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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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:
SusannaQueen · 15/02/2022 09:55

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”.

I pick the art first and sometimes use the colours in it as inspiration. Hadn't occurred to me that people may think I'm picking random art to match my decor.

@FortVictoria
Skirting hides the gaps. It's very difficult to get a perfect seam between plasterwork and flooring, plus different materials expand at different rates, so it covers any expansion gaps. Ditto hardwood flooring, it can't be fitted directly up to a wall, an expansion gap is needed, so skirting or quadrant moulding is often used.
They also protect the bottom of the wall and especially the corners.
Heated skirting used to be a thing.

lapasion · 15/02/2022 09:56

@Chestofdraws

I’m also not understanding judging a tv in the bedroom, what the heck is the poster doing in someone’s bedroom 😂😂😂
By the looks of this thread, putting on a white glove and running their fingers all over their surfaces.
NeedAHoliday2021 · 15/02/2022 09:56

When you say you judge someone for having a tv in bedrooms, what exactly is it you judge them as?

I’m curious because I have a tv and it’s my morning “alarm” so comes on with BBC news - useful for my job to know the day’s news and helps me prepare for the day ahead while getting ready for work.

My Dd1 is a teen and also has a TV in her room so she can watch in comfort and not have to restrict her viewing to match her younger sisters or watch what dh and I are watching.

Do people force their teens to stay downstairs all the time? I think I’d judge that.

Puffalicious · 15/02/2022 09:56

I don't mean checking I ate cake yesterday Grin, I mean I checked yesterday I had enough cake left for today! Cake is very important when I have a visitor!

HisHX · 15/02/2022 09:59

I’m actually jealous of a messy house to a certain extent, I can’t relax when mine is messy so wonder at being less uptight and more relaxed! 100% judge on anything unhygienic though.

Puffalicious · 15/02/2022 09:59

Yes to PP about TVs for teens: both my teens have their own TV in their room. For gaming/ watching random YouTube crap/ movies/ Disney Plus. It doesn't mean they're moles who I never see, they regularly watch stuff with us, just stuff they fancy (ie not SpongeBob/ costume drama/ endless car documentaries depending on who's watching downstairs!)

Classicblunder · 15/02/2022 10:02

I don't have teens but I was assuming that they would watch TV on a portable device, laptop, tablet etc rather than a big TV. Partly because I would ideally want to be able to monitor it a bit which you can do more easily that way.

Puffalicious · 15/02/2022 10:05

@Classicblunder

I don't have teens but I was assuming that they would watch TV on a portable device, laptop, tablet etc rather than a big TV. Partly because I would ideally want to be able to monitor it a bit which you can do more easily that way.
Monitor it? When they're 17 and 15? What would I be monitoring? It's Disney Plus/ Netflix which I can SEE what's been watched if I so wish to look. I don't check over their ipads either- I've raised them to be responsible and one's leaving for uni in a couple of months FGS. Their 10 yo brother, now he's a different story as he's 10!
Christmaswindows · 15/02/2022 10:07

Photo's, art etc positioned on the wall 1 inch below the ceiling.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 15/02/2022 10:08

@Classicblunder I can see through DD’s login what she’s watching on her smart tv and I think it’s much better for her eyes than staring at a tiny screen. She has a laptop but often she’ll ask me to join her and we sit on her bed drinking hot chocolate while watching a film (rainy Sunday afternoon while dh is downstairs with younger 2). It’s lovely - I have a awesome teen though.

TakeSomeMoreTea · 15/02/2022 10:10

@Classicblunder

I don't have teens but I was assuming that they would watch TV on a portable device, laptop, tablet etc rather than a big TV. Partly because I would ideally want to be able to monitor it a bit which you can do more easily that way.
Teenagers should be allowed privacy, especially older teens.
Badbaddog · 15/02/2022 10:12

@NeedAHoliday2021

When you say you judge someone for having a tv in bedrooms, what exactly is it you judge them as?

I’m curious because I have a tv and it’s my morning “alarm” so comes on with BBC news - useful for my job to know the day’s news and helps me prepare for the day ahead while getting ready for work.

