A domestic !

I love a clean and tidy home but like beanie when 2 DgD's visit I let chaos take over plenty of time to clean up again when they have gone .Rather have fun with them ?

Well I like a tidy and ordered home, but when grandsons come over I forget mess and we have fun with lots of arts and crafts. A home should be some where you feel comfortable not a place to view.

I thought I wasn't one but now I am wondering - I sweep the kitchen floor everyday and use a brush and pan. I hoover every other day, I cook all meals from scratch, makes cakes and chutney, knit, do all the washing and ironing and shopping, take the rubbish out and mow the lawn. He feeds the birds and washes up and makes tea sometimes.

My table looks just like that Kitty. As I live alone now I just push a little space between the ‘stuff’ and squeeze in my plate and eat there. As I get older my domestic habits are becoming somewhat suspect. My mother would not approve, but she had a housekeeper and my father so I don’t feel too bad about my situation.
I do have to confess to occasionally eating from the saucepan to save on washing-up. Standards most certainly slipping in the Marmight household. I put it down to rebelling against a strict upbringing/boarding school
(I just give mushrooms a quick slosh under the tap and then use them stalk and all)

The saying by SC was actually ‘life’s too short to STUFF a mushroom!’.
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Totally agree.

I rarely do any housework - well ‘apartment-work’ would be more appropriate for us. As we only live in small spaces Himself is quite happy to clean and I’m more than happy to see him do it!

You won’t see on any headstone ‘I wish I’d done more housework’.
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Mr B and I are both very laid back with housework. He does his own ironing along with the sheets and tea towels. Me I do my own and can't see why tea towels need ironing or sheets for that matter. We tend to clean as someone said before either when we are in the mood or when we have visitors. Life is for enjoying, we are retired.

I have no idea where the dustpan and brush are. I am with Nankate life is too short to do housework!

On the all important peeling mushroom debate:
I buy fresh organic mushrooms and don't wash them or peel them. I cook them though. Don't like raw or wet.

Yes that’s what I do Lemon.And cut the bottoms off the stalks.
The peelings go in the compost bin so not wasted.
Grammaretto I often leave potato skins on specially if we’re having them roasted but jazzed up with garlic and herbs or Cajun spice.

I am ashamed to say that I haven’t emptied my own vacuum cleaner for over 20 years. Wonderful cleaner does that and a lot more, allowing me to garden, cook, iron etc. Like an earlier poster, my full time working mother didn’t prioritise housework, preferring a cigarette and a good crossword, so I never really learned. Definitely too late now!

On the important mushroom question.....I wash button mushrooms and peel larger mushrooms.

Moving house kitty ? Preparing for massive Spring clean?
Getting ready to decorate?

That's an idea, lemon!!

On the other hand, our lounge is very minimalist at present!

janeainsworth Each to their own. I would not prioritise the peeling of mushrooms but I often peel potatoes and carrots.

I suppose I treat housework like gardening. It is something which is done continuously to keep on top of it but which is never "finished". There are some things I enjoy and others I have to endure.

The quicker I can get through the work to enjoy the results, the better.

Why did I come on here instead of making the bed?

kitty......preparing for the car boot sale later?

Kitty you did make me laugh. ?

Thanks to all of you who have admitted to being a bit lackadaisical like me (and yes I did have to look up the spelling of the word).

When I breathe my last I will not be saying ‘I wish I had done more housework’ and am more likely to say *I had fun and s*d the housework’.

Can anyone tell me what ironing is ? ?
nankate I m with you I do the average daily jobs like make the bed, wash up, move things around in an effort to tidy
Occasionally I have a splurge of trying to be a great house cleaner but it usually lasts an hour at tops
My house is reasonably tidy (I have a spare room whoop whoop whoop) I keep it as clean as I feel necessary for one person living alone my failing eyesight means I don’t see the cobwebs up on the ceiling ???
I have two daughters who also are not domestic goddesses they work far to hard outside the home and I have a son who wasn’t one but has married one so now is

You are joking janeainsworth? thats' where all the goodness is

There’s very little nutritional value in mushrooms grammaretto, so reducing it by removing the skin doesn’t make much difference to the nutritional value of the meal you’ve put them in.
But you can increase the vitamin D content by leaving them on the windowsill for a couple of hours, according to James Wong.

I managed to work full-time and peel vegetables. They’re not mutually exclusive, surely.

Having said we are very tidy, I thought you might like to see out dining room.

Bit wary of posting . Both DH and I like having a nice and clean tidy house and garden sometimes DH is much more than I. We both like clean and tidy and everything in it's place. Don't get me wrong, when we have visitors esp our DGS's and family they are allowed to enjoy the space and do everything children are supposed to, our DD was the same as a child however like to tidy up and get things back in place when they are all gone. It's just the way we are.

nfk, if I'm upset the sinks all get a thorough going over.

We have a cleaner and, although we are fairly tidy, I do tidy before she comes otherwise she couldn't clean properly!

I live alone in two rooms (plus bathroom and kitchen) = a bedsit and a studio. I do mininal housework and the place is full of knitting and tools and plaster and wire etc etc etc. Fortunately no-one can drop in on me unannounced cos I live behind a security gate (town centre flat). I love it and my grandchildren think it's heaven and don't notice the lack of housework.

NanKate, did you actually know that you had a cupboard under the stairs ?
Janeainsworth I did that yesterday, (with the bed), after shooing Mr A out of bed. I suddenly realised, late evening, that I hadn't re-made the bed, but bless his heart Mr A had done it, phew!
He is not a domestic goddess, having been brought up in India, where his parents had servants. So he didn't know how to drive a vacuum, mop, or washing machine. He has passed his test on the dishwasher though, and his speciality is exceedingly good cups of tea in bed, first thing in the morning.

I have bought a new floor steam mop, but it's still in it's packaging.
I am saving the excitement of unboxing till later.

I did have a cleaner for a while when I had a really bad back. I spent so long tidying before she came I found I was actually making an effort to leave stuff for her to do. In the end, she did the ironing and hoovered and then we sat and drank coffee. I had also been a cleaning lady so now clean as I go.

DH knows when I’m worried about something as then I don’t just clean, everything is scrubbed and polished and scoured and tidied and cushions plumped as he stands up.

You are joking janeainsworth? thats' where all the goodness is.
At least I was brought up by a busy, working widow so was never taught to peel vegetables or iron clothes.

Neither of us are cleaners. I buy the latest and best equipment which languishes in the cupboard.

I made a mistake when DS was born at home of requesting a Home Help who was supposed to look after the older children and me so that I could concentrate on the new baby. Instead this woman kept asking me where I kept my dusters and floor mops !!

Now we host volunteers from all over the world . I set them tasks.
I had better put out the buckets and tidy the bedroom or the one who is due today may turn tail and run away.