Bored with my house and it never feels tidy enough or clean anyone else think the same ....

[Watfo]

I don't know if this is the start of ocd or whether I've just always been like this, i have owned a lovely 3 bed house for 7 years now (just for reference also kids and 8 and 6) weve had it all redone to our taste and I loved it but I still feel its just not right but can't put a reason as to to why.

And as for cleaning or decluttering im not even joking I can spend the whole day tidying cleaning and will get rid of lots of things but then I get this feeling inside like it still looks cramped or there is still more that needs tidying or cleaning. I cant quite explain it either but is there anyone else who gets these thoughts?

Your becoming a minimalist
Housework is never ending!! I have found myself decluttering everything and changing homewears so that there's less fuss bad pattern. I don't know the answer. But I love watching vlogs on YouTube to have a more streamlined home / reducing visual clutter type of ideas.

Homewares

Agree with pp, welcome to the first stages of becoming a minimalist! I've been through the exact same as you. I have 'filtered' through my house maybe four times in the past 12 months. I find that after a good declutter, it takes time to show itself again in the things you kept or by things that have been acquired since.

My dp works away Mon-Fri and I generally have everything in order while he's away. When he's home... I try not to mention it but just his mere presence and way of doing things irritate me 🤣 like leaving some of the shopping on the table instead of putting it away immediately 😅 it's made me question if I have OCD but I don't think that's what it is, though I do understand why you feel like you do too! I think we're protective(?!) of all the time and effort we put in and it's tedious to have to go and do it all again constantly without the satisfaction of being able to enjoy it.

I've found I need to have white walls in most of the house. It helps break up the visual 'clutter'. I have white gloss kitchen cupboards etc to reflect light (and I love to clean them! 😅) etc.

I focus alot on better organisation. Its made life less stressful with two teenagers in the house! And I find changing my decor seasonally helps (even just changing to bright colour cushions in summer with bare floor/a faux fur rug and muted cushions in winter etc)

Sorry for the essay, I didn't know there was a Home section on MN so in my half asleep state, I'm a little excited 🤣

Reduce your inventory. Then reduce it again.

Also remove all branding labels and text labels off everything.

intrigued, Geppili. Would you turn your books spine inwards?(does your aesthetic even permit books, or are you too austerely minimalist for that?) I've seen this in a few places, where rooms are dressed/staged for photos/sale and I think it's partly to depersonalise the space, and partly to prevent different colours from interrupting the decoration. It seems to me to elevate form over function (I want to be able to see and choose a book) but some do it.

But yes, definitely keep reducing. I'm about to tackle some papers - ancient admin, study papers. Surprisingly difficult, but once done, will de-silt some naughty little corners in the house. Clothes, shoes, bed linen, towels, crockery, glassware, DVDs, games, books - these are fairly easy, low-hanging fruit by comparison. Also working to clear garden tools and tat out of the garage, tool-shed and cellar. It does seem like a never-ending task really, but I do enjoy the feeling of paring down.

It's perfectly normal in my opinion to shovel junk around the house.)
Especially if we spend most of our time in the house.
Personally, I often like to bring something interesting into the house, perhaps a new painting or take an old vase and fill it with fresh flowers every day)
I try to diversify my interior.
Personally, my sister loves to move furniture, regularly)))) so she also brings a new mood into the house.

It is also very cool to replace old, unnecessary things to make additional lighting, such as decorative lamps, thanks to this house will have a new interesting atmosphere.
Or now there is an interesting flexible LED strip, it looks a little unusual and unusual.
Try it;)

Sounds like the 7 year itch to me! Do you think you have maybe outgrown the space and so it is irritating you?

We have a gorgeous 3 bed townhouse but we've definitely outgrown it. Even when I stripped it bare to put it on the market, I still couldn't comprehend it as spacious, but it was snapped up almost instantly and we were told how roomy it was!

We've not outgrown our space (DS has left for university, so we actually have more space than before), but I think the long period of restrictions has certainly left me feeling itchy-footed. Every mark and chip on the paintwork annoys me! I think the feeling of wanting to throw stuff out, strip out the carpets and clear decks (actually, rarely-visited cupboards) is a hangover from lockdown. Perhaps this is the case for you, OP?

I"m going to have to get over this, because I'm pretty sure we're here for another 8 years (although I'd love to think it was 5).

I have a similar problem, to all this desire to clean up all the junk in my space, I also think that these things are still useful to you and I decide to put them somewhere in boxes in the shed, but then when it comes to putting in order in the shed an even greater task comes up before me.
What to do?

jonafriend to dilute your interior is certainly a very good idea, but I want to get rid of all the junk in my space.
Or what do you mean?

One of the best tips I read was to always ensure the hall is tidy.

I mean something like this treehousetowns.com/multi-coloured-led-strip-lights/
And a very good tip from savvy7 , you need to learn to keep your house in order. So that you don't have to spend a lot of time cleaning.

That’s actually fab

Came on to say it sounds like you’ve got the itch.
im the same, every time I think I’m done I can actually feel myself sitting looking round my house looking for something else to do.