Are you house proud?

I used to be convinced that all tidy houseproud people were very boring, but I eventually discovered that wasn’t always true. I do dislike very neat houses, though. I think you should be able to tell a person’s interests and lifestyle the moment you walk in. A room without books and papers is dead.

Needless to say, I am not houseproud. I’m reasonably clean. I’m tidier than I used to be, but still not very. I like a healthy mess.

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. 😂

It means cleaning from the top of the house to the bottom, it is what we oldies used to call spring cleaning in the 40's and 50's. Rugs were hung on the clothes line and battered to death. Everything was cleaned to an inch of it's life. Net curtains were soaked in Dolly Blue to make them look whiter. Ah, the good old days of outside toilets and tin baths by the fire and the old dolly tub and wringer.

I'm not houseproud but my home is clean and tidy'ish. My mother suffered from mental illness for most of my childhood and she actually spent some time in an institution.

One of the manifestations of her illness was obsessive cleaning which superseded everything else. I would have to move from room to room as she cleaned each in turn and I dare not make a mess (which could be simply getting a book out) or speak.

Days out were frequently shelved and I don't remember her ever attending a school play or even coming to see me when I was once in hospital because she hadn't completed the "ritual".

I'm sure I subconsciously decided at a young age not to be like her. You're far more likely to find me tending my vegetable garden or walking my rescue dogs in the nearby woods.

I used to be very houseproud, unbearably so, but as I have got older, I have come to realise that having a day out here and there, or spending time in the garden or just sitting reading a book is more important than dusting and vacuuming every day. I do like things tidy and I hate clutter, but when you live alone, how dirty can your home get. I have a central heating system that has a dust and allergy filter and when the engineer services it every year he always says, you have a very clean home as there is hardly any dust in the filter.

If I ever cannot flick around with the duster and vacuum my home myself I will employ a cleaning company, but for now, my home gets cleaned when it needs it.

downtoearth

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

👏👏

I take it to mean cleaning every inch of the room or house.

I may be wrong*Naughtyneine*, but I think it means a ‘super’ spring clean - cleaning out cupboards, wiping skirting boards and tops of doors, etc

No. Sterile, empty houses freak me out.

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.

Yes and not so much!
I’m proud of the house itself and how, through hard work and careful planning, DH and I were able to afford it. On a small development, tradespeople etc often comment on it.
Inside is comfortable, clean but certainly not pristine, but I do like a place for everything, as the saying goes.
I keep on top of re-decoration and the house and garden are well maintained and in a saleable condition should that be on the cards at some point in time - then it will be arranged like a show house (was DD1’s job).
I’ve never had a cleaner here (30+years) but I’m nowhere near as thorough as I was - cleaning through the house in one go. I had a bit of a blitz earlier this year and gave a lot of unnecessary stuff away, but there’s still more to do, especially in the loft and garage.

I've got lovely connotations with 'house proud'. I think of my gran, housecoat & rollers singing through her morning of scrubbing, mangling & polishing in a whirl of yellow dusters.
She'd had such a hard life in so many ways but was marvellously house proud of her tiny council bungalow.

I have two sisters. One is extremely houseproud with nothing out of place and I feel uncomfortable staying there although she loves having visitors. The other lives in a cluttered but welcoming home and I am happy to visit there.
A health visitor came to see a young house proud neighbour of mine and asked where all the toys were. She had tidied them away before the visit!
Our house is too big for us now and I do the best I can but other activities always take precedence.

I think it is time we ditched these antiquated terms. Let people enjoy their homes as they wish and try to make sure their guests enjoy their homes too.

dull women have immaculate houses
That makes my piss boil 😡

I like the house to be tidy, and I clean as necessary.

Nothing wrong with books snd magazines Maw and I did not think you came across as superior. As you said your house is clean.

Clean and tidy (except when the GC are here) yes.

Pristine show home , never have and never will.

That’ll be the day😂

I don't think I'm houseproud but I do like things neat and tidy. The books do seem to be taking over and making it an uphill battle though.
I keep the kitchen and bathroom clean and hoover regularly but I know I really need to do a bottoming,
washing paintwork and cleaning cupboards out.
I feel tired just thinking about it. Maybe another day 🥱

No, not at all - it's our home, not a show house. Don't get me wrong, my husband used to run his own cleaning company, so it's reasonably clean and tidy, but it's 'lived in'. And our dog is as much a part of the family as anyone else, so it's obvious he lives here too. My friend once gave me a framed picture which said 'dull women have immaculate houses' - she had the same one!

Clean and tidy is how I like it. No cleaner for me but I hate cups and plates lying around.

Having seen photos of both Kitty's and Rosies homes they both look warm, inviting and welcoming. I love to see pictures of Rosie. It was some of Kitty's posts of her home that encouraged me to be bolder with colour as l have recently redecorated downstairs and my bedroom. I couldn't be more happy with the result.
I like my home to be cosy, clean and envelope Toby and l in warm and comfort.
Each to their own though, whatever makes you happy.

I like to live in a clean and tidy home but I am not fanatical about it. I don't hoard and regularly have sort outs to the point where I sometimes wonder why I got rid of something. I have 2 friends who happily live in utter chaos and occasionally when it all becomes too much even for them they have a blitz but it soon goes back to a mess again. To each their own.

Nope, but I am friendly and make good coffee.