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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

The housekeeping equivalent of wearing clean knickers in case you're run over...

91 replies

JackieNo · 14/07/2006 13:38

If we ever go away overnight, or on holiday, I find myself tidying up the house, not just because it's much nicer to come back to a tidy house, but I find myself thinking about what would happen if we had a terrible accident and never came back. How embarrassed I'd be to think of police/relatives having to look round our messy house. So WTF am I thinking that for (if I'm not coming back, I'm not going to be able to be embarrassed), and am I alone in my morbid thoughts?

OP posts:
iamapieceofcheesecake · 14/07/2006 13:57

My house looks as tho burglars have just left!! I just can't be bothered to clean it. I have noticed a trend tho. If dp goes away on business for a couple of days and it's just me and ds here, the place is spotless, when he returns home however...

pecka · 14/07/2006 13:59

I have a very funny apt story along these lines.

My sister was knocked over in an accident on Christmas day and whilst in hospital her house was broken into on boxing day

Anyway, I got the call from the police as she was in hospital and had to go to the house. I went with a friend who I was with at the time.

The police met me there and said "it might be upsetting to go in there, they have ransacked the place"

Me and friend gave each other knowing look and smirk as my sis, bless her was messy (as are the rest of our family!)

The last time she was in the house was getting ready for a big night out on Christmas Eve but then never returned as she got knocked over.

There were clothes EVERYWHERE, make up EVERYWHERE, she had been up in the loft for christmas decorations, loft door opened.

Bedroom was unreal - couldnt see the bed for cosmetics, make up, clothes, things were pulled out of cupboards from where she was looking for a certain top etc etc

I couldnt bring myself to admit that it was normally like this so I played along saying OMG she will be horrified when she saw this, poor girl etc.

THEN forensics were called - after a few minutes in the bedroom they came out of the bedrooms where they were taking fingerprints and said "hang on a minute, if all of this was caused by the intruder/s how come there is an ashtray that hasnt been disturbed, fine eyeshadow still in the pot etc etc they very quickly worked out that it was already like this and in fact the burglars had only been downstairs

Original poster
JackieNo · 14/07/2006 14:00

Pecka. Not sure our house is quite in that league, but close sometimes.

OP posts:
KTeePee · 14/07/2006 14:01

With me the windowcleaner always seemed to call around when the house was an absolute tip. Now I often leave the blinds shut upstairs when I go out if it is messy and he calls he can't see in!

My mum is so NOT into housework - they got burgled once and thought quite a bit of jewellry had been stolen - but eventually found most of it in various places in her bedroom she had "tidied" it away into. I'm sure the police thought the burglers had ransacked her bedroom but it always looks like that

MadamePlatypus · 15/07/2006 09:16

I 'use hands' to clean loo ala Kim and Aggie - would no more use a loo brush to clean toilet than I would use salad tossers to change DS's nappy/clean up poo after potty training accident.

Re: OP, was caught 'without clean knickers' yesterday when man came round to read the meter in middle of such a potty training accident.

LucyJu · 15/07/2006 09:51

My mum was burgelkd once. They broke a window to get in, but cleard up the glass, wrapped it in newspaper and put it in the bin. Then they apparently hoovered up before nicking the hoover. They also had a drink of aragnge juice from the fridge, but washed the glasses and left them on the draining board. (Sounds like I'm making it up, but I'm not). The only things they stole (apart from the hoover which was new) were some WW2 medals, some costume jewellry and a good watch.

ilovecaboose · 15/07/2006 19:28

foxinsocks - it actually took me 5 hours once to realise I had been burgled

In my defence it was in my younger stoner days. It was only after turning the house upside down cos I couldn't find my bag I realised that our dvds were missing.

WideWebWitch · 15/07/2006 19:32

God no, this just doesn't occur to me. Although if someone pops in unexpectedly I might sometimes check the loos are presentable.

moondog · 15/07/2006 19:36

I clean my house from top to bottom every time I go to Turkey (which is about 4 times a year)
As I struggle back alone with ds and dd,it makes a huge difference to know that everything is where it should be.
I even lay out dd's uniform,six weeks beforehand.

Loon,I know,I know.

beansontoast · 15/07/2006 19:39

oh moondog...you really are something!

moondog · 15/07/2006 19:40

City's fault......

beansontoast · 15/07/2006 19:41

my future is bright

Crackle · 15/07/2006 21:58

My sister was burgled and they took a huuuuuge sofa. She said that when she walked in the room she couldn't wrap her head around how they had managed to get the sofa out without removing the door-frames. A few moments later, she realised that they had 'popped' out the whole window and taken it with them too.

