AIBU to ask why so many people don’t draw their curtains? Like, ever

[RollyPollyBatFace]

Are you one of these people? And if so, why?

my job entails visiting people’s homes. Not in any caring capacity or anything like that. And what I notice so so much is houses with all the curtains drawn. At morning, afternoon, you name it.

Literally people sat indoors with lights pn and curtains drawn.

im the type to draw curtains as soon as up and open windows for an hour or so. So it really puzzles me that some people never do this

so - if you’re one of those people I’d really like to know why!

and I’m not talking about a night shift worker, or someone who goes to work at 4am or someone with a migraine etc etc. I’m talking about families who don’t appear to know that curtains open

I live right on the road so prefer privacy. Also keeps heat in during winter. And heat out during summer, the sun shines right on my living room and bedroom so anything I can do to make it bearable

Loads of my neighbours do this and I think how miserable it must be on the inside, I just can’t imagine it! I understand people don’t want to be looked in on, but there other solutions for that, I just couldn’t imagine keeping curtains or blinds closed all day.

I tend to open/ close my curtains with daylight but at the moment I'm going out at sunrise and back at sunset on weekdays. It's not obvious whether I'm in the house or not.

On perma-gloom days like today, there's not much incentive to open the curtains in a north-facing window when I have lamps on anyway. I have larger south facing windows to the rear anyway.

I’m on the side of keeping everything open - we have curtains and blinds to use if we choose, but I’m a natural light fanatic!!

One set of neighbours always has them drawn and the windows shut, I just think it must feel musty / dark? When the wife is away the husband has all of the windows and curtains fully open so I know who’s choice it is 😂

People are just very, very odd.
I have neighbours who never close their curtains/blinds and sit in the dark all night with just the tv on.
I have neighbours who never open their vertical blinds and the house looks like a prison, with stark bright white lighting in every room.
I have neighbours who leave their rear security lights on all night so we have to have blackout blinds in the bedroom.

I used to have to leave my front curtains closed on summer afternoons because I have a 3m window and the heat/light is immense but we put up a drop arm outdoor canopy a couple of years ago and it’s a game changer.

My mood sinks when sat in a room with the curtains closed.

All curtains and windows are opened in my house before I leave for the school run. Windows usually left open all day except for winter when I close them when I come back from the school run.

At this time of year I usually close the blinds after dinner then the curtains as the children are going to bed.

I'm anal about my routines. My sister thinks I'm crazy. She never opens her curtains cause she doesn't see why she should bother when she'll just have to close them again eventually.

I struggle to understand people who never open their windows to air out room, or how people can relax in their living room with no blinds or curtains with the big light on, in full view of everyone walking passed

Sometimes in the hottest part of the summer I keep the bedroom shutters closed as it keeps the house a bit cooler. Other than that though I open them.

I hate visiting my SiL, she not only has vertical blinds, they are dark blue and she never even angles them to let in any light, it’s just miserable. She’s obsessed with the idea of people seeing in, for one thing they’d have to be on a double decker bus, her front window is at least 2m above road level with a large drive in front 🙄

I open and close mine depending on the sun and the heat. The ones at the front are big bay windows and I only open the curtains across the middle right now because it's cold and it's mostly dark when I leave and when I get home.

But I always open the middle ones at the front at least because I think curtains closed all day means someone has died.

In the summer I close the curtains depending on the sun shining in because it keeps everything cooler. And I can see the tv better.

Sitting in the dark all day every day can't be good for anyone.

My mum, also obsessed with the idea of people ‘seeing in’.

We have a dog who loses her shit when she sees someone walk past the house in a suspicious way, or if a pigeon takes liberties by landing in the tree in the front garden, or if a delivery van dares park outside our house (clear sign we are under attack ).

So if DH is working from home and needs to concentrate on calls without a dog bark sound track, the front blinds stay closed.

Ive been wondering this re some neighbours of mine.
Don't they realise when it's dark anyone can see into their home and see all their valuables and what they are doing?

For those worried about people seeing in, may I recommend privacy film? I have it because of a specific neighbour. It does make your house a little bit darker, it requires curtains/blinds to maintain privacy when you have the big light on, it is a faff to put up, but other than that, it's brilliant!

I only leave my shutters closed because I go to work ridiculously early, but open them at breakfast time.

She enjoys living with that level of privacy. Her life is certainly not miserable!

Ok I have misunderstood the point of the post.
You're talking about people who never open their Curtains and sit in the dark.
Which is even stranger in my book.

I go to work in the dark… I come home and it’s dark… curtains have no meaning

I don't have the best daylight indoors so I open the curtains as soon as I get up but close then once it's dark. In summer I close them if it's going to be hot, once the sun comes around. I would hate sitting in a dark room knowing it's daylight outside!

Also confused by whether "draw the curtains" means open or close. I think it means close. But I think op might think the opposite

Ah I’ve caused confusion and I can see why now

sorry

I mean there are large amounts of folk out there who do not pull their curtains open. They sitting the dark or with lights on in daylight and I wondered why

it’s not the odd house either. It’s quite a lot and I really want to know the motivation behind it

If you were to ask my DH he’d question why people ever bother opening their curtains seeing as they’d only have to draw them again before bed…

It happens to me sometimes when I'm busy WFH. We don't always open in the morning because it's dark anyway.
Then I sit at the dining table to work once the kids have gone around 7am. It's right next to the garden french doors and has good lighting, so drawing the living room curtains isn't essential. Particularly if it's cloudy anyway. And then I just forget about it until it's too late anyway.
I tend to open them in any cases before I leave to pick up the kids, as we tend to sit in the living room.

We almost never open our bedroom curtains. We never go there during the day!

I have the curtains permanently shut in the living room. Main reason is that the position of the gaming TV is directly in front of the window and any light behind it would affect me being able to see the screen. Secondary reason is that even though there are also blinds and we're set back from the pavement by dint of the front garden, I don't ever want neighbours being able to see in.

For the same reason I switch a light switch on even though I will eventually need to turn it off, so I can have some light in the house!

I don't like people looking into my house

Years ago, when me and the ex was young and foolish, we had alot of debt collectors / bailiffs and we didn't want them to know we was in, so we would never open them or answer the door.

So I suppose on some level it's just a old habit that I've never changed, but I also don't like people staring in, and surprisingly, people really do.

I do however open the curtains + windows at the back of the house.

Hope this helps