My Dd1 is a teen and also has a TV in her room so she can watch in comfort and not have to restrict her viewing to match her younger sisters or watch what dh and I are watching.

Do people force their teens to stay downstairs all the time? I think I’d judge that.

I didn’t force my teens to watch TV with us, I just only had one TV in the house and that was in the sitting room. To us TV was a family pastime, not a solitary one like reading. They read in their bedrooms.
NeedAHoliday2021 · 15/02/2022 10:14

I didn’t have a tv growing up because we had a house with 5 reception rooms so I’d just pick one. That’s not really the case in the average house though. What do people think teenagers should do in their bedrooms? Read and embroider? (Actually Dd does both of those).

NeedAHoliday2021 · 15/02/2022 10:16

@Badbaddog we’ve tried reading in bedrooms but my twins end up playing so we now have family reading most nights together in the living room. Every family is different but having a TV in a bedroom doesn’t mean they don’t read.

Coco1921 · 15/02/2022 10:18

The bathroom, always. Can't stand the sight of suspicious hairs, grimy toilet/sink, no hand towel. If that's the state of the bathroom I can't imagine the kitchen.

TakeSomeMoreTea · 15/02/2022 10:18

Do many teenagers just read in their spare time?

dementedma · 15/02/2022 10:18

Enormous flat screen tvs in sitting room, just dominating everything

FortVictoria · 15/02/2022 10:20

@SusannaQueen

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”.

I pick the art first and sometimes use the colours in it as inspiration. Hadn't occurred to me that people may think I'm picking random art to match my decor.

@FortVictoria
Skirting hides the gaps. It's very difficult to get a perfect seam between plasterwork and flooring, plus different materials expand at different rates, so it covers any expansion gaps. Ditto hardwood flooring, it can't be fitted directly up to a wall, an expansion gap is needed, so skirting or quadrant moulding is often used.
They also protect the bottom of the wall and especially the corners.
Heated skirting used to be a thing.

@SusannaQueen - thank you; that solves the mystery! (It’s still annoying to live with though 🤣)
Butteryflakycrust83 · 15/02/2022 10:20

Cat litter stench. You can always tell when people have cats

Chakraleaf · 15/02/2022 10:22

Don't care about mess or dirt really. If they are my friend then I take it as is it. I've had messy houses and tidy houses depending on what my life is doing. Friends don't judge

Badbaddog · 15/02/2022 10:29

[quote NeedAHoliday2021]@Badbaddog we’ve tried reading in bedrooms but my twins end up playing so we now have family reading most nights together in the living room. Every family is different but having a TV in a bedroom doesn’t mean they don’t read.[/quote]
I didn’t say it means people don’t read if they have TVs in their room. Mine were voracious readers. We could only afford one TV. I like to share family experiences. So TV in sitting room, reading in bedrooms. That’s what worked for my family, that’s all.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 15/02/2022 10:35

I’m still curious when people say they judge people with TVs in bedrooms - judge them as what? Lazy, bad parents, or just different.

We have family tv time but Dd1 is watching modern family. I love it but don’t really want to watch it again - she was too young when we first watched it. She also can’t watch it in the living room while her sisters are downstairs. I find TV snobbishness really fascinating.

Mirrorball2022 · 15/02/2022 10:36

Not decor or anything like that but cleanliness. I do t judge on my standards as we are very clean and tidy( no kids!) but basic levels of cleanliness especially if hosting guests. Eg toilet/skinks clean.kitchen wiped over. Recently hoovered. I’m not going around checking for dust and tidy cupboards tho! I can understand mess especially if kids around.

Franklyfrost · 15/02/2022 10:37

Paved or Astroturfed gardens
White carpets
Air freshener smell

Classicblunder · 15/02/2022 10:48

Monitor it? When they're 17 and 15? What would I be monitoring?

Not so much what they are watching but how much. E.g in the run up to exams, I would have thought it was helpful to be able to say devices go away by 10pm so that they sleep well, hard to do with TVs. Not at 17 maybe but at 13-15