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Post by lookingup on Nov 30, 2008 6:35:37 GMT -5
Over this weekend I've had the opportunity to be in other people's houses. Generally, I don't pay much attention as that's the time to visit or play with their cats or eat. Somehow this weekend that changed.
My friend's house: They are in the mid 70's. Looks nice and tidy, but if you look close, it's not. Heavy, heavy smokers so the tar is all over everything. I got a glass out of the cabinet and had to sneak and wash it. I suspect her DH gets a drink and puts them back.... They have the living room set up so their interests are handy. Needlework and books in baskets by their chairs. That's nice.
My father's house: He's 83. Maybe half the house is a "2". The rest is fairly tidy. Office is a wreck. He still works and stores much of it at his house. Dining room table is piled up about 18 inches, but only 2 inches at the end where he pays bills. He has set up a "command central" around his chair with everything from remotes to fingernail clippers to the phone to his books. Looks a mess, but its clean and organized.
My sister's house. Mid 40's. They have done quite a bit of renovation and about 2 years ago did a ruthless decluttering. That house is in pristine condition everywhere. It looks like nobody lives there. It's pleasant and clean, but when you sit there awhile it seems empty and cold somehow. Maybe the lack of personalization. No hobbies out, nothing.
I don't know why this is bothering me. Maybe just that everybody has to set their house up to their own standard and convenience and after all these years I am trying to figure out what my standard needs to be (and then get there).
Anne.
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Nov 30, 2008 10:17:50 GMT -5
Of my two sisters and I, baby sis has the nicest house. Everything clean and orderly, she's the Borm Organized one. Mine is in the middle, pretty cluttered up but nothing unhealthy. I keep the cat box clean and take out the garbage compulsively. My other sister has a filthy house, broken down,cold, especially in winter, animal feces in some spots. I don't like visiting her.
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Post by messymimi on Nov 30, 2008 10:18:07 GMT -5
Yes, we have to figure out what works best for us. I want a house that is level 0.5 at most -- to me, that would mean clean, reasonably tidy, lived in but not the current lived-in-by-a-tornado look.
messymimi
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Post by canna on Nov 30, 2008 11:10:31 GMT -5
Intersting topic other people's houses. My sister, my brotherinlaw and my nephew have a nice big house. It's always nice, but not spotlessly clean. It's also nice that my brotherinlaw and nephew help a lot, cook, clean, etc. They always have some "project" going on: painting, new carpet, back deck resurface, gardenwork, etc. etc. Nice.
My cousin and her husband have a big townhouse with huge deck out back. No kids. Always very very clean. To me, though, I do not like cathedral ceilings, and they have them in frontroom and dining room, very high ceilings (lights waaay up there) and big staircase. It's too "cold" looking and not "homey" enough for me but its nicely decorated.
My neighbor. Sometimes very cluttered 2, other times level 1. It depends she is always so busy. Her son is 15, doen't help much around house at all. But it is not squalor. She does whirlwind cleaning and will spend a day to get things in order. then it slips a little till next time. But that's OK. Ha.
My condo is level 1-2. I call it "chotchkie palace" I do have a little too many things around. But it is always clean. I am fanatic about keeping my cat's litter box clean. Can't stand piles of paper and magazines..read, recycle asap!
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Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Nov 30, 2008 13:17:22 GMT -5
My sister's house is disgusting, with her 6 year old's urinated in diapers overflowing the trash in the bathroom. She uses one per night, and there are about 15 in there, and dirty clothes all over the floors. There are peed on mattresses and bedding in both her bed and my sister's bed that never get cleaned, only slept in. Toys and things so deep in the floor that you cannot walk, piles everywhere, and that disgusting smell. It is especially hard for me because I used to live in that house, before i moved to my new one and she took that one over, and when I go there it is like a foreign place, just so disgusting.
My mom's house has no disgusting messes, but a lot of junk clutter. Like the 32 inch tv that has been broken for 10 years, and she swears she is going to get it fixed. But it is presentable, people could certainly go in at any given time.
