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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is your home like a show home? If so, where is all your stuff?

137 replies

WorkerBee123 · 23/09/2025 18:55

So I would say I’m pretty tidy-I like it when there are no dishes on the side and the laundry is done, for example. But I live in a decent sized Victorian house with loads of books, plants and art etc (don’t mean to sound wanky). Recently went to someone’s house which was of the ‘executive home’ style-huge and virtually empty except for huge gorgeous sofas, massive island and a giant plant. I loved it! The bedroom was equipped with brand new empty drawers and bedside tables. My spare room is lovely, but there’s a full linen cupboard, drawers full of my stuff and camping gear under the bed. Even their garden was open and clear. Loved it-not my style but loved. Than I recently saw an ig post where the poster said she liked her house to look like no one lives there and that’s pretty much exactly the vibe this one had. Like I said, no judgement. I loved it. Could never achieve it in a million years. If you do, particularly if you live in an old house, how do you do it??

OP posts:
gmgnts · 23/09/2025 21:10
mary poppins cleaning GIF

My aesthetic is anti-minimalist clutter. I love it, but it would be nice to be a bit tidier!

NotABiscuitInSight · 23/09/2025 21:59

WinterFrogs · 23/09/2025 20:33

The soulless house comments interest me, because I have a lot of projects and hobbies but some happen outside - walking, volunteering with rescued horses, currently getting to grips with reclaiming some overgrown land. At home I like nothing better than sitting and reading, or learning new skills online. So I am at my happiest when my home is a relaxing and fairly minimalist space ( constant work in progress but 'stuff' does nothing for me really) I read on kindle or buy books then pass them on, so my home doesn't really reflect much about my interests.

Anyway @WorkerBee123 I imagine the trick is to have storage so that essentials like the ironing board and vacuum cleaner can be stowed away, and not have too much of anything else

Same. I don't collect, my stuff is transient.

I buy a second hand book, read it and donate it back. If I eber want to read it again, I can repurchase it.

I'm minimalist because it's relaxing to enjoy space, nice smells, clean bathrooms, kitchens, floors...and it's so much easier to keep clean.

My biggest peeve is having to do do one job to do another. Like going to make a meal and having to wash cutlery first or unstack the dishwasher. I'm a big believer in systems. Eat and tidy. Hoover and bathrooms on Thursdays so the house is relaxing all weekend. Easy to clean bathrooms when there is only a plant, one shampoo, conditioner and soap on show to move.

latetothefisting · 23/09/2025 22:30

yeah I think the minimalist homes = boring personalities is too easy a generalisation tbh.

It's like people who wear lots of band tees or put stickers on their car, to display their personality, or the oft-seen bragging about having 'books stacked three deep' on here to show how literary they are.

I have a degree in lit plus masters and read several books a week, if I kept them all I'd have neither the money nor space to buy new ones. If one of the 'three deep' MNetters came to my house they'd probably dismiss me as one of the plebs with a 'tv bigger than my bookshelf' (because I don't have a bookshelf!) - so what? My friends know I like reading and I get the benefit, that's enough for me.

Lots of people who have lived in multiple countries, don't have lots of stuff because storing/transporting it all every time they move is expensive and stressful.

Interesting people who are confident in their personalities don't feel the need to display evidence of them on their walls.

(obviously lots of people display stuff because they like looking at it, that's clearly fine, I'm talking about the 'oh they've got a modern, clean home, they must be very boring, not someone I, an eclectic intellectual bohemian, would have anything in common with'-ers).

latetothefisting · 23/09/2025 22:33

Also most of the time it's not the books, plants, emotional knick-knaks, etc. that make a house look cluttered. It's the junk. It's very possible to have a house that is very clean and tidy AND showcases the owners' personality/ies.

cupfinalchaos · 23/09/2025 22:43

Ours is like a show home apart from dh’s study. He’s a hoarder so I just shove his crap in there and shut the door!

