16% v 10%).

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/mentalhealth/articles/costoflivinganddepressioninadultsgreatbritain/latest

I think Covid staying indoors so much and social distancing with masks made people feel more at ease with slobby and unhygienic everything. Ironically.
I guess some people with job loss and working from home started skipping a day then more and nobody said anything because it's impolite.
Laundry and energy bills cost a fortune. Soap is cheap but hotter water and laundry costs.
Maybe people are depressed and we all know how neglecting self care is depression 101.

For what i read on MN people cant clean up and keep their homes clean because they have kids.
I will never understand it.
Open a window get rid of the clutter you dont use thats a big start.
Having less in more.

I do think it's more likely to be depression with a lot of people. When I was depressed my self care was non-existent.

Many people are working long hours, trying to make ends meet. It's a grind and I can see why they would feel low. Soap may only be 10p but you need the motivation to use it!

Likewise keeping on top of dishes or whatever. Maybe after a long day they just can't face it. Then the job becomes bigger and more unmanageable. I just feel bad for anyone in that situation. Very few people actively choose to live in such a way.

Thanks and yes I’d expect to see this. But it’s still close to 90 percent not in this boat, and some posters are writing like everyone in the uk can’t afford warm water to wash, or to afford to launder their clothes, and living in sub par housing. There is absolutely no doubt a small percentage of the population is in this situation sadly, but it’s far from the majority.

Only one of my neighbours cleans windows and sweeps front. It's nothing to with cost of living or time. The neighbours are clueless about being neat and tidy.

I don't think people are "getting" scruffier, I think there have always been wide variations in what people consider acceptable in their various types of presentation to the world.

Some people have to be perfectly turned out whenever they leave home, some don't put a brush through their hair for days on end and never change their clothes. Some people live in show-homes and can't live with a speck of dust on the living room table, others life surrounded by piles of rubbish with empty pizza boxes everywhere and dishes piled in the sink.

The factors behind this are wide-ranging and include money, time available, perception of what is important in life, happiness, class and demographics, physical health etc etc.

But I don't believe it's changed really. There have always been scruffy people and people who don't really give a shit, you're just coming into contact with more of it than you might have chosen to ordinarily.

There was a post on a local Facebook page asking why so many people were going round the local shopping centre in their pjs and dressing gown. This is the town centre. I don't understand how any just leaves the house in their nightwear for an afternoon of shopping and thinks that is OK!

Yep I've noticed. It's my job to help people and I'd help absolutely anyone but it is sometimes really difficult to not gag. I'd always do my best to never make it obvious that they stink.

@Thepeopleversuswork to some extent it’s true to say there’s always been some scruffy people but it is far more prevalent now.

i don’t understand how it can be so onerous to keep clean.

I agree with you. We have seen houses like this on and off for nearly 3 decades. From the entry level ftb type home and onwards up the ladder. Some just really unhygienic ways of living.

look at any public or plane toilet, some people are completely minging. Some people don’t hoover or clean their homes, don’t groom themselves, and it’s nothing to do with money in many instances. It can be a variety of issues, from mental health to simple laziness. Time is seldom a factor, many of us work and have kids on here and we are able to give the house a clean round weekly or fortnightly. Quite simply this is nothing new.

You're right OP, I've noticed this with a couple of neighbours and family members in recent years letting their once lovely houses go to ruin and not seeming in the slightest bit bothered. It's sad but they have MH issues or other stressful things going on. Maybe this is getting more common, or people have less support.

I don't think it's COL. I grew up poor and lack of disposable income in itself isn't a reason for scruffiness or a dirty home. There will be bigger issues going on alongside/worsened by poverty that mean people have stopped caring or aren't coping.

I think the hygiene of some people has dropped considerably since Covid. People got used to not leaving the house and therefore the pressure to wash (clothes and self) wasn't so much. Now lots of hybrid working happens and if you are just popping to the shops quick, some people don't always think they need a full shower and new clean clothes.

There is also the cost of heating, electric and food coming into play. People really are chosing between heating and eating. Running a washing machine and then trying to get clothes dry is expensive - especially over the winter. Lots of people are wearing washed but musty smelling clothes as they are struggling to dry them in damp cold houses. People are putting their heating on less and washing is sat about drying for days. There is also the wash at 20 movement, whilst it is good for the planet it doesn't kill all the bacteria in clothes (especially clothes people sweat in) and every so often they need a good hot wash to kill everything off. Many modern washing machines have 15 and 20 minute fast washes but can only really wash 2 or 3 kg of clothes to a decent standard. People are overloading their machines either through necessity or not been aware (so it's not washing properly) on too short a cycle.

