why is it

[sunrise]

then when my sister is due to visit I have to tidy up and get rid of all my junk ( well try to anyway !! )
my house is tidy but lived in but her house is more like a showhome , she keeps her coasters in a cupboard only getting them out when she needs them ( or is that normal ??)
granted she doesn't work during the day apart from a couple of days a week , hubby does the shopping and cooking so she has loads more time than me but I just seem to collect rubbish and am a bit of a hoarder.
so everytime I've been to her house I feel that I need to get rid of all my junk and tidy up but I never seem to finish
so is your house a showhome or a 'lived in ' home ??

[onlyme]

Lol...all 3 of my sisters are clean freaks! I always feel inferior when they come round because mine's always 'lived in' even when it's just been cleaned. Perhaps that's why I get a lot of visitors, maybe they feel comfortable in my humble little home?

[cupcake]

Mine is totally lived in. OH is a hoarder and wouldn't know tidy if it hit him on the head. Having 2 kids and a big dog there's no hope of keeping the place tidy. I dream of having a show home but don't think it will ever happen.

[Aviya Glass]

Definitely a lived in home!
An excessively tidy home is a sign of unhappiness and is an attempt to control your environment when you feel other areas of your life are out of your control! Don't be jealous.............
I used to feel very inferior to my ex SIL who tidied the tiniest drop of water when you washed your hands in the basin and wished I could be tidier but when I heard the above I was freed. I am happy, she has a clean house - not a home! I felt sorry for her and never let the looks of disdain worry me again!

[greannancrafts]

My home is clean enough to be hygienic - mucky enough to be lived in

On my wedding day (many years ago) my elderly aunt said to me - remember Jane, it is your performance in the bedroom that matters, not the tidiness of it! (someone must be having a great time in there?)

Jane

[beckyboo]

mine is most definatly lived in ...till recently I had all 5 of my kids still living at home ,a dog , a cat , my OH (who I swear wouldn't notice any mess unless he slipped over on it and broke a bone) and of course me !

I'd like to have a tidy home where everything has a place and purpose, sadly we are all hoarders, but if I'm totally honest I would rather have a home where people don't have to worry about where to put a cup than a show home

I'll have plenty of time to have a tidy house when my kids have homes of their own, till then long live the chaos

[nattynetty]

An excessively tidy home is a sign of unhappiness and is an attempt to control your environment when you feel other areas of your life are out of your control! Don't be jealous.............

Suddenly I feel a whole lot better about my house Whenever I tidy it stays like that for a few hours and then has that 'lived in' look about it. I try to claim it's because we've a small house and too much stuff but I suspect it'd be the same if we lived in a mansion!

I always remember when our friend came over with his new girlfriend and her then 5 year old daughter the first time...the little girl announced we needed to get Kim and Aggie to come over

[Moonbeam Angel]

Definitely lived in, like Cupcake says, with two children and in my case two cats, its hard to keep the place tidy.

When the children are at school it is lovely and tidy, then they come home and there is mess everywhere.

A friend of my parents once said, people come to my home to visit ME, if they dont like the surroundings they can stay away! (She was a millionairess but her home didnt have matching anything, no three piece suite for her etc)

I agree, my home is not dirty, just lived in!


(but I still feel the need to clean when my sister comes to visit!)

[Kiamyka]

Mine is definitely lived in ! and I don't feel envious of show house type homes although thers has been on the odd flash in time when mine has looked tidy - you have to be very fast to spot it though lol

[sunrise]

oh I do feel better now
trouble is it does have a tendancy to be a bit grubby , not filthy but just needs a bit of attention , you know what its like finger marks on the doors , a bit of dust on the skirting board please tell me your houses are like this too ???
people are always telling me my house is clean and tidy and thats because it is when I've got visitors lol but the rest of the time I feel like its a tip with stuff everywhere and it drives me mad but now I'm working longer hours and getting my card business up and running I just don't physically have the time.
People do seem comfortable in my house and my grown up children who still live at home don't have problems bringing other halves and friends round.
I try and cook lovely home cooked dinners and make cakes and biscuits as often as possible but I never seem to be in control of things ( theres that control word again lol ) as soon as its tidy it gets in a mess again , I tidy up turn round and its untidy , its a never ending job

I just wish I could feel happy and comfortable in my lived in house instead of worrying what everyone thinks

[Selina]

I think my house is lived in - my friends think it looks like a showhome!! It does look excessively tidy when I know people are coming round (like last night!) but by this afternoon it is definitely lived in and the cats have deposited tiny bits of litter from between their paw pads all over the floor LOL!!!!! Selina

[Delta]

We have a hoooooooge collection of model aeroplanes that the other half has made (wiv a likkle help from me), we are talking the Airfix type ones, and because he's manic about them, I refuse to dust anywhere near them. As they are slowly taking over the house, this means less dusting that I can do (if he wants them dust free he can bloomin well do it himself!)

We have dirty fingerprints on doors ect, the odd bit of dust on the skirting board, and the dog doesnt seem to care where he sheds his hair, but hey we are happy, and if folks don't like my house, then they don't need to come in.

I do confess to leaving the occasional kitchen full of washing up for the mil, but there is a story behind that!

[silvermaid]

Ohh definitely lived in here.
I love cleaning but hate tidying. I clean the cupboard doors, bath, doors and even the light switches but 1/2 the settee and at the sides of the chairs are always fill up with newspapers and bits.
DH will drop things on the floor or miss the bin and never pick them up. If there is a newspaper on the floor he will walk over it or kick it to one side. I always have to go round the living room and pick up all the plates and cups even though he has to walk through the kitchen to go outside.
We are both hoarders and although we have three spare rooms everywhere is cluttered. DH once said 'If we get burgled, how will we know?'
I always have a blitz when we have a royal visit (from my mum and dad) or if we have visitors but a day later it all seems to be back again and I can't find anything for a week or more.

Melanie

[Louise88]

Mine is clean but there is always junk everywhere. I can live in it for so long but Gareth can't stand it, so I usually get away with not cleaning cos he will do it!
Lately though I've been trying to keep on top of it, firstly because of minnie and mickey (two mice that we caught) and secondly because if I come home to a tip I feel stressed

[sunrise]

its amazing isn't it
I had a few health worries recently and just couldn't get my head around the housework so it got a bit out of control
now my health is sorted and I'm trying hard to be the 'perfect' housewife lol my head feels better and I don't feel as stressed unless my sister is coming round which she is this week
oh no !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! off to do some more tidying up