[Small Farmer]

I hoover and do the loos - just finished that.  I can get a bit obsessive about it from time to time with long intervals of neglect in between. 


It helps a lot to have a lobby and loo between the house and the outdoors where the 217 pairs of boots fester with the 57 waterproofs.  Must have a throwout.


We do have a lady who does our bedroom, the loos and the kitchen for us but once a week is not enough.  And it's £15ph down here.

[northfifeduckling]

We only have chickens and ducks and cat but a large veg garden. I don't get much done, everything seems half-way. The teens do their room and the occasional vacuum but OH does 0 - but I can't install stoves or radiators so should be grateful, I suppose that I don't have to pay trade to do this kind of stuff. Tidying kitchen seems to take up most of my time in the house as there is constantly something on the go when in season besides the regular meals!The kids are actually embarrassed at the state of things so hardly ever bring anyone home  . Off to clear out nesting boxes now as the rain stopped 

[Luce747]

Its not like we leave the clothes and dishes dirty. They are never left and the kitchen is always cleaned. Our bathroom is just so old it is impossible to make clean. The enamel has come off the toilet and bath so they always look filthy and unsightly. Replacing the bathroom suite should probably be our next priority! I suppose its just the dusting and hoovering that can go neglected and the floors usually look grubby because we don't take shoes off in the house. That said we have wooden floors and lino for that purpose!
 
I have been to the two children's houses and of course they take shoes off at the door, have pale spotless carpets and the houses are immaculate and newly fitted/decorated.
 
My son loves to be clean and tidy and I really don't think he considers our house to be dirty - in fact he doesn't appear to have listened to the comments or be offended by them.
 
I do take a reality check now and then because I realise that my son is the healthiest child with the best attendance in school (100% bar three days off when there was a chicken pox epidemic...) not to mention his teachers consider him to be extremely 'worldly wise'.
I would never trade that for carpets or a neat freak reputation.
A lot of it might even be jealousy - not just because of the animals we get to live with but because we CAN come in and out with muddy boots and I don't freak out every time my son accidentally spills something on the floor - which is a lot...
 
I do think those with many animals have much lower standards than those with the average one pet household. We are probably a damn site happier for it aswell! what a shame that other people have to come into the equation.
 
Of course this is also a 'female' issue. One little critiscism is all it takes to send me scrubbing my house from top to bottom 

[Berkshire Boy]

I think you are right Luce747 it is a woman thing, you are all too bothered what everyone else thinks or says. Blokes just shrug the shoulders and on we go.

[HappyHippy]

You've got my sympathies    I have 4 kids, muddy dogs, cats, hubby - even the occaisional pig dropping in for a visit 
I ditto everything that's already been said - folk on here understand, folk who don't keep animals don't - simple as that 
 
We have wooden floors and lino too and they always looked bad (to me anyway) so I treated myself to a (second hand from ebay ) earlex stream cleaner thingy - it's got loads of attachemnts and makes short work of the floors, no matter how bad they are - and doesn't take forever to do them either (time is always an issue for me) plus I can use it for couches, the car, chicken houses, pig farrowing quarters....... everything really 
The really good thing is if you drop some essential oils into the water tank, it makes the house smell lovely 
HTH
Karen x

[sabrina]

I keep kitchen and bathroom clean, hoover most days due to the dog hair and that's it. Washing machine seems to be on most days but if I am busy outside I forget to hang it out then it goes into the tumble dryer.We just have a one bedroom cottage so not a lot of work. what I do in the winter time when I cannot get on outside is clean out cupboards, cook for the freezer. Our cottage smells of dogs, horse tack and often wet jackets but it is tidy enough for anyone to visit. Show house it is not but I feel it is a happy home.

[Castle Farm]

Our farm kitchen gets mucked out once a month wether it needs it or not.

I hang a dead rat up on a bit of string in the outside loo as an air freshener.

I bought some young piglets a few weeks back and my OH said "where you gonna put them".

I said 'untill I make a place in the sheds they can go in the spare bedroom'

OH. But what about all the mess..

ME. They'll get used to it after a couple of days.

[jaykay]

Excellent CF   

Luce, re-reading your original post: Most 5 year olds don't think much about dirt, so the original child is probably reflecting an obsessive mother who is so worried about germs she has passed on that concern to him. The second child is unlikely to be a second opinion but a reflection of the first.