My house does not have any disgusting messes, but at times it gets crap on the floor, and dirty clothes out. Since getting rid of half of my belongings, I can clean the whole thing up in 2 hours or less, and that is the deep clean. The only problem is that sometimes it gets too messy before I actually clean it. But I no longer could have cleanings that last all night, not enough nasty for that.
But things pop up sometimes, like we went to the beach yesterday, and now there is sand all over.
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Post by messyang on Nov 30, 2008 16:37:41 GMT -5
VERY interesting post! I constantly wonder if other people 's homes are like mine. I live in second (sometimes third) degree squalor, and have a friend who is the same. I must be mentally ill, because there are times when I have walked through her home gagging at the cigarette butts in the shower, dirty diapers on the floor, etc. But just today, in my OWN home, when I dumped out the cat litter pan, I noticed maggots!!! That would make anyone gag. I also used to enjoy watching "How Clean Is your House?" to see if anyone else is messier than I. Maybe, that makes me feel like I am not so bad. However... I have a coworker that you could eat off of her floor, and she brags constantly about being "uber-clean" (Never mind that she has a cleaning maid). Great thread! I hope I am not the only one who is curious about others' homes.
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Post by clearwaterush on Nov 30, 2008 17:53:29 GMT -5
We play cards two friday nights a month with our friends up on the hill. We have five friends up there.
House 1: Glen and Donna: Wonderful couple worry all the time what people will think of them, how they dress, act and live. They complain a lot to us about the others. We have to be careful what we say because if people complain about others and how bad they are-then you definitly know you're being complained about too. SHE is an excellent housekeeper, with a few cobwebs and fingerprints she didn't see-don't say anything though because she comes unglued! Glen and Donna both smoke, don't drink and gamble once a year.
House 2: Jack and Janie: Jack is high strung and worrys about people liking him. Voices his opinions all the time and annoyes all of us. Constantly on Janie's case about everything! Janie also voices her opinion, but all of us like her. SHE is a totally excellent house keeper. Can't find any thing wrong in this house-literally! Immaculate. Jack doesn't smoke or drink. Janie smokes, drinks and gambles anytime!
House 3: Pat and Lorraine: These people shine inside and out! They are pleasant to be around and constantly have family and church socials. If anyone one makes a mess they don't fret-just hire a carpet cleaner to clean the wonderful white silk dining room chairs and white carpet. Something got broke? Well, they buy something else in it's place, they have the money to do this! SHE hires her grandkids by the hour to do the house, and when no kids want to do it, she does it. HER house is immaculate. They do not drink, or smoke, but they LOVE to gamble!
Trailer 4: Darlene: This is Pat and Lorraine's daughter. She is a person in her own world. She moves slow and does thing when SHE wants to. Her trailer always seems like she working on something-kind of like construction... Doesn't handle money or banking well. BUT man can she play cards. She drinks and smokes and gambles.
House 5: Derrick and Debbie: A MARY POPPINS HOUSEHOLD! They are perfect in every way. SHE is perfect in her house cleaning and they have two large snouzer male dogs who when they are in the kitchen, hike their leg-but they clean up as soon as its done. I figure if she wants to do that-great. The others think it's horrible. The dogs take the place of children. These two people are the stronghold for any community. Derrick works, comes home. Debbie works, comes home. They don't drink, smoke, or gamble. THEY DO NOT play cards with us. DEBBIE is Glenn's (House 1) daughter.