There is also a lot of overwhelm I think, people are working long hours, managing their home life, managing tighter and tighter budgets. Some peoples MH is in decline making things more difficult to do.

The tenanted houses I can understand, it is horrid been a tennant at the moment. The rental market is very hot and very expensive. Feeling like you might lose your home if it sells must be awful. Better to make it a state so you can stay in longer.

See, I disagree. I know what OP means about people being a lot scruffier. But I'll bet those same people have all got iPhone?

I haven’t read the full thread, but I also think the mental health crisis (probably magnified by the cost of living crisis) is a big factor.

I just don’t think that people who are mentally well walk around stinking of BO in clothes they’ve worn for weeks without washing and living in filth.

When my MH has been low, washing my hair or doing laundry felt like climbing Mount Everest sometimes. Brushing my teeth or cleaning the kitchen felt like running a marathon. I still did it but it took so much more energy than it should have.

Thats my take anyway.

Do you have any actual evidence for this though? I really don't think it's got any worse. I've been aware for decades of people who for a wide range of reasons don't take any care of their appearance or don't clean or tidy their homes.

I think there is evidence that people dress more casually for work these days (and COVID did have an impact on that) but that's a slightly different point.

This all just feels like a bit of a rant about standards which is fair enough but I've yet to see any real evidence that people are messier/scruffier than they were. It's just that the OP has noticed it because she is house-hunting.

You forgot the massive televisions all with Sky. Go on, you know you want to.

And whilst you couldn't pay me to have an iphone, I'm pretty sure they're next to nothing when you sign up for a pay monthly contract.

Gosh its the opposite where i live. Everyone's house is like a show home, immaculate, very empty with clear surfaces and it feels like everyone redecorates constantly and is bang on trend. When i was a child family homes looked more lived in, no one had a gleaming new kitchen or bouji looking stylish furniture.

i so agree front gardens where i live are just left and look terrible

i agree with the places for sale i often go on rightmove and the state of some places i cant believe and of course they are not all tenants

i hate hate litter and being untidy some of these homes look dirty and there is a differrence between a bit messy vs looks really dirty and not nice

The £3.50 round trip on the bus to Tesco's to find that it's out of stock could be a bit of a bugger, though.

Agree, I was starting to wonder if I was losing my sense of smell as it's not something I have noticed at all. Perhaps I'm not getting close enough to people and don't use public transport very much although was in London a few weeks ago and on the tube a lot and didn't notice it. Perhaps it's me who smells!

I don't think it's any worse than it used to be. I used to work in a solicitors office years ago and the clients stank well some of them - the smell of abject poverty and hopelessness is a unique one and it's not a bit of BO or someone that's only showered once a week. It was that bad the office would stink so we had a spare office downstairs that we used and would keep the door open - well you'd keep the door open partly because of the smell, partly as some of them were a bit unpredictable so if they went for you it was easy to get out. I wonder if cigarette smoke hid the smell as well - less people smoking proper cigarettes now?

It feels odd the houses were messy with dirty dishes and stuff at a viewing. Unless the EA kind of burst in on them and they hadn't time to clean. They could be working very long hours? As for the holes in the walls, that's someone with anger issues, or maybe a behavioral/ disability? If it's superficial then try and see past it. It's hard to imagine the house totally bare and empty when it's a mess.
As for people having BO more? I can't say I've noticed. I catch the occasional whiff, usually from a man, but it's certainly a minority.
I am pretty low maintenance and if someone saw me now they would probably think I'm a total tramp! I guess a lot of people don't care as much since WFH started, and Covid. It kind of made everyone feel like they can walk around in their pyjamas a bit more maybe? I always had to be smart-ish for the office but so many people are no longer office based.

No I don't. They're all stacked sadly behind our garage. I have a rose that needs a prune in a pot and that's all I have potted now

I viewed a property where the photos looked good but the house was wrecked - current tenants still there. I had missed the bit in the ad where it said the photos were from prior to the most recent rental