Are you house proud?

I am up to a point. I like things to be clean and tidy, and put things away once finished with them. I dust and hoover, of course, but perhaps not as often as my Mum did (but then we did have a coal fire then, which created a lot of dust and smuts, and there were more of us in the house, too. My house is heated with gas and radiators and there’s only two of us living in it).

I’m fastidious about having clean toilets, kitchen and bathroom, though.

It is by no means a show home, more a comfortable one (I hope).

Like other posters, if I’m expecting visitors, it gets an extra clean, and every so often, if the urge strikes me, I give it a deeper clean than its usual going over (Spring clean/autumn clean type of thing)😁.

Most amusing Naughtyneine.. love your dog's names..

I've recently hired a cleaner for 3 hours every month and it is bliss when she leaves the house sparkling.. Then I am very proud of my house..

I am proud of my house as it is rather unusual, and surrounded by trees. But I am not’houseproud’. Cleaning gets done when necessary and with a bit more vigor if we have visitors coming.

Calendargirl

My sister is ‘house proud’.

Never misses an opportunity to say how she has ‘bottomed’ somewhere, re- decorated yet another room, changed the curtains, power washed the drive…. One upmanship.

Me, er, no.

Your sister sounds just like mine@

downtoearth

Kitty whenever you have posted a picture of your home it looks warm and welcoming,I am sure it is a compliment.

Thank you for that- I do hope it is.

merlotgran

Naughtyneine

Um...as someone who gets to wear the Domestic Goddess crown very infrequently ( but tries hard in between times) could someone tell me what 'bottomed' a room means please.

Is it a north country expression? I’m sure my late Yorkshire mother in law used to say it.

I loved it when she came to stay and said, ‘Anything I can do to help?’

I think she packed her own dusters. 😂

Miss Read used the word bottoming in her books and she was from the far south of England.

I like to be clean and tidy but welcoming. I think there is a balance between a show house and a hoarder’s paradise. I like everything to be in its correct place, but I also like a house to reflect the personality of its owner. It would be a constant battle if l didn’t keep on top of things because DH is a hoarder (he calls it “prepping”) and cannot see that when you have finished doing something you need to put things away, not just leave them where you have been and forget about them. It means that l have to go behind him tidying up, but it is worth it. I have friends with different levels of acceptable tidiness. I am squeamish when it comes to dirt, though, and it amazes me how many people who are generally clean and tidy have a filthy dishcloth teeming with germs. I change my cloths at least once a day. We do, however, have one set of friends who have completely hoarded a large house as well as other buildings. The whole house is filthy and l am sure that rodents have made their home amongst it all, despite the fact that they have several mangy cats. The wife has been very poorly with a rare condition, contributing factors being dust and mould spores. Very sad.

Dust if you must….by Rose Milligan

I am pretty chaotic and have, what a friend of mine's husband- once said about her - flatsurfaceitus. Every empty surface must be filled up as quickly as possible with projects "on the go".

I used to think the chaos in our house was the children's fault - but now they are gone, I know that it's actually me!

I am only fussy about scrupulously clean china, pots and pans, cuttlery, kitchen tools and so on (basically anything to do with food).

And I like my bathroom to be sparkly and sheets to be changed regularly!
I do have robot hoovers.
I wish they'd do the stairs... everything else has to wait wait.

Excessive cleaning and organising is a waste of time. My mother used to say that dust would still be there long after her. and 'You're a long time in your box!'.

Kitty I see a sort of quiet smugness in "houseproud".
I'm sure your cleaner didn't mean it like that!

I expect she meant you love your home.

I tend to blitz things when I get the urge - like the airing cupboard after the boiler was serviced and I felt shamed into taking out all the towels etc for the engineer to check the tank!

But if the urge doesn’t strike…….

No comment!

PGTowers here in Wales and Mi Casa in Spain are at their cleanest on the day I trot to the airport back and forth!

Other than that they get dust, hoover and damp mop fortnightly with bathrooms and kitchen wiped down every few days depending on how much use they’ve had…a quick wipe is so much easier than a scrub if you leave it too long!