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Post by threeg on Nov 30, 2008 18:26:40 GMT -5
I have a friend who is a super cleanie. You could eat off her floors. She wipes her toilet every day with bleach and water as she is kind of a germaphobe. Her house is very cozy though, and not "cold" at all. She has been my friend for close to 40 years and has never criticized my housekeeping once. (Even at it's worst!) I have another friend who is a tad messy, but her messes are usually in the kitchen or bedroom. It does not stay messy for long. Some times she calls herself a "s l o b" but she's not squalorus at all. I have another friend who is in level 3. Mostly due to animals and family issues with hoarding. I keep encourageing her to at least lurk here for inspiration. I hope she will join us. My son, who came from a home in level 2-3 squalor, was always neat in his room and continues to be neat in his house. He was always my helper at home. His daughter's room is messy, and he cringed when I told him that she takes after me! Does anyone else have the ability to talk to someone at length and figure out that they are squalorous like I do? It's eerie but it has happened to me many times. Must be the sixth sense of squalor! 3G
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Post by notsomessyshell on Nov 30, 2008 18:35:01 GMT -5
I prefer the lived in but clean house. I don't like the so spotless you are afraid to breath in houses. Most of my friends have that kind of home. My mother's house is always clean. Sometimes it needs dusting and a little straightening, but people are always welcome to just stop by. One of my biggest fears is someone knocking on my door!
Our old neighbors had a level 3 to 4 place but I didn't know it until they moved out. They had 2 adorable daughters who always seemed clean. I had no idea until the owner started to clean up after the moved, ( in the middle of the night no less!). He started pulling out peed on and feces covered mattresses. It was horrible.
My friends houses all seemt to be that wonderful compromise I aspire to. The lived in but clean house.
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Post by Alexandra on Dec 1, 2008 11:38:30 GMT -5
My in-laws' apartment is nice and neat.
My mother's house is neat but has that lived-in look. Her remaining sister lives in her basement and I don't know how neat that is...about 30 years ago, when my parents bought this other house from my grandparents, that same aunt had been living with them, and I'm told it took three days to clean out that room--there were chicken bones and who knows what else. But other than that it's fairly neat. Except for my sister's room, probably (Mom lives with my aunt, my sister, and a family friend).
This place has some post-Thanksgiving clutter--my husband and I made things and took them to his parents' apartment. Right now I have clothes in the wash and I'm getting ready for another battle with the dishes...seems I can't keep up but at least I'm washing some every day so I don't get TOTALLY behind!
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Post by heylady1 on Dec 1, 2008 15:13:57 GMT -5
I've been in homes that were so clean you could eat off the floor and I didn't like it much either. Sure it looked nice but it was oh so cold and impersonal. I could not live like that. Now, in my house, you can eat off the floor but I should warn you that the dog probably ate something right there in that spot and licked it clean to boot. Go ahead if you want but.....
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Post by gottaproblem on Dec 1, 2008 16:18:08 GMT -5
:)Heylady1 that is funny, thanks but I won't eat off your floor.
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Post by mallery on Dec 1, 2008 19:40:10 GMT -5
My sister has a lovely home, and most people would not know that her little dogs pee everywhere. Her house is very comfy, and she is a wonderful lady.
My Best Friend has a really cute house, and it's quite clean, but she rarely works outside the home.
My youngest sister's house smells like cat urine.
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Post by Script on Dec 2, 2008 4:34:46 GMT -5
*My mother's apartment (she rents in a ritzy condo building) is gorgeous. Small, beautifully furnished, cozy. She has a cleaning lady 1/2 day a week. Sometimes if the cleaning lady doesn't come, there is a bit of dust. Otherwise, still clean. My mom is a neatnik, but doesn't really clean anymore (age 82, health issues). Once in a while, I will swipe my mom's toilets if the cleaning lady hasn't been there in a while. Level 0 usually, .5 at the worst. If I could grow old as gracefully as my mom has, I would be thrilled beyond words.
*My sister's new house is large, beautifully furnished, cozy. She & my brother have a cleaning lady one full day a week. They just moved in 2 months ago, after minor but expensive decorating. At the worst, their home would be a 1-2.
