Grew up in a very clean and neat house. Made me appreciate a clean and neat space. As an adult, I keep my home neat and clean, but not as spotless as my mom, and feel a constant background stress that I should be scrubbing a floor or moving furniture to vacuum and dust the hidden nooks and crannies.

So many "clean house" while growing up responses. Ours was messy and probably smelly and there were piles of clean clothes all over the couches where they landed after the dryer. Food on the counters, newspapers dropped in the hallways.

How did it affect me - I was embarrassed and to this day don't really have guests over as I tend to let things go. When I have cleaners, my whole outlook changes for the better so I know it's important to keep up with.

Anonymous wrote:A large secretly messy home. The public parts were cleaned regularly and had very nice things but the inside rooms and closets and garage and attic were just tons of stuff piled up and there were entire rooms nobody was allowed to see.

See this makes me feel like I’m messy on the outside but all my closets are neat, I don’t stockpile, can’t stand the thought of things spending eternity in my attic. But most surfaces around the house have misplaced stuff on them.

A large secretly messy home. The public parts were cleaned regularly and had very nice things but the inside rooms and closets and garage and attic were just tons of stuff piled up and there were entire rooms nobody was allowed to see.

It was pretty neat, thanks to my mom. It’s depressing visiting now—brother and sister have let it get dirty and cluttered. I am neat but not current on housekeeping with a full house and no cleaners beside me.

My mom was terrible and would constantly yell and belittle me if I didn’t leave the house to her liking. If I left a single object out of place, I wouldn’t hear the end of it. This resulted in me growing into a very anxious adult. Clutter and disorganization leads to panic, and I can’t handle it. My husband grew up completely different and his mom is really messy. He is also extremely messy, and his clutter makes me physically ill.

For the brief time that we had a housecleaner growing up, my mom would clean the whole house before they got there and then complain about the bad job they did. She was an obsessive neat freak, and I wish she could have relaxed a bit. I think she'd have been a lot happier.

At the same time, both of my parents were basically organized hoarders. The house would be spotless, but open a cupboard, and it would be full of extra bottles of hand lotion, soap, detergent, and whatnot. The pantry could have fed them for a few years straight. They loved Costco. They also each had multiple collections -- figurines, music boxes, memorabilia, that sort of stuff. And they had a huge attic and garage that were stuffed to the gills with stuff they couldn't bear to part with. All very organized, but full. It was a nightmare when they decided to downsize. I stopped counting at 25 full pickup trips to Goodwill.

My house is far less neat, but it's clean. I'll clear up clutter once a week or so, but I don't obsess about it. I'm also much more willing to part with things. I do a purge a few times a year, and I don't have any collections.

Messy and while prior to kids I was immaculate, my house is now extremely messy and cluttered too. Just way too much stuff, kids constantly empty things out or drop them somewhere, after the 10th time I just leave it.

Growing up, my house was clean, but disorganized. My house today is clean and somewhat better organized, but I would love for it to be even more so. I just think it's so nice to be able to find things when you need them without digging through closets and cabinets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our house was always clean and not cluttered, but not obsessively clean. Like nobody was scrubbing the baseboards regularly, and there might be some dusty shelves and stuff. That's pretty much how my house is now.

+1 DH on the other hand grew up in a filthy home, and now can't stand dirt or clutter. Though he never does seem to notice dust.

Same

Both of my brothers on the other hand live in very cluttered houses, 1 of the houses is really dirty on top of the clutter and the other has a near hoarding issue going on in the basement (due to SIL mostly, but brother doesn't contribute to stopping it happening either)

Pretty tidy and put together but not spic and span. I’m not a neat freak now but I try to keep my home looking somewhat presentable. I have 3 young boys that can be tough on the house but I find toys on the floor all the time/dishes in the sink/overt messiness to be very stressful

Anonymous wrote:Something in between. Mildly messy but regularly cleaned home. Pretty similar to how I am now.

+1
same

Anonymous wrote:Neat freak home, with a weekly cleaning service on top of that. I’m not good at housekeeping, and I would prefer a much cleaner home than I am apparently able to achieve.

PP again. Forgot to add that clutter really stresses me out.

Anonymous wrote:Our house was always clean and not cluttered, but not obsessively clean. Like nobody was scrubbing the baseboards regularly, and there might be some dusty shelves and stuff. That's pretty much how my house is now.

+1 DH on the other hand grew up in a filthy home, and now can't stand dirt or clutter. Though he never does seem to notice dust.

Neat freak home, with a weekly cleaning service on top of that. I’m not good at housekeeping, and I would prefer a much cleaner home than I am apparently able to achieve.