is yours a show home or lived in ??

[needanightoutsoon]

I always used to be a clean freak - way over the top, when i had one DC it was easy to be that way as i had the time being a SAHM. i then had DS and relaxed A BIT .

However now that i have DD(9) DS1(6) DS2(10MO) i have totally relaxed i still have the cleanfreak in there somewhere but my heart sinks that i dont have the 'show home' i once had.
Its more lived in these days its clean dont get me wrong i clean and wash all the time.

its just the bottomless ironing basket and toys everywhere i look, that really get to me.
every day, i try sooo hard to put everything in order ie kids toys in rooms babys toys in basket in living room coats hung up in rooms shoes away, kitchen tidy and cleaned. floors hoovered and mopped.

BUT within an hour of everyone being home theres shoes in the hallway, coats thrown over the stairpost, toys brought downstairs from rooms, juice spilt, babys toy basket emptied, snacks dropped on floors hubby cooking and using every pan he can find!.Not to mention bathrooms and bedrooms ransacked!

The last few weeks its got me to the point where i think why bother im not spending the whole day cleaning to have it undone in an hour.

So is my house normal ? its clean but a bit untidy with a full ironing basket and washing basket that never seem to empty and it could do with redecorating (ive bought all new throws cushions curtains etc but never find the time to paint!).

or am i losing control and i should be better at 'housekeeping' and should have a show home as im at home all day with only one DC ??

Or am i just moaning lol xx sorry its long ...

very lived in by tramps

Mine's a tip lived in.

I clean for a living and would have never got the job if my boss had seen my house first

Really though, I'm not that bothered. I do what needs to be done and shove the other stuff under/on top/behind stuff so it can't be seen.

Good plan Tulips [toddles off to garage to get petrol]

I have come to the conclusion that it's actually rather rude and inhospitable to have such an immaculate house that any visitor is nervous about spilling anything, moving a cushion or just generally cluttering up the place

thanks for your replies ladies

im feelin so much better now knowing im not the only one , have joined fly thread to organise myself better so dont feel im ruled by the crap housework.

love the strike a match idea, either that or might just buy a new house everytime need to decorate or de-clutter

but still left with having to clean in order to sell !

thelittlebluepills, I whole heartedly agree - a friend of mine as a 3 year old boy and still has the cleanest, tidiest house I have EVER seen. I don't feel comfortable there at all and am constantly telling daughter to be careful not to make a mess, spill something etc!

Saying that another friend lives in a total filth hole - I mean like off How Clean is Your House? - and avoid visiting.

Mess is okay, filth isn't. Thats my motto!

Well said thelittlebluepills You want friends to feel comfortable in your home. We have lovely friends whos house is so much bigger than ours and they have room enough for us to stay. The house is clean and in some sort of order but very lived in. In the morning I make my own cup of tea sit in the louge in my dressing gown & slippers watching AM telly with the kids. If I want something to eat I know where every thing is. She also doesn't mind how you stack the dishwasher, clean the kitchen tops or put her magazines as long as you leave things clean and roughly in a place other can find. When we have an extension I hope to return her kindness & copy her shabby chic style..

Our house is "lived in", it's clean but not always tidy. We are in process of having a spring clean so have been taking a old clothes to the charity shop & trying to clear out storage/garage. IMO chldren should be allowed to make a mess, but be taught how to clean up after themselves. DS always puts his own rubbish in the bin (sometimes has to be asked but still does it), cup into sink to be washed, dirty clothes into wash basket. he needs extra prompting to put toys away.

Now that the weather is getting better I want to spend more time with DS in the garden so housework will naturally take a back seat

Lived in.

I lived in a show home with exdp but unfortunately that was due to his bullying and violence if it wasn't just so. Over the past 18 months I have gradually dropped the obsessive tidiness and now I have a clean but slightly messy house.

It is very rare that I would not want visitors to pop by though.

fairybubbles- the advantage of that is he won't be in the house messing it up though so it might cancel itself out!

Mine is a home. It is clean and I try to cut the clutter, but it is lived in. I don't feel comfortable if I go to a 'show home', I much prefer the lived in feel. I was once impressed by a friend who was asked about housework and she anwered 'it isn't my priority at the moment'-I have used it ever since. I can't see it ever being a priority-there are always more interesting things to do.

My house is really tidy in the evening, then lived in for the rest of the day. I have had some quite hostile comments as my house is tidy and people assume I don't let dd play, but I am just really organised.

I have loads of storage, so its really easy to tidy away at the end of the day. I don't hold onto clutter so can just zoom through really quickly.

MrsSaxon You are right it's the extra stuff that stops the house looking good. Charities love me. I also told Ds that the polar bears will suffer if we buy too many toys and can't recycle them . He is really cool with it.

I HATE how bad I am at housework. I know I just need to get on with it, but don't know where to start.

[feels sorry for self]

weaselm4 Go over to the Good housekeeping Fly thread it might give you some tips.

Thanks starbear, I will give it a look. I hope I'm not a lost cause

Weaselm4 Of course not its only housework at the end of the day. Its just the boring task of getting done without being sidetracked but sometimes the side track is the best bit of the journey. Life is too short to do housework instead of fun stuff never mind stuff an olive.

ops! 'I mean stuff an mushroom' must get my quotes right (Shirley Conran)

This post could be about me..! Before we had children my house was like a show home. I loved the leather sofas, the lovely bed and furniture we had...now we have a two year old and an 16 weeks old and it does get to me that when we are home I feel like I am always trying to keep it in some order. I clean the bathroom only to find my two year old potty training son keeps going in an plunging the contents of his potty down the loo leaving lovely smeared marks down the pan! Lovely!

Then there's the leather sofa, I never used to like anyone sitting on, it's now filled with toys stuck down the sides. The furniture my son knocks all his toys into and marks it all. It used to get me down but now I try to relax...it's still hard to.

We have a toy room, but there are toys everywhere. I insist on toys being kept in the bedroom or playroom but trying telling that to a two year old, who likes to wonder around with his fav toy depending on what day it is. The shoes, wellies, coats, endless washing, all gets put away for it to be all back again within an hour.

I use to be very clean when i lived at home, then i grew up and got messy but i do have that clean freakiness in me somewhere it just needs to come out

My house is lived in but would love it to be show house like.