I live in a 3bedroom, end terrace house. Like most homes in Scotland we have very little land attached, but, and it's a big but; it's all paid for, we don't owe a penny. It's a modest, comfortable, clean, quiet home in a good neighbourhood. We are very, very fortunate.

Those incredibly rude individuals who's only contribution to the lady's blog was to criticise her kitchen, really need to have a reality check. I loved her makeover response :D

When visiting people who have 'show homes', I'm always perplexed at how empty their lives are. No 'stuff' around, nothing they make or do around; even the books (if there are any) are empty ones with glossy pages and no content.

Right now my kitchen is in a guddle (untidy mess of stuff everywhere). I'm doing laundry, I have apple rings dehydrating and I have apple juice simmering down slow on the cooker to make butter, I have just taken an apple crumble out of the oven (we picked the apples two days ago, now I'm processing them) I have the sewing machine up on the big table and tidy piles of cut blocks sorted for stitching, and my husband (bless him, love him dearly, but he's the messiest cook on the planet) has just made lunch.
The back door's wide open, the birds are singing, and next door but two's cat has just sneaked in to say hello.
I have bunches of lavender hung up to dry next to paper bags of poppy stems (to catch the seeds), and since himself is going to paint one of the sheds after he's finished lunch, there's paint and brushes sitting beside his overalls on one of the chairs.

That's a real kitchen :)
It'll all clear up but if anyone tried to tell me how to 'remodel', I would struggle to be courteous in my reply.
None of their blooming business.
Clean enough to be healthy, tidy enough to be comfortable, and it'll do fine.
Friends drop in and clear a chair, I put the kettle on and find the biscuit tin, and the conversations are good :)

Mary

Well Mary, now you made ALL of us want to come and visit you! Sounds like heaven in your kitchen. :)

My Mom had what is often called "the gift of hospitality." I miss her every day... we lived together for seven years before she passed away back in 2012. For some reason, your post reminded me of her. If anyone dropped in (and we had plenty of people dropping in!) she'd put on the coffee and get out the goodies and welcome them wholeheartedly, without giving any thought to what the house looked like! People were so much more important to her than "stuff". :)

Had an acquaintance who proved to be just that, "an acquaintance". She kept wanting to see my home. Never invited her over because she was always so critical that everyone needed to keep up with the "times/Joneses". My home is not big (less than 900sf). It serves it's purpose for a house and is home to us. I do my best to keep my home neat and tidy. With 2 hairy shedding dogs it isn't easy. Luckily, DH helps. She finally got to see the interior of "our "home". It is a rental (very inexpensive for rental market and very inexpensive as far as owning it.) Medical expenses have always gotten in the way. It is outdated but modern appliances. Was very critical. I showed her the door. We were suppose to go to the same meeting together. She changed