fifty shades of dust and clutter

I too like a clean and tidy house however I also accept that when our DGC come to visit the house is theirs to make a comfy, playful environment. I accept this as long as I can get it all tidied up again once they leave. I don't keep our house this way for anyone else but for me and DH who also is clean and tidy (sometimes a bit more than me). We are all different and accept/not accept how others want to live. It your own choice.

Wow, I’m impressed with your friend sapphire. Although that’s a shade too far for me. I like to think I keep the house clean but there’s nothing quite as mortifying as a visit from someone whose glance is caught by the humongous, swirly cobweb that you just know wasn’t there yesterday. Or when the local councillor you asked round to discuss a local issue sits in the kitchen diner facing the huge pile of dirty washing, mainly underpants, which you have been nagging DH to move for days. Why that day, why that time. Or the time that having scrubbed the house from top to bottom, lined up the guest towels and generally gone to huge effort for some particularly discerning guests, and dh just needs to do a huge poo, leaving a throat tightening aroma and a streak down the pan just moments before the doorbell rings. Such is life i suppose

I like a tidy, minimalist environment. DH has his study and garage to store his model boat collection, numerous power tools, useful "stuff", any books he wished to keep. Lately however, his guitar collection is creeping into our sitting room which is the one area of the house I insist on being clutter free. I return said musical instruments, music stand, books etc back to his study at regular intervals. I think this is a reasonable compromise.

I find it very difficult to function in a cluttered and/or untidy environment. Even as a child, my bedroom was always tidy . I knew then that I could not live with someone who was untidy or a smoker. Unfortunately DH hid his untidiness very well until I married hi . Then it was too late.

I try to contain his untidiness to areas I can cope with. We share a study, so I keep my side tidy and leave his half the way he wants it. We have a huge workshop, but he won't use it as it is the other end of the garden so I cope with the breakfast table being a mess and stuff stacked in the back hall.

I still dream of living in a tidy house, where I know where everything is and everything has a place.

Pressed post too soon by mistake! I was always saying that the house looked like a tip, but my goodness, how I wish it looked like that now! DH always used to say that it was our home and that it should look 'lived in', not a showhome. He didn't see untidiness or clutter and really wouldn't have cared what sort of mess it was in. Obviously it was kept clean and I used to have a massive tidy up every so often, but it was soon back to normal. So basically I have a big clean and tidy-up when I'm expecting visitors, and the rest of the time it's a lick and a promise!
I have a friend though who changes the colour scheme in her sitting room and kitchen every couple of months. She will just fancy something different and has big plastic boxes labelled with the colour, full of matching accessories, and will change everything including curtains. Boxes are stored in the loft till next time. In the kitchen even the kettle and toaster are changed and she has matching sets of mugs, cutlery, tea towels, coasters etc in different colours. (I have one set of matching mugs and the rest are odd ones picked up on holiday or free from events.). Never know what to expect whenever we visit!

How my neighbours manage to live in showhouses I do not know. Even if I call round unexpectedly there is not a thing out of place, everything is pristine and sparkling, kitchen work surfaces empty, no washing up in the sink. No books, magazines lying around, no coats slung over the bannister, no bits of paper lying around waiting to be dealt with. I make a big effort when it's my turn to host the monthly coffee morning and manage to achieve the look for about a day - then it's back to normal! The thing is that I feel their houses have no character and no clues as to what sort of people live there. They have no bookshelves, and everything is very 'tasteful'. My DH was a boarder so I had little chance and was alwaysq

I like the house to look clean and tidy although it doesn’t stay that way for long. I think it’s part of my relaxing process in the evening - much nicer to sit looking at a tidy room rather than a lot of clutter.

This resonates with me! After bringing up four untidy children and an equally untidy husband I now live alone, and most of the time my apartment is just how I like it. Yesterday, however, was my third day of emergency childcare. After I put the baby to bed for his morning nap I setttled on the sofa with a cup of tea, the last mince pie, and a good book. It was then that two friends called and said they were passing by. I looked around my apartment: the dishwasher hadn’t been emptied and there were this morning’s breakfast things on the worktops plus some dishes and glasses that hadn’t made it into the dishwasher the night before, a bag of recycling and three empty bottles on the floor by the sink, and a clothes aired fully loaded in the guest bathroom, plus toys and books strewn over the living area floor. Of course I let them in, and we had several cups of tea and a nice chat.
A friend lost her partner very suddenly, and she said one of the hardest things to bear was the tidiness of her house: how she missed his coat on the back of a chair, his shoes askew in the hallway, his always-open wardrobe door.

I like my house fairly tidy but, although it drives me dotty, I realise that we live here and would much rather it got messy than it stayed how I left it!

And, as dragonfly says, we are forced to tidy up when the cleaner is due!!

I would love a house as you describe it but realised 50 years ago it was an impossible dream. My DH is a hoarder and does not seem to see clutter. The only time he clears up is when the cleaner is coming!