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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Be honest! What things do you judge in other people’s houses?

623 replies

Teaandsleep · 14/02/2022 21:07

Just a fun post.

Recently doing a huge renovation in our own home and am absolutely mortified at the dust everywhere, I keep having visions of visitors coming to the door and seeing all the dust everywhere, it is thick!

I also currently have a spatula sticking out my down pipe drain as we have just unblocked it and it’s to catch any old leaves/moss until it’s replaced 🤣

OP posts:
Enterthedragons · 15/02/2022 08:19

Dusty toilets. Shock

Chestofdraws · 15/02/2022 08:20

@Blossomandbee

I agree about books... ridiculous in an age of digital books (and small modern houses) to judge someone as a non reader on the basis they don't keep a load of books on display!
Agree and surely you’re in a friends house. And they are a friend for a reason. It seems to illogically shallow. To demand that books are displayed, otherwise you deem your friends to be non readers and judge them. I can’t even begin to understand that logic. Kindles, cupboards are actual things, Confused
yogafairy · 15/02/2022 08:20

@BigPantsLittlePants I agree with this.

I have issues with cleaning. I know that I clean too much. I just see dirt everywhere even when I've just finished cleaning. Weirdly I only feel like this in my own home though.

When my kids were teenagers their friends didn't like coming to our house because it was too clean and they didn't feel comfortable.

I've also had friends visit and say my house is 'too clinical'.

I do gain MN points for having books though 😂

Benjispruce5 · 15/02/2022 08:21

@HarlanPepper I’m exaggerating obviously. I only noticed it during a heatwave as I don’t cope very well in extreme heat and couldn’t understand how her house wasn’t as stuffy as hell. I now realise there is an argument for keeping windows closed in heatwaves. But this a thread about being judgey and hey I’m guilty!

CounsellorTroi · 15/02/2022 08:28

Generic "art" that's clearly been bought to match the overall colour scheme.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 15/02/2022 08:34

[quote HarlanPepper]@Benjispruce5 Big in Germany! I remember reading that there's usually a clause in people's rental agreements that requires them to open their windows twice a day.

I live in a cold damp bit of the UK, but I do try to force myself to open the windows every so often even when it's cold. I also have a dehumidifier. But I never notice what the neighbours do![/quote]
We bought our (U.K) house from a German family. The kitchen windows were completely stuck up with paint. Drove me mad, until we got them sorted.

Enzbear · 15/02/2022 08:34

I don't have one book on show, yet I have read thousands. On MN these threads always attract the same people who fall over themselves to show how intelligently superior and obviously middle class (minimum) they are by having a house full of dusty books. They always seem like great fun to be around Hmm

KimDeals · 15/02/2022 08:34

@CounsellorTroi

Generic "art" that's clearly been bought to match the overall colour scheme.
Yep, this. I couldn’t articulate it! Sets of prints - “it’s got purple in it, it’ll match the curtains - perfect”.
Catswhisky · 15/02/2022 08:36

@ShadowsInTheDarkness

I find the pet smells one amusing and worrying - what exactly are you supposed to do if you happen to have dogs and cats? Evict them for a week before visitors? I can't use artificial air fresheners and the like due to asthma. The dogs will smell like dogs, not overly smelly dogs but they are dogs so will smell like dogs. Not a lot I can do about that tbh! I much prefer dog people for this reason, they come round and probably also smell of dog and don't quietly judge and whinge about the fact that the animals dare to smell like animals 😅
Agree completely.

We have dogs, they get walked through woods, fields and swim in rivers, whatever the weather. I can’t bath them daily as it’s bad for them, they hate it, and who has time for that. So they smell, of happy, well walked dogs.

They’re part of the family, they’re not locked in a room somewhere out of smell. Their beds are washed regularly, floors are cleaned regularly, cushions washed regularly and I always open windows for a while before visitors etc etc but my house will still reflect that we have dogs.

MrsTophamHat · 15/02/2022 08:40

When they have young children but absolutely no evidence of toys and other paraphernalia unless it exactly matches their grown up aesthetic.

Mellowyellow222 · 15/02/2022 08:40

I judge the intensely cleaned, trendy fashion Vicodin house to be honest. Lots of grey and mrs hunch.

I also judge slogans on walls.

I assume the folk do t have mush personally or personal style!!!

pictish · 15/02/2022 08:41

@CounsellorTroi

Generic "art" that's clearly been bought to match the overall colour scheme.
I wouldn’t judge someone but I don’t like it myself. There’s a restriction of joy there that sets a tone to a room for me. Those sets of three canvases to be lined up that were so popular for a while are particularly depressing somehow.
Trolleedollee · 15/02/2022 08:42

The book thing is pathetic. I don’t have many books anymore but I’ve got over 2000 books on my kindle. It doesn’t make me stupid not to have books taking up space

TicTac80 · 15/02/2022 08:43

I don't like dirt/clutter....but that is for me/my own home (which is cluttered!). It's none of my business how someone else cleans their own home (as long as there aren't issues with neglect/safety). And there have been enough times where I've cleaned my own house, tidied, done all the laundry/washing up etc, then an hour later there's more stuff to sort!
Worst time was when my DC2 was tiny (colic/reflux, didn't sleep properly). We didn't have tumble drier at the time. It was winter. My DSS was visiting (he was a bedwetter, as was my DS who was only very young then). At 10pm, I'd just caught up on All The Laundry, so felt I was winning (everything washed, dried, put away). Not 3hrs later, DD had projectile vomited over EVERYTHING, and the boys had both wet their beds. I changed everything. Then it all happened again. Flat looked a state, I just sat and cried (and then got a bloody tumble drier!!!). If someone had seen the place at 10pm, it would have looked fine. 6hrs later, it was a bomb site!

