Cheetah7

I have been watching this program about hoarders, people even hoard animals and one woman actually had her children removed due to her hoarding various bits of crap and heaps of animals and she was more upset about losing her animals than her kids, stating 'I know my kids are looked after'.

I know hoarding is a mental illness but I am shocked at how some people can live to be honest. Having a cat and a dog, I am paranoid about animal hair and do my best to keep a clean home, it has killed me these past couple of weeks not being able to do my usual cleaning.

Personally I cannot stand a sink full of dirty washing up, I like beds to be neatly made and dusting all done.

Some people live in a hugely messy house but say it is clean and they know where things are. Some live in a filthy house that clearly isnt clean and they just smell of dirt.

My house was not clean when I was growing up and nor was it tidy - hence my hatred for dirt and mess now. Although there were lots of us kids in the house so god knows how Mum managed to be honest.

Do you have kids and keep a clean and tidy house or do you not mind too much if it gets messy?

Or are you a secret hoarder, collecting animals?

BadgeIsBack

PP.

Clutter is a pain.

We've got some - mostly books. 3 young children, 2 of pre-school age do not help.

About a year ago my wife took notice of a man called Peter Walsh.

He is all about not just creating space in your house ('storage solutions') but how to get rid of it. My wife got his book hoping to find storage ideas then realised we needed to get rid of stuff, not store it.

I thought it was all talk and common sense but when you apply yourself to his doctrine it works and you chuck out stuff you thought you needed but didn't - even stuff that you thought sentimental. It even gets quite addictive. Haven't used that item in 6 months - chuck!

Since then, our house is very tidy - and it gets back on track very quickly.

brissybee

Clean but messy. (Particularly since in pre-renovation mode.)

On a good day can find pets.

Drew the line at magpies in the kitchen. (Shooed them out when they wandered in.)

Cheetah7

I cant relax in mess, although I have some stuff I really need to part with, hasnt been out of the cupboard since we moved and charity would get better use of it so tomorrow I shall clear out anything I havent worn in 6 months or I havent looked at or I no longer love.

And next week I shall buy more clothes.

Gibbo

Think I'm the world's worst housekeeper. Hate housework with a passion. House is dusty but not filthy! Used to have a good cleanup once a week. Don't know why I bothered because told by the males it wasn't like home!?!! They have all gone now but under the house is full of the crap they've left behind!

eddie007

No youre not... i am...

i am a TOTAL pack rat.... Cant throw anything away, just in case

i blame my parents... They borrowed a book from the library in clacton on sea.. Called, i think, kangaroo and kangaroo

Went summit along the lines of...

Kangaroo and kangaroo didnt have anything else to do, apart from collecting lots of stuff incase they hadnt nearly enough...

Would LOVE to find that book and read it as an adult...

I also blame my grandmother and her wartime mentality that I i herited.. Stock up on things on special offer...

I would LOVE to have a showhouse... But I have a home instead...

al150n

I'm not the best at housework. Generally the house is clean & tidy but with 2 small kids & a husband that seem incapable of picking up after themselves I sometimes get to the point where I can't be bothered.

The dusting & hoovering gets done when it looks like it needs doing. Beds are always made before the school run & the washing machine seems to be on permanently. But I'm not great when it comes to the ironing so there is always more waiting to be ironed than there is stuff in the wardrobes. And before anyone says don't iron it just fold it, I've tried that but I think there is a bit of OCD, I even iron flannels & t-towels

Alison x

Cheetah7

I hate those show houses, that look like something out of vogue but after growing up in a dirty messy house that caused me much piss taking from my mates, the thought of dirt scares and revolts me - but that is my issue as it is something I grew up with and still shudder at the memories of the filthy carpets, and smell.

Dont get me started on ground in dirty cookers.

Now I have to be clean, there may be a bit of clutter on my desk but otherwise I have to be clean. Funny how childhood can cause all kinds of issues that are carried on to our own adulthood.

eddie007

Ironing????????? You have an obsevise compulsion to iron? Would you like to come and live in my house?

Cheetah7

My friend irons sheets, panties and socks. I iron as I need - usually my clothes allocation for the week but I would rather eat my dog than iron sheets, towels and smalls.

eddie007

Dog tastes yummy, question is.... Would you eat Gordon?

Cheetah7

I would not eat Gordon, he has been having problems with his anal glands.

ponyrama

I consider my self an environmentalist. I could not bring myself to throw anything out just because I hadnt used/worn it in six months - that to me is the height of consumerism and the reason why we have become a materialistic society. My "out of season" clothes are packed up in suitcases and stored underthebed/intheshed for another time, i keep all my supermarket crap carrier bags as they make excellent poop scoop bags, and I recycle those daft gift bags people give you presents in - hence you might look in some cupboards in my house and think "cuckoo - crazy alert"

My in season clothes are hardly ever put away properly, I hate doing dishes with a passion and so tend to "save them up" til I've got a sink full on the pretence of saving water and I never iron unless I have to. I hoover sometimes, i dust a bit, and i change the bed religiously once a week whether I have slept in it or not. But thats about it.

I hope i dont smell of dirt!

Hebe

Some would say I am anal about cleanliness - I just say that I like a clean and tidy house without clutter. I don't collect anything and have very few nick nacks around the place. Hoover, wash the floors and do the bathrooms daily and give the place a really good go through weekly. I don't keep anything that has no use or purpose or hasn't been used/worn by me for a year (or thereabouts) and luckily the OH is the same.

I send my ironing out but like to have tea towels and bedding ironed along with most other stuff. Couldn't imagine getting into a crumpled bed but each and everyone to their own.

Our house when growing up was filthy and untidy so I guess it probably stems from then but that is not the case with all my family. I haven't been to my sister's house in the UK for years and years, even before moving to Oz, because it is so dirty and I end up upsetting her.

BadgeIsBack

There needs to be some sense of course. Throwing stuff out applies - really - to the stuff you should never have got in the first place. So thought needs to go into what you acquire...throwing out and then going on a shopping trip is consumerism.

And it means you don't throw out a dinner jacket, or your wedding dress - etc.. etc.