A comfortable home VS an overly tidy home
By jewishgurl
@jewishgurl (98)
United States
April 30, 2010 11:41am CST
When my friends come over to my house my main goal is for them to feel comfortable and at HOME,literally. This isn't the case though at many peoples houses. Many people would rather have perfectly white carpets and $5000 couches or more that are spotless. The only problem with this is, many times the people with these expensive entities in their house and overly clean carpets...FREAK out if you even drop one piece of food on the floor or put your feet on the couch or use a towel to dry your hands that you later find out is just a decoration. Even if you wear shoes in the house. This makes for an uncomfortable environment for the guest. I don't know about you, but sometimes people go a little too far with the cleanliness of their homes. It gets to a point where their OCD antics get in the way of what a "home" really represents. Its a gathering place for family, friends, neighbors. Its not just your HOME, but many guests home too. This is at least how I look at it. What are your opinions on this issue?
1 person likes this
13 responses
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
30 Apr 10
Hi, I would wholeheartedly agree with that.I too would rather have a comfortable and neat home rather than a show piece which makes the visitors uncomfortable.I have a friend who has knick knacks all over her home and some of them are very delicate and expensive.On one of the occasions when we had dinner with her a small child dropped a crystal artifact and broke it and she was fuming.the poor mother was near to tears and our whole evening was spoilt. I wouldn't want to have such an atmosphere..
@jewishgurl (98)
• United States
30 Apr 10
Oh gosh, yea thats horrible. Especially if you are going to invite kids over..the breakable must be put away. Don't want repeats of that hehe. Sometimes people just think outside the box like that.
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
30 Apr 10
The idea is to display it while the guests are around
...LOL but one has to be practical and think of the convenience of the guests especially when they have small kids and are going to be around for a couple of hours at least...all the best and happy mylotting
...LOL but one has to be practical and think of the convenience of the guests especially when they have small kids and are going to be around for a couple of hours at least...all the best and happy mylotting
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
1 May 10
I am like you. My house is comfortable and lived in. I try to keep it neat but it is hard at times. I have 4 boys. Three of them are older (20, 19, & 16) and the youngest one is 7 months. The older ones have stuff laying around and the younger one has all of his toys around plus a playpen, jumperoo, stroller, etc. You can get the picture. I try to make sure that the older guys keep their stuff policed up and that the dishes are always washed and that the floors are not dirty, carpet vacuumed and bathrooms presentable. I do not like "showcase" homes. We Live in our house. Even after the boys are gone I doubt that I would ever have expensive lavish furniture or carpeting. I have simple tastes and slightly modest means. I like to keep things kind of organized but not extreme. The extreme people drive me nuts!
@jewishgurl (98)
• United States
1 May 10
I couldn't agree with you anymore. Extreme people oh man they scare me haha. Like those people that have nick nacks all over there home. Or a house that just looks like a museum, yuck. A house should look like its lived in, but at the same time be at least a little clean. :)
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
21 Aug 10
Hi, jewishgurl. Although we all have the right to decorate our home the way that we would like it, there are still boundaries that have to be implicated. I think that people should not have light colored sofa chairs. If I know that many people will be coming over my home, I will make sure that my furniture is not too light in color. I don't like light colored carpet, because it stains and gets dirty too fast. If they want a home so flawless, then it should be put onto display. Or they should have a few rooms closed off to be used only for private visitations. Why get all glamored up when the house is going to get so dirty anyway? Living the fancy life comes with a price!
Living the fancy life comes with a price!
@hanuma34 (819)
• India
1 May 10
You are right on dot jewishgurl. Once some very basic needs are met there is no point in wasting time and money with classy furniture etc. If guests, or other family members frequent our place, it is expected that they too feel 'at home' with the way hospitality is shown. I have seen people going a long way trying to impress with luxurious setting at home and constantly working their way to keep it from getting spoiled even during the gatherings. One of my friends is so fastidious about tidiness, that he spends nearly half the day setting things in order, right from newspaper, magazines, office table. I do not care for all this. Comfort means comfort. That's it. Not clean lifeless setting.
@jewishgurl (98)
• United States
1 May 10
Yea you are right! The material goods mean nothing in the end anyways.
@pandaeyes (2065)
•
30 Apr 10
I agree.
I want my house to look like we live in it.
One of my sons friends has a mum who was very house proud and had little covers on all her soft furniture.
Their house looked like a show home but they couldn't move for fear of making a mess.
One of my relatives has her daughters bridesmaids dresses put into a wooden case and displayed in her bedroom and the trains her son was given for his birthday were put in the unopened boxes in the attic in case he spoiled them by playing with them.
@cmjune76 (273)
• United States
30 Apr 10
I am one of those 'OCD' people you described! ha! I can laugh about it b/c you're not over at my house dragging dirt across my clean floor. :)
Maybe I am overboard, but I can not change who I am. I have ALWAYS been this way! My bedroom and closet was alway pristine growing up.
Thing is, it doesn't bother anyone I know. They respect my need for cleanliness. I get calls all the time for advice or called over to help with a cleaning project.
I suppose it's all perspective.
@jewishgurl (98)
• United States
1 May 10
Yea, thats great that they look up to you for cleaning advice! Not a bad thing. Yes it all depends on the perspective. :)
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
3 May 10
To some people image is everything. To me, comfort is....
@coffeegurl (1467)
• United States
2 May 10
my mom claims she has OCD, at least when it comes to cleaning. Her home looks great. I wish i could be more like her. she says i used to be very tidy when i was a little girl and used to put away my toys AND my sis's toys. When I was in the army, they were very strict about everything, as well as cleaning. When I got out, I became very messy. gradually it got worse over time. Now, the messiness is starting to bother me. It doesn't help that my bf is way messier and brings home anything and everything he thinks is a "treasure." I believe I gave up, because he is always bringing more stuff into the house and never throwing anything away.
@besthope44 (12123)
• India
15 Aug 10
Well i feel comfortable home is also a tidy home.We make home a comfortable place for guests too..
@apoljuice1 (730)
• Philippines
1 May 10
I want to be comfy in my home. I don't like having to be stiff in my own home! I want to enjoy every part of the house: the living room, the kitchen, the den. My mom's overly OC. She makes my cousin and me dust the furniture every morning and she doesn't allow us to lie on the couches. When we have visitors, she makes sure they remove their shoes before stepping on the carpeting. Most of the time i hang out at my room so I could lounge about how i want to!
@viviya (88)
• China
1 May 10
A comfortable home is a better choice for me. I want to be comfortable and relaxed at home,rather than paying attention to the expensive carpets all the day long. it is not a home but a prison.