I'm serious about your son having some sort of retort. It gives the other children a different way of thinking about the issue (so far they've only been given one, which is that a busy animal-full household must be dirty, whether or not it is). It shows that he is not ashamed of it and that's what his peers will latch hold of. If they think he doesn't care they'll move on to the next thing, but if they get a whiff that he's embarrassed they'll needle him about it. Just kids (and some adults!) I'm afraid. So however you yourself feel, don't let even a mention of that be anywhere near your child.

[plumseverywhere]

I totally agree with JayKay about the child's 'opinion' being his mothers, most likely. I remember one mum coming here for coffee and checking the rim of her mug before taking a sip, her house is like a show home - the children shower twice a day, its stinks of eau de bleach and there's not a smear on her windows. Her children are off sick from school regularly with every 'bug' going and to me a house that clean show's someone who is slightly bored during the day 

[Mays]

it isnt easy!
I have got around this problem a little, by designating one side of the house as the "posh bit", fit for the Queen & no dogs allowed . That way if I get visitors that I know may judge me they are brought in thru the front door.... friends/neighbours/other dirty people come in through the back door... on saying that, I have really struggled this spring to keep my house a nice place infact I should be cleaning the kitchen right now but instead I have had a cuppy whilst reading theseposts and now I fancy a snooze before milking... oopsie!

[Luce747]

Our farm kitchen gets mucked out once a month wether it needs it or not.

I hang a dead rat up on a bit of string in the outside loo as an air freshener.

I bought some young piglets a few weeks back and my OH said "where you gonna put them".

I said 'untill I make a place in the sheds they can go in the spare bedroom'

OH. But what about all the mess..

ME. They'll get used to it after a couple of days.

    LOL your post has made my day

[homegrown]

Hi
If you are that worried about it you must have a friend that you really value their opinion - ask them - if they are a really good friend they will be honest enough to tell you if they think it needs cleaning.  Although in past experience if your true friends and family haven't said anything I shouldn't worry - as others have said before me the people visiting are coming to see you not the state of your house or smallholding.  If they've got anything to say on the matter put them to work!!!
Children often say things without thinking or knowing that they are causing upset and will continue to do this even into adulthood - like the rest of us - mouth into action before thinking.
Take care and try not to worry xxx

[Sylvia]

Oh my!!!!!!!! I am so glad this thread came up. I thought I was the only one with a filthy house. Until a few weeks ago I worked six nights a week then did the animals and garden during the day and with fourteen dogs in the house, not to mention incubators it was all I could do to keep just the right side of sanitary   I, too, try to keep the bathroom and kitchen germ free but the paintwork and the walls where the dogs walk through are very suspect.
My friends don't seem to mind or notice, or at least don't mention it and as the bloody house is falling down around our ears I don't much care anyway
We have no carpets at all due to the dogs only hard floors, no carpets no fleas is my reckoning and I have a steam cleaner which I use when it all gets too much even for me.
An air freshener (I use Neutrodol) is useful to keep to hand if someone comes to the door.
I kept meaning to de-clutter but didn't get round to it until my six year old grand-daughter (six going on thirty!) took a hand and cleared out my cupboards and shelves for me. I can't tell you how much better I felt for this....seriously!
So, if I ever visit any of you folk, don't worry about the dust and dog smells, I'll feel at home

[Beeducked]

Housework is a bit of a battle for me even without children! I loathe it and am not good at it. Having a cleaner do the dusting and hoovering once a week (or fortnight, she's a bit erratic) is my luxury indulgence. I would rather work an extra shift to pay for it than do the housework myself. My OH is the opposite and hates having the cleaner so when I moved in with him we had a heart to heart where I explained that either he did all the housework, without ever complaining about it to me or we kept my cleaner.


I recognise how lucky I am to have a job that means I can have the luxury of a cleaner and an OH who does most of the rest but I feed and muck out the ducks and quail, do all the bee care and all the veg garden. My animals are clean and healthy and the veg patch not too weedy. Everything else is a bonus!


Agree that the child was probably just repeating something it had heard but still very hard not to let it upset you.


Just remember only dull women have immaculate houses (anon).


One of my other favourite quotes is:


"I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again."
                                             Joan Rivers

[SteveHants]

I am a 'househusband' I look after: one toddler, 2 dogs (one in, one out), some chickens, 102 ewes and their associated rams....


My house is something of a mess....


Oh well, I'll have plenty of time when she goes to school, better to enjoy it now.