No-one saw a thing!

psychomum5 · 15/07/2006 22:15

i paid for our house to be cleaned while I was away (not usual practise for me, only got a cleaner while recovering from car accident!).

made DH even hoover tho before we went, and before cleaner came, just in case she thought less of us...

I do normally clean tho when we go away, as i get people to pop in to sort rabbits/plants/pick up post tho, and would be mortified at what they think of me. I even strip the beds and ask MIL to finish off our washing for us (she is nice enough to say yes too).

DH thinks I am insane and calls me monica!!!

edam · 15/07/2006 22:16

Lucyju, your mum's burglars sound oddly well-brought up!

I've vaguely wondered about people (family?) having to go through our laundry bin if something happened to all of us - I mean, would you just bag it and bin it, or actually rifle through it in case there was anything you could give to a charity shop?

Was very sad for my gran when she was carted off to the hospital and then went into residential care without coming home - how awful to think that you don't have the chance to go through your stuff and decide what to keep. Knowing that other people, even family, have been through all the detritus of daily living.. even though my Gran was very houseproud, I'm sure it upset her.

pecka · 16/07/2006 00:05

When I was in hospital when pregnant with DS my DH gave my MIL to do our washing - he thought it would be nice. Washing included several pairs of knickers, bottoms, pjs that had been bled on as I was in hospital due to a blood clot on the placent causing lots of blood loss.

Felt very embarassed that another woman was washing my dirty knickers

Clary · 16/07/2006 00:13

I hoover myself out of the house when we go away but I think that's so as to return to a tidy house...
moondog lol at laying out the uniform 6 weeks early...doesn't it get dusty?

I clean the loo with a loo-cleaning cloth and my hands (in ruber gloves) thank you very much. Loo brushes are utterly disgusting filthy items. Sorry to anyone who holds them dear.

psychomum5 · 16/07/2006 00:16

I chucked my loo brush as soon as I saw 'how clean is your house' the first time. Now use hands too (obviously with gloves on tho).

bluebear · 16/07/2006 10:33

Felt like changing my name for this

When dh collapsed with chest pains and I dialled 999 - the ambulance crew turned up (evenutally), and tended to him (he had bashed his face when he collapsed and was bleeding onto the floor), one of the crew got some blue paper stuff out and wiped the floor and another (female) one said ' I wouldn't bother trying to clean up...it'll take you a week'.

I could have slapped her TBH. The house was undergoing renovation, the whole of the ground floor had no plaster, and floorboards up, and we had had ceilings and walls down upstairs..and building dust gets everywhere...the living area (one of the bedrooms) and kid's room were kept clean, but I admit that I was not hoovering our room more than once a week (with building dust you have to do it every day).
So, there are judgemental emergency services people out there, and it can be the final straw when you are having a bad time to deal with anyway.

themoon66 · 16/07/2006 10:35

I must admit I do get through a lot of loo brushes as I have to throw them away after a few weeks - as soon as they look slightly less than pristine. I only buy the cheapo £1.20 ones from poundstretcher type shops though.... not them stainless steel £10 quid a throw ones.

Cappucino · 16/07/2006 10:53

okay someone tell me now how you're sposed to clean a loo without a brush

Hollyboo · 16/07/2006 11:12

A girl I work with came back to my house one evening and the cat had shit on the kitchen floor I was soooooo embarassed. I was shown around someone's new house recently and there were 'skids' in every toilet. I do try and tidy around, just in case. And my mother's neighbour died in his sleep and people were going to the house where he was laid out in the bed, my mother came back and said how the house was spotless and that if it happened my dad she would have to paint the bedroom before anyone could come in and see him!!

tillibugger · 16/07/2006 11:15

Loo cleaning without brush: pour bleach down. Put in a milton tablet. Leave for a while. If its still yucky get the marigolds on a get yer hand down!! nice

Cappucino · 16/07/2006 11:32

should have known it would involve bleach

I have said it before

bleach is the devil's work

FrannytheBakedBeanSaviour · 16/07/2006 11:55

I just put my hand in with a piece of tissue wrapped round it. Then wash my hands. It's only poo. Do you wear marigolds to change a nappy?