what surprised you when you started your own household?

[Sonilaa]

for me:

• that defrosting the fridge/freezer is sooo disgusting
• that loo paper is very expensive

That nothing actually happens if you don't dust.

(or maybe that's because we live ina newish flat and my parents house was 300 yrs old and had dogs and cats)

That cleaning takes so long & needs doing so often.
That my Mum was right - the smell of bleach doesn't make you gag when you're cleaning your own stuff, in fact you almost welcome it!

bumping for the night crowd

ThaT IF YOU DON'T CLEAN WELLIES, NOBODY ELSE COMES ALONG AND DOES IT FOR YOU.

That there is not a bunch of elves to do the washing/ironing/hoovering/cleaning.

I must have lived with my eyes closed for the first 18 years of my life! - When did my mum do it all??? I never remember her working at all hours doing all the work. I never seem to stop!

Bit of a shock!

I've been 'running' a household for about 9 years with H, but only recently been doing it for myself.

I was surprised to find that its actually easy to find the motivation to keep things clean and tidy when you know that nobody is going to do it if you don't!

Also that things are easier if you do a little bit every day

I agree with +ve - where are the cleaning etc fairies in my household??!?!?

that you need to do change/clean ?!? the filter in the hoover. I never knew there was a filter... i thought my hoovers just broke a lot...

You have to empty vacuum cleaners a lot and it is surprising how many items can get underneath one sofa. It's like they are having some sort of party

That, despite both DH and I working full time when we bought a house, I ended up doing most of the chores....

that there was a reason mum said .. leave the thermostat alone.., if you are cold put a jumper on

That really, honestly, you can't just get by with washing up liquid and bleach and need an entire cupboard full of gubbins to stop the place descending into a pit of filth.

hahahaa.. that I can leave things in the sink and a tyranical madwoman doesn't scream at me to do them immediately

and that if you don't hoover and dust every single day, nobody knows but you.

and that if you only have 10 mins before someone is due to arrive at your house, you can clean the bathroom, put away the dishes, and run the sweeper over the floor - as long as you spray from pledge about, and stick bleach down the toilet, nobody is any the wiser.

[slattern]

That food costs a fortune, ditto gas and electric. I now understand why my mum would get so angry about lights being left on, or heating the whole house when your only sat in one room, it's like throwing money away she wasn't just being a nag

That if I throw an item of clothing on the floor or don't put something away, it will still be there next week and the week after, nobody will tidy it away for me (That one took a while to get my head around )

That once you get used to managing a household, you start to sound like your mother, and tell people to stay out of the kitchen etc because you've cleaned and tidied it or get all huffy because there's a sock on the floor

'That a womens work is never done'! Always used to laugh at my Mum when she used to say this!

That you don't actually have to hoover and clean the bathroom every other day, and the world doesn't come to an end if there's dust.

But mum was right that separating laundry is important and that checking pockets for tissues even more so.

And that socks still disappear even when there's no-one else to blame!

that towels go in a separate wash

that DP just can't/won't/ever understand the need to separate the laundry.

How much your arms ache when you try to hang curtains.

that life has turned into groundhog day.

That despite my initial aspirations of cleanliness, the only time I hoover or tidy up is when I know someone is coming round. Actually, that isn't true anymore, I only tidy when someone I want to impress/ is very fussy comes round.

Also, knowing where something should go is half the battle. I'm not up to the standard of 'a place for everything and everything in its place', but I understand the principle!

That once you start cleaning you realize how much dirt there actually is, and it all seems futile.

Totally in agreement with groundhog day.

That far from wanting to live in a large and highly decorated home, I instead want a reasonably small and very empty one = much less housework!!!

That windows need cleaning so bloody often!

developing an opinion about which are the better cleaning products and cloths!