I grew up in a very messy home - I'm talking about having to move newspapers, letters etc off chairs before you could sit down, work surfaces in the kitchen full of stuff that had to be moved before you could cook a meal. I remember playing 'house' with a friend when aged about 8 & the first thing I did was get a load of clothes to put on the floor behind the door as this is what a 'house' looked like to me.
However our house was generally clean, but my mother always had a housekeeper at least 3 times a week who used to do the cleaning. I honestly can't say that I remember my mother doing any cleaning (or much cooking). I doubt if she knew how the vacuum cleaner worked. When she died her house was a complete mess with papers & stuff everywhere-it took us at least 3 weeks to clear it all.
Both parents worked full time after my younger brother started school, before then my mother worked part-time. I think that my mother shouldn't have had children as she was very career-driven. She once told me that as soon as the contraceptive pill became available she was straight down to the doctor to get it. She was a very intelligent woman & was better suited to an academic life.
I remember as a teen (probably aged about 14) I used to cook a roast dinner every Sunday (mum was a terrible cook & hated cooking so was happy for me to take over) & it was me who used to clear & clean the cupboards chucking away food that was no longer good to eat (this was before the days of 'best before') I also remember it was me who used to clean the fridge every couple of weeks & get rid of the tomatoes & other things rotting in it.
My living/dining room is rather cluttered ATM, but that's because we've only been here for a few months & having lots of work done which means things that would go into the spare room that's due to be redecorated is stored in another room & currently, as we're having a new kitchen being fitted next week, all kitchen stuff is in the spare room.
But the house is clean. Although I have a cleaner for 1 hour every week, I clean the fridge every week, on the days when cleaner isn't coming, I wash the kitchen floor every day, clean the loo every day, clean the bathroom once a week, run the vacuum over the main floors most days. Also, you can sit down in my house & put your cup on the coffee table without having to move something.