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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

does the state of your house ever get you down?

108 replies

alittlebitshy · 04/06/2006 16:19

if so sign up here and reassure me.

I'm quite a "clean" person, and don;t like mess, but by nature we have a fairly cluttered home cos we have lots of books, dd has lots of toys and we're just not cut our for the show house-home that a few of my friends have Envy.

right now it's getting me down. it always seems to need hoovering, the kitchen always looks as if it is a few days post it's cleaning day (again, it's neat but cluttered, and i clean up and put away as i go along but it never looks as nice and minimalist as so many i see. plus it is deffo not new and trendy.

there is a strange smell in our porchy bit. my mum reckons it eminates from dh's stdy (I never clean it, it is his domain, and he is a messy so and so and the thought of it frightens me plus he is always working in it so i can never get the time when i have the time iyswim, even if i felt so inclined).

it is getting me down... mainly this nelwly appointed scent.

argh.

i wonder if people think i live in an utter hole. I don't think i do, i try and keep it clean and as tidy as i can, but i don;t think i'm good enough. waaaaaaaah.

c'mon, make me feel less of a slattern.

OP posts:
LadyCodofCOdford · 04/06/2006 16:19

yes i have to have it tidy every nght ad clean totallytwice a week

Dottydot · 04/06/2006 16:24

All the time - constantly... Reminds me of SuzyWong's (I think it was) thread from not so long ago about the sheer drudgery of it all... I realise I kind of make it drudgery though 'cos I CAN'T STAND THE BLOODY MESS!!!! And it doesn't help that dp is a hoarder (I wish I'd known this 14 years ago...) and won't throw anything away - I swear if she was on her own she'd be one of the bonkers people who can't get out of their house because it's piled high with empty tins and boxes and stuff... I have to wait until she's working in the evening and then do big clear outs.

My ideal house - clean, minimal, light, airy. My current house - aaaarrrggghhhh!!!!

DumbledoresGirl · 04/06/2006 16:25

My house is a complete tip, though not as bad as some. (I remember going into someone's house and their sofa was completely swamped by ironing, with clothes tipping onto the floor etc). We have just got back from holiday and it smells exactly as it did when we moved in last year: mainly of damp but also of coal dust. Every room is untidy with stuff cluttering every surface. I would like to be cleaner and tidier, but I know I never will be living in a show home as that is not me.

Does it get me down? Sometimes, a bit, but then you can always blitz a room and feel better afterwards so it isn't that depressing.

LadyCodofCOdford · 04/06/2006 16:26

think you adn he have ot clean out his study

BettySpaghetti · 04/06/2006 16:28

Mine gets me down sometimes. Its an on-going renovation/building project which means constant dust even when we've not done any building for a while.

Even when I've blitzed some of the rooms there are still the areas that are mid-work (so not painted or bare grotty floors etc). Also as the rooms are being done one by one there always seems to be piles of crap somewhere that needs a home.

Sometimes I just want to live in a "normal" house thats finished and doesn't have temporary bits.

Lmccrean · 04/06/2006 16:30

alittlebitshy, I feel like my house is always messy and I just dont have the energy to clean it! Have really been making an effort recently, as I feel great when its tidy, but we are hardly ever in house during the day, esp in good weather, and stuff gets dumped quickly before going out again. Laundry is worst - I dont have a utilty room, spare room etc to dry stuff in and the clothes horses seem to domiate my tidy-ish living room. My bedroom is too small to keep it in, and I cant put it in dds room (bigger than mine by a fair bit) because the dampness seems to affect her chest. Love this good weather cause all the laundry is hidden outside!

Have now put away most of dds toys, on high shelves and on top of wardrobes, so that she has to ask me for stuff (and has to tidy up one toy before I lift another down for her) Has made a huge difference.

LadyCodofCOdford · 04/06/2006 16:31

lm have oyu a garage you coudl put a dryer in?

brimfull · 04/06/2006 16:37

I clean the downstairs pretty much twice a week,although one of those times the cleaner does it.The upstairs does tend to get left longer though wish I could get into a routine with that.I find cleaning takes me ages as I have to do it thoroughly,should probably do more litlle and often.
I do tend to throw things away that get left lying around,mercenary that way.

liath · 04/06/2006 16:37

sounds like mine - not horrendous but never has that freshly cleaned, everything in it's place look. used to have a cleaner so would get back from work on a friday to a lovely clean house but she's had a nervous breakdown so hasn't been in weeks.

the mess really gets on my t*ts.

Gillian76 · 04/06/2006 16:39

Any cleaner coming in here would have a nervous breakdown I'm afraid.

It does get me down.

liath · 04/06/2006 16:41

i hasten to add - i'm sure the nervous breakdown was nothing to do with the state of my house......as far as i know......

expatinscotland · 04/06/2006 16:42

nope, b/c i'm ruthless about NOT hanging onto things we no longer need, use or love.

it's the size of a postage stamp in here, so any amount of clutter is magnified about 20 x.

Mistymoo · 04/06/2006 16:46

Yes I feel the same. I can sympathise with BettySpaghetti as our house seems to be the same and none of the jobs ever get finished.

My BIL and his wife have a "show" house and I always feel envious when I'm there. They don't have any kids however so that might explain a few things although its not just the kids that make the mess!

When I moved into this house I said that the breakfast bar was not going to be full of clutter but guess what - it is! Blush

SleepyJess · 04/06/2006 16:48

My house gets cleaned once a week. That is, roughly one room per day (ish) gets a through-ish once over. And obviously, daily, I hoover the living room, clean up messes, wash and tidy up etc on a it- needs-to-be done basis. And the living area is tidyish before we go to bed each night.

However, it frequently looks a mess... I don't have nice stuff... we can't afford it and DS2 (SN) trashes things... and on the whole, it doesn't really get me down. I know it's not filthy.. I pay the most attention to kitchen and bathroom hygiene.. and realised long ago that there are far more important things in life. Occasionally I despair.. but mostly I don't care! :)

SJ x

shazronnie · 04/06/2006 16:52

My house has always got some mess, but i try to have at least one tidy room!

it stopped getting me down when i realised I was a SAHM not a housewife!
(And I lowered my standards!! Blush

nicnack2 · 04/06/2006 16:52

DG hope that wasnt my houseBlush. at this precise moment i look aroung my sitting room and it is a mess, laundry,toys lying around and i dont know where to start. House is under constant renovation and i just give up :(

motherinferior · 04/06/2006 16:53

Yes, it does. I stomp around bellowing that we live in a TIP, a MANILA SLAG HEAP, and similar.

Blandmum · 04/06/2006 16:55

constant clutter, I am one of the worst offenders and I'm too lazy to get off my fat arse and sort it. I just get overwhelmed by the crap.

I'm clean but the house always looks a mess.

SleepyJess · 04/06/2006 16:56

My fave description for mine is shit pit Grin

rayofsunshine · 04/06/2006 16:57

oh yes most definately, although im quite unorganised really. I tend to do a chore and along the way stop and do something else, so although im 'busy' it always looks like nothings done :-(.

Blandmum · 04/06/2006 16:57

you have to shout this is a strong south wales accent, 'This place is a bloody midden'

dinosaure · 04/06/2006 16:59

God, yes. And having visited some other mumsnetters' houses recently has made me feel even worse about mine...

motherinferior · 04/06/2006 17:00

Mine must have reassured you, then, dino Grin

dinosaure · 04/06/2006 17:01

mi yours is lovely! Just wait until you see this place! I am thinking of encouraging the kids to graffiti the walls in the hallway, as it could only improve them.

motherinferior · 04/06/2006 17:02

DD1 draws on our walls and then blames...the cat.