Notmymarmosets · 23/09/2025 22:53

I really like a simple life and so hate 'stuff'.
I have empty surfaces because I don't want to spend longer cleaning than I have to. I have few plants as I don't want to nurture them. No books as I have electronic or audio. No music as I stream it. No DVDs.
My house is the background not the feature. My real life is not on show in my house. I don't want to be distracted from what I am doing today by looking after possessions. My memories are solid without momentos. So I don't buy, and chuck, donate or sell. Also rent or hire if possible, so no stowed camping stuff, carpet vacs, or just in case things.

QuizzlyBears · 23/09/2025 23:18

My house is 2500 sq ft and it is just me there most of the time as my partner works away, no children and no pets. Neither of us like clutter or ‘stuff’ and both appreciate a calm, scandì vibe to the decor. My house is tidy 99% of the time and the surfaces etc are clear aside from the odd plant/candle/coffee table book. I have a cleaner however, and feel like I am always doing something in the house to keep on top of things!! I am a ruthless declutterer and my only indulgence in the sense of stuff is clothes, but I have a bedroom converted into a walk in closet with clever storage built in. Storage is key, as well as less things overall.

WinterFrogs · 24/09/2025 07:00

Interesting people who are confident in their personalities don't feel the need to display evidence of them on their walls

Thank you for this @latetothefisting

RedRiverShore5 · 24/09/2025 07:02

Unfortunately the cure for our stuff problems would be to get rid of DH

TappyGilmore · 24/09/2025 07:10

My daughter’s room is like that. She doesn’t have any stuff - she just chucks it all away. I do think it’s easier now that everything is digital. When I was her age I had a room full of books, CDs, photos, etc.

The rest of the house is not. I have been quite attached to my stuff in the past. I am getting better at decluttering and at just not buying stuff. But there’s still a lot of stuff to go!

notedbiscuits · 24/09/2025 07:22

It’s like those people who spend thousands on a show off kitchen where they do very little in way of cooking and bare cupboards. They have very little out on the worktops.

notedbiscuits · 24/09/2025 07:27

I think the book thing comes from my DM, who spent 32/34 years working in libraries from public to university. Can take a person out of a library but can’t take the library out of a person. DM’s friends who worked in libraries have the same problem. I have a 6.5ft Billy bookcase with books. Parents have an entire wall (minus door) of smallest bedroom with bookcases- built in. Plus a 4 shelf bookcase in the conservatory.

XWKD · 24/09/2025 07:44

I never declutter. I only buy things that I value, but I probably look like a hoarder to anyone else. I don't think a home "says" anything about you. If you choose what you want it to say, then it doesn't really say anything at all, as it's a fake image.

I have stupidly large collections of some things like my musical instruments and hifi, but I love them all. It's not about presenting to the outside world, as nobody knows or cares about the significance of anyone else's stuff.

A friend is obsessed with literature, and she has a fascinating personality. Her house is almost empty, but it still feels like a wonderful home, because she's there.

MNJury · 24/09/2025 07:46

I would love to strike a happy medium with this and am fascinated how people achieve a clutter-free existence. My house is tidy, mostly, but an empty show home it is not. I am assuming that the majority who manage it do not have young children at least?

Kids stuff - puzzles/games/Lego. Treasured artwork bought home from school - yes it will end up in the recycling, but not immediately. Desks. Oh, kids desks... Primary or teenage, they are stuffed with stationary/paper/half done projects, have notice boards with magnets/pictures/photos/certificates etc. Yes you can try to keep them tidy and contain this stuff to their bedrooms but that is a big job in itself...

And then there is the rest of the house. All the things you store - decorating gear/craft supplies+sewing machine/off season clothes and shoes/music books/tools/baking stuff that doesn't fit in the main kitchen cupboards/seasonal decorations/a few boxes of childhood treasures, and so it goes on - they all take up space in the cupboards loft and garage.

Books. Ok, we have a lot of books. Some on display and some stored for different points in the children's lives. We don't have to do that, but it feels so huge to just chuck out boxes of favourites, many passed from grandparents or nice gifted hardbacks or favourite series. We do pass many on as we go, standard paperbacks are often in and out.

I really am not a buyer, but still we accumulate "stuff". Do people really not have this?! I wish I had less, but it's hard to know what to get rid of.