And my bloody cats walk on the kitchen surfaces (they're 7months old so I'm trying desperately to train it out of them!). I just spray and clean the unit surfaces down before any food prep happens. My older cat won't jump up.

I'm more concerned about what people think of my place: it's small (but clean). The garden needs tidying. It's an ongoing process of decluttering (slowly getting there). It's not in the smartest of areas. There's just one bathroom in the house. But it's safe and it's home, and it's all I can afford. I'd hope people would feel comfortable being here. Lots of my mates have large, very swanky homes. So hopefully they don't mind my place!!

BigPantsLittlePants · 15/02/2022 08:45

I just like the look of bookcases, lots of colour muddled up, a little peak into the personality of the owner. It's not a pretentious thing because they are clutter but I just think it's a very comforting, warm, homely thing to see a wall of books. I love them. Two of my three besties don't have any books on show but both read loads. The other has big bookcases stacked to the brim (as do I) - it's really a home decor thing rather than a pretentious thing. They all read equal amounts.

RonCarlos · 15/02/2022 08:47

You would all hate my house. Funny though, that friends prefer to come over, rather than host at theirs...

The only thing I judge is bad mugs.

BigPantsLittlePants · 15/02/2022 08:47

@TicTac80 I bet they love it. Some of my friends with the big showy homes are the ones I feel least comfortable in. A home with heart is the best.

resuwen · 15/02/2022 08:48

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz I too have had an elderly incontinent cat (now sadly departed). I found two life-changing products: HG Eliminator of All Unpleasant Smells at Source (best product name ever!) and Price's Open Window Candles.

I don't judge. I am very clean and tidy, some of my nearest and dearest are self-confessed absolute slatterns.

StCharlotte · 15/02/2022 08:49

I wouldn't say I judged exactly but friends of ours bought a house in the early 2000s with some questionable decor (orange and navy living room). I was quite surprised to visit them more recently and see the decor was still unchanged! I guess some people just aren't as interested in their homes as I am.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 15/02/2022 08:49

Thank you for the recommendations - I'll purchase those.

AllOfUsAreDead · 15/02/2022 08:52

I wouldnt judge hard work, I'd be more interested in knowing what your plans are and how you're doing it so that I can maybe use that knowledge in future.

I would more judge laziness and untidiness and also wonder if they are OK or need help. My house currently is messy because I can't walk so it's not getting properly cleaned and tidied, but that's a short term problem. It's not a possible depression problem.

What I would probably judge most is lots of expensive items in finance while they complain they have no money. Considering you can get sofas, beds etc cheap second hand and you don't need the latest playstation, xbox or tv, I would question why you were spending money on it that you don't have, and not being sensible. Our whole house was first kitted out with second hand stuff or old stuff we brought with us. I've known people buy all new furniture for a house just because, they can't afford to, but they do anyway. It's really just putting yourself at risk of missed payments and getting into trouble.

SmolCat · 15/02/2022 08:54

I get the skirting boards thing.

When my MILs lab sheds they are covered in clumps of dog hair. She hoovers but doesn’t wipe the skirtings where it also settles. It’s not so much a judgement as a wondering why you wouldn’t just give them a quick wipe??

I have not great mobility so I use a long handled duster to wipe mine: You don’t even need to bend down, it’s one of the easiest cleaning chores!

So I don’t get (if your health and mental health is good enough to keep on top of the cleaning and everything else is kept clean) why you wouldn’t do it.

TicTac80 · 15/02/2022 08:56

[quote BigPantsLittlePants]@TicTac80 I bet they love it. Some of my friends with the big showy homes are the ones I feel least comfortable in. A home with heart is the best.[/quote]
That's really sweet of you to say. Honestly , I often look around my place and think "omfg, it's a mess!!". Downstairs is: small kitchen, bathroom, and small living room. Upstairs is 3 bedrooms. I dream of having an insulated conservatory put in, where I could put my dinner table and chairs (they're in the living room), to make it like a dining room! I can't bear to part with the table: it's about 200yrs old and was left to me by my Dad. Also it's nice to sit at a table for a meal.

I do need to up my game and keep on top of clutter though! Slowly getting there!!

Badbaddog · 15/02/2022 09:08

I judge houses that are too big for the number of people living there. Downsize and let a growing family have space! Or let a lodger share your good luck. People need decent, warm homes.

Dirty toilets and mouldy cat food bowls.

Otherwise I judge houses that are obsessively clean and tidy, aren’t there better ways to spend your time than bloody cleaning?

Decor wise, I feel strangely queasy when the only things hanging on the walls are family photos, and/or those photos are hung too high.

ChaToilLeam · 15/02/2022 09:08

Bad smells, stale air and dirt. A bit of mess or clutter doesn’t bother me, and I like a home to have some individuality about it. Artwork, books, furnishings - something that makes it look like yours, and not a show home.

Faced with proper mess and dirt, it’s hard for me to restrain myself from going into cleaning mode. I remember visiting one friend who was having a hard time, the house was a shit tip, sink blocked, rubbish everywhere. Got it sorted out in half a day, it just needed some energy and elbow grease, but she wasn’t up to it at the time.