I am very tidy with things put away if not in use as I don’t like too much clutter. Clothes are in the linen basket or the wardrobe and on me or the washing line at any given time. Certainly not draped on furniture or dropped on the floor like my DGD does😱

I have as many friends cleaner/tidier than me as I do dirtier/messier but I find it makes no difference to the welcome we give or receive and why should it?

Oh Naughtyneine, I like your style! Absolutely Fabulous

I’m not houseproud, I love my home with its books, paintings etc. but it’s regarded as rather eccentric by some people. I’ve inherited old furniture and I think shabby chic is the best description. The odd cobweb doesn’t bother me or the clutter, but I set to when guests arrive.

One friend’s house is immaculate as well as my BIL/SIL and I do prefer my cosy nest I must say.
Good job we are all different.

Naughtyneine

Um...as someone who gets to wear the Domestic Goddess crown very infrequently ( but tries hard in between times) could someone tell me what 'bottomed' a room means please.

A granny of mine used to ‘turn out’ a room. When she had dementia I well remember her fretting that she needed to go and ‘turn out’ a room in a house she hadn’t lived in for 30-odd years.

I'm off round to Absent's, sounds like my sort of place

Ah...so I now think I'd better relinquish any thoughts of being described as house proud in the sense it's been described here. It's a happy home and certainly not either filthy or very untidy. Below probably explains it more clearly. Storm is 5 and the puppy is 3 months at this point.

I could hear the conversation between Storm and Finlay as they sat at the top of the stairs and watched me remove a cat sized load of fluff off each step with that fabulous tool thing that every pet household should have...it went like this..
Finlay....Bro what is she doing?

Storm...stay put little one... It's called housework ..she is either ill or more likely people are expected anytime soon. Either way she is dangerous....she hates housework and avoids it if she can and would much rather be in the garden or baking.

Finlay....why does she do it then?

Storm....because she likes to think that she is some sort of domestic goddess in the eyes of the people that come and visit.

Finlay...isn't she?

Storm..you have a lot to learn... Never venture into a cupboard and if anyone opens a drawer...run for your life. My advice to you today is lie low... Don't be tempted to sink those baby teeth into her heel when she is on her hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor. Take a leaf out of Ned's book and pretend to be unconscious as sure as eggs are eggs it's going to get messy and block your ears when she screams...'How can a dog shed SO much hair and not be bald'

Finlay....eek...she actually screams?

Storm.... That's just the beginning...if it really goes tits up she starts muttering words no self respecting fur shedding...mud spreading..tissue shredding dog ever wants to hear.

Finlay...oooh what's that?

Storm.... Where is the nearest Dogs Trust?

Finlay... How long does all this last?

Storm... Until all the visitors have gone... Then she reverts to her usual slutty housewife role and we get patted and cuddled and given treats galore.

Finlay...I think I'll just creep in to this corner and look cute.

Storm....wise move... I'm just going to creep upstairs to the bedroom and shred a few more tissues before all hell breaks loose.

Yes I'm house proud and always have been but no one ever feels uncomfortable when they come to visit or stay.

We've just put our house on the market and the estate agent said it's an estate agent's dream and has described it as 'immaculate' and 'in move in condition'.

I'm trying to be house proud, whatever that means, but it's getting more difficult now.

rafichagran

petra

dull women have immaculate houses
That makes my piss boil 😡

And mine. Its the excuse of the I'm to busy to clean, or the lazy. I can understand untidy though not for me but chaos and dirt, no.

Like I said, it's meant to be light-hearted! People always take it too seriously...'ooh, my house isn't dirty and I'm not dull'!

I like it reasonably clean and tidy, but I’m not endlessly going around dusting or wiping surfaces with Germ-O-Kill.

I will admit to having a bit of a blitz when guests are due, which entails making sure I have my glasses on so I can see the dust!

petra

^dull women have immaculate houses^
That makes my piss boil 😡

And mine. Its the excuse of the I'm to busy to clean, or the lazy. I can understand untidy though not for me but chaos and dirt, no.

petra

^dull women have immaculate houses^
That makes my piss boil 😡

Haha, it's meant to be light-hearted! I love how it always gets that kind of reaction from certain people though

No, I'm not household in the traditional sense. As long as my kitchen and bathroom are clean and the rest of the house is fairly dust free and the carpets are hoovered I am quite happy. If you visit me, you'll get a warm welcome.