Dancingsquirrels · 24/09/2025 07:48

Regular decluttering and good storage

notedbiscuits · 24/09/2025 07:55

I find these properties with little stuff not warm and cosy.

Lilactimes · 24/09/2025 07:56

Notmymarmosets · 23/09/2025 22:53

I really like a simple life and so hate 'stuff'.
I have empty surfaces because I don't want to spend longer cleaning than I have to. I have few plants as I don't want to nurture them. No books as I have electronic or audio. No music as I stream it. No DVDs.
My house is the background not the feature. My real life is not on show in my house. I don't want to be distracted from what I am doing today by looking after possessions. My memories are solid without momentos. So I don't buy, and chuck, donate or sell. Also rent or hire if possible, so no stowed camping stuff, carpet vacs, or just in case things.

I really like this idea @Notmymarmosets .

I am not a hoarder but I dolike tangible things so everything is not reliant on wifi. But this sounds appealing.

AndSheDid · 24/09/2025 07:59

I’m baffled by anyone who wants their house to look like no one lives there. I once got this wrong with neighbours when we’d just moved in next door — their house looked uninhabited. Very maximalist decor (floral wallpaper, pelmets), but the hall had an empty hall table and mirror, the dining room an empty table and eight chairs, nothing on the walls, the living room a three-piece suite facing a tv and nothing else, and a kitchen with literally nothing on any work surface or table. They took the kettle out of a cupboard to boil it. In all the years we lived next door, I never saw so much as a pair of shoes in the hall or a bunch of keys on the hall table.

We thought they’d just moved in, but they’d lived there for over 20 years! Just their aesthetic was ‘busy but uninhabited’.

Lilactimes · 24/09/2025 08:16

WinterFrogs · 24/09/2025 07:00

Interesting people who are confident in their personalities don't feel the need to display evidence of them on their walls

Thank you for this @latetothefisting

😂 I also think that empty house vibe - amazing sofa, island, plant etc has still been thought about and curated in the same way as someone who has full bookcases and art everywhere - probably more so. Often the architecture itself is compelling - they’ve designed an amazing window, the flooring is expensive. As much thought will have gone into their walls, floor, storage, sofa as any other more full home,

HeyThereDelila · 24/09/2025 08:28

I couldn’t live like that. I like a house that looks like a home: pictures, books, children’s “art” on the kitchen walls. I don’t like places that look sterile; I feel like I’m making them untidy just by sitting down in them.

Astrabees · 24/09/2025 08:31

My house isn’t ‘t cluttered but I really don’t like a soulless minimal look. I have a wall of books in my study, plenty of art on the walls and some patterned curtains, lots of colour on the walls. I need to clear out some clothes but I like plenty of choice and still wear some things I have had for 20 years or so. Your house can is one way to express your individuality, if you have no books in your house I consider this very strange.

TommyTyson · 24/09/2025 09:05

My house is pretty clean and tidy, and free of clutter, however it does look like we live there. A home should have a homely feel in my opinion, not something clinical and unloved or unlived in.

Peteryourhorseisheree · 24/09/2025 09:10

Lots of cupboards for toy and book storage. It helps that we have a playroom/second sitting room for that so the sitting room is clear of it.

And I just don’t have a lot of stuff.

I've got lots of old photos and things but they are organised in a boarded loft.

Sparks654 · 24/09/2025 09:13

TattooStan · 23/09/2025 20:36

Our house doesn't look like the one you've described, but it's very tidy and we don't have any clutter on any sides, or anything stored underneath beds and so on.

I declutter relentlessly. I try not to buy much, but somehow stuff just accumulates, so I'm always filling a bag to take to charity or the tip.

We also just have a lot of space - 4 double bedrooms between 2 of us - so no one room needs a huge amount in it.

Yes same here. I feel like I declutter every six weeks or so. Just tidying up I find stuff that needs to go.

childofthe607080s · 24/09/2025 09:15

Less stuff and more storage would do it

pictures on the wall are because I like to look at them not because I am telling the world about me and my personality though