Bad homemaker

I’m also a neat freak and can be too obsessed with housework. I get on my own nerves tbh x

Deedaa

I do have some nice things round the house but they are rarely seen at their best because I loathe housework. Cooking is fine, I enjoy cooking, although even that is beginning to pall after so many decades doing it. My daughter once bought me a fridge magnet that said "A mind is a terrible thing to waste on housework" and I have to agree.

This post reminded me of the fridge magnet my daughter bought me. I loathe cooking and the magnet said, ‘I only have a kitchen because it came with the house’!

My Mum was relieved that I lived very tidily because it 'gave the impression' of being clean. Some you win!

My home is tidy but I only clean the toilet and basin everyday and give the kitchen a wipe over. If I spill anything on the shower room or kitchen floor it's cleaned up straight away . But it's been over a month since I last cleaned the whole floors. I only dust and polish once a week. And vac where it's needed . I didn't inherit the cleaning gene from my mom. But when people come to my home they can be themselves and not worry about dropping anything .

I had an aunt who was house proud and she had large wooden animal statues and lots of expensive china ornaments. It was fine with our daughter as she never touched anything but we had to hold on to our son as he would have broken things. She said let him go and it didn't matter if he broke anything but I knew it would. We loved going as she always made us welcome and baked brilliant cakes . And the children loved playing in the garden but they always moved her garden statues about but she left them where they put them.

My home always smells nice just ignore the dust and the inside of my windows haven't been cleaned for years as I can't do them anymore. But the outside are cleaned every month by my lovely window cleaner.

It better to have a home where people feel comfortable than a show palace where people sit on the front of there seat.

I don't enjoy housework but it's an evil necessity. My flat is reasonably tidy as I hate mess and I keep everywhere clean but not sparkling.
I feel at my age there are much better things to do than cleaning.

I’m an absolutely rubbish “housekeeper” bathrooms and kitchens are always clean, but everything else is a tip!

Don’t like it and will have the odd mad cleaning and clearing fit, for it to look just as messy in a few days!

Mind you with 6 adults and 4 dogs it’s not surprising.

I used to be very very neat and tidy and clean and then it all went pear-shaped after baby number 4.

Thank you for all the comments which are all very helpful and motivating. I’d welcome any more thoughts or comments. Thanks for reading the post too.

I find cleaning mind-numbingly boring like M0nica* - so don't do a lot of dusting and polishing but my friends and family know this and don't care.

There are too many other interesting things to do in a day!

Of course some of us like details and can "waste" time on that easily! I've just spent a happy two hours selecting "just the right" hinges for example. Four of my five children would think that was mad!

I'm a neat freak, hate unnecessary mess, I also hate housework/cleaning, it absolutely bores me into a coma so from the second I rented my own flat at 18-I'm now 59 and have owned my own flat for yonks - I've employed a cleaner.

The regular cleaner I've had for years is brilliant, he keeps the place squeaky clean!

Now that my house ( well, most of it) has less clutter it is much quicker and easier to keep it looking clean. As the sole occupant, I find it doesn’t get so dirty, just dusty really. Just as well, as I dislike housework, especially window cleaning. I think they look ok until the sun shines, then I think I have wasted my time and energy.

I am very dull in that I have a cleaning routine so everything is done weekly and each week, I don’t mind doing it.

I am tidy and organised and love to cook.

I make all our bread and butter and we eat almost zero processed food.

Bit of a Stepford wife!

I do however hate admin and I’m not very good at it, I can procrastinate for days before form filling.

Gosh so many of us with a like mind, not enjoying cleaning! I have two friends who spend hours each day with a mop or a duster although their houses are bigger than mine.

I prefer cooking to cleaning but am very tidy as I find clutter unsettling and I couldn’t sit and read or watch a film if the sitting room was in a state.

All rooms are colour coordinated in different shades and pictures need to be straight, cushions plumped, curtains neat and worktops cleaned etc

As long as you are happy with your home, no one else opinion matters.

When my children were small,, housework was very low on my agenda. Okay, I tried to keep things like toilets etc clean, but dusting and hoovering, etc were not a real priority,
When I was nursing my twins, and had three others under 6 years old, I can remember saying that the dust will be there when the children are grown up, but these vital, wonderful early years, can never be repeated.