*My sister's old house was enormous, beautifully furnished, intimidating. They had a cleaning lady one full day a week. Sister lived there for 18 years. VERY ritzy area. Many things were broken. My sister's ex was a hoarder, clutterer slob-snob. Many areas were level 3, until my brother moved in and worked very hard to clear stuff out. 6,000 square foot home: and there were areas in the basement that were piled floor-to-ceiling with boxes. To get the house ready for sellling, they had 1-800-Got-Junk at least three times; plus 20+ trips to GoodWill. Because there was some rotting food in the fridge, plus hundreds of bottles of rotten wine in a neglected wine cellar, parts of the house were definitely 3. I know that my BIL's hoarding behaviour contributed to the marriage break-up.
*BIL's ritzy condo in San Francisco. Always level 3 because of rotting food in fridge. Cleaning lady bi-weekly. When we stay with him, the first thing I do is clean out the fridge. No kidding. I have contamination issues, and for some reason, his cleaning lady never touches the fridge.
fascinating posts!
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Post by stressedbythemess on Dec 2, 2008 8:51:40 GMT -5
Most of my friends don't have houses...but here we go
Mom's house - It used to be 0 in the indoors, nevermind the number of things that were boxed up that we owned. But then we started living in much smaller houses. Currently there are 2 rooms in my parents house that cannot be used, and have a path among the boxes. I promise you most of the boxes are packed neatly, but still. There is a bird that is my brotehrs that is sort of taken care of (I dont know why although it's not so bad i would call someone, he's just not paid attention to) 2 dogs out back my dad adores and dotes on. The yard is usually picked up with a thing or two here or there but with 2 dogs- hah, yeah good luck. The shed used to be filled to the top too and they asked me to get my things out. I got all the things I wanted and gave away a lot of what I took. My dad keeps griping at me (I love him, this is the one nag point with him) because I still have a bag of stuffed animals and a box at their house they (nor I) have room for. Amid my mother's 2 rooms of boxes I'm really just kind of irked that I can't store that one there. My mom also has (or had until this year, I do not know what grandfather has done with the house since grandmother died in april) a large amount of childhood stuff stored at her moms.
Grandmother's house - it used to be a cluttery, but clean place. Towards the end, well he can't see and she couldn't walk. After she died it was easily a level 2 everywhere and not necissarily a clean one. She was also a packrat with rooms not quite filled with stuff (You could still go in there and sleep on the bed or use the mirror, just heaven help you if you open a closet door and the walkways were a little narrow with stuff). Grandfather however- doesn't seem to be attatched to "stuff" other than little things here and there with real meaning. He as of last i heard, is declaring almost everything in the house free game for any family that wants it and wants to be rid of a lot of it. So i dont know how things are now.
Ex roommates apartment - disorganized, but clean. But i have not been allowed to see her bedroom any of the times I have gone to her new place. Her old place was the same way though- disorganized but clean. Previously when living with me and living with some other people she was extremely disorganized to the point of making us angry, and while her room was clean, her other messes werent (rotten food, undone dishes).
Mom's apartment (long story) - full of books. Disorganized, but very clean, but also pretty full for a 2 bedroom apartment. (I have now listed 3 living places this lady has stuff! I am just now realizing this and how ...hoard-like my mom's tendencies are! she wont let anyone throw anything out she doesn't get to see and approve of the toss sometimes!)
Friend's house - he owns and 2 other friends rent from him. Level 0-0.5 and never worse. He's a neat freak, and one of the other two is a neat freak. And the last poor guy just sorta deals with it but he's not very messy to start. I wouldn't say you could eat off his floor, and some unused rooms are very dusty, but I only wish I could have a house like his.
Uncle #1s house - full, cluttery, I don't know really how clean, probably okay clean. It's less stuff lying away unput up as every spare inch of space that could be taken up by something, is. But it "belongs" there.
Uncle #2 (is rich) has 3 houses and has been moving and i have heard stories, but i can't really judge by what little i saw of his oldest house he is moving out of at the time. Hadn't been there or seen him in years otherwise.
Other friend - clean house, not cluttery at all, but not super clean either. He has 2 cats and has been having to put a lot of work into his old house. apparently the last owners were very poor and did a half-*** job or no job on a lot of maintenance work.
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