Strangely enough, my children were very rarely unwell. Suppose their immune systems were properly tested and expanded on a daily basis. They had their 'peck of dirt'.
Others, from their impeccable clean and tidy homes, got colds, coughs, etc. Mine just sailed through it all. Clean clothes they had - bless that overworked washing machine, and good, made from scratch meals (mainly because these were cheaper than any other kind).

But, they had my time, to read books, do messy play, outdoors somewhere every day where they could run wild and explore nature. Did it really matter if we came back home to untidy bedrooms?

Now, in my eighties, I live by myself. My lovely flat is my pride and joy - and is always clean and tidy and neat. My children all in their 50's now are fortunately, still healthy and all in good careers and their own family homes.

Different time, different me.

I’ve always thought that if my house is clean enough to be hygienic and untidy enough to looked lived it. It’s OK

I love homemaking but hate housework, so my compromise is to not think about it, or give myself the option not to do it. I just do it as mindless routine, first thing in the morning. I have a plan, set a timer, run a playlist, and go flat out for that amount of time, which helps keep me fit too. I hate every minute of it, but it’s worth the pain to sit down by 9.30 knowing I haven’t got to waste more thought or energy on it that day.

I love my home but wouldn’t say I’m house-proud. It’s very important to live in an environment that brings me calm and I’m a visual person so my home is full of art, interesting (not expensive) furniture and treasured objects.
I don’t like housework (who does) but I find if I do about 20 minutes every day, I can keep it clean and tidy.
But we all have different priorities and at our age especially, shouldn’t fret about things that in the grander scheme, aren’t important.

I am probably the opposite I
have very few outside interests and spend far too much time cleaning and gardening. This is not a good balance and I am looking to change it.
I hate the house not being exceptionally clean and tidy it makes me feel uneasy.
Can't wait for the better weather much prefer outside jobs my patio is my next big job it's beautiful grey porcelain but winter has taken its toll and the grout has become very dirty. Good form of exercise it's a very big patio !

I like a home to be lived in, having a house proud wife who wants everything perfect would be a nightmare for me.
My wife also dislikes housework so when I think it’s too bad I do couple of hours tidying and cleaning.
Cooking too although she is a good cook and enjoys it when the mood is right, I do about half the cooking, it’s all very relaxed and works well for us.

I have lots of guests, so have had no choice but to up my game in recent years.

I had to cut back on some other interests to manage it.

I have nearly finished a huge tidy up and reorganisation of the house.
I am hoping to go back to some of the interests again soon.

There will be some diy left to do. Hopefully by someone else!

I fall between two stools. I cannot function unless I have a tidy environment. Ihave ADHD and dyspraxia and hav eproblems with concentration if my environemnt is cluttered.. I am also very responsive to what my surrounds look like.

However, I find cleaning mind-numbingly boring, so over the years I have done everything I can to limit the time I spend on housework. All the furniture in the house is on legs or has no legs and is flat against the ground so that I can clean the floors without having to move furniture. I dust with a feather duster, so much quicker than using a duster.

I put things back where I find them - all though this policy comes in conflict with DH's custom of abandoning things where he last used them, another form of 'efficiency'. I am constantly asking myself whether something needs to be done, can be done less frequently or not done at all.

I love my home and love to keep it looking lovely. We are lucky enough to be able to have a cleaner. Not only does she clean but knowing she is coming means we have to tidy before she arrives. Win win.

I would far sooner be occupied in our craft-cum-office creating something pretty from my ever growing stash of fabric and haberdashery than polishing broom handles!

But Katyj, paint is SO lovely - and choosing colours that go together (and with the things you already love) is such a nice thing to "waste" time on!
😂

You’re the complete opposite of me. But I envy you, not being bothered about your home, it must be very freeing to be able to think about other more interesting things. I spend far too long cleaning, and making things look nice in my opinion.
Then when the housework is done, I can spend hours looking at paint, furniture etc for the next project 🙈

When I was a child, our house was a show home, and we spent most of our time in the kitchen. My mother worked as a ward sister with one day off a month, but the house came first. It was sparkling, and she washed the kitchen floor at least daily.

My house is modern and well-furnished, but I have employed a cleaner for many years. I do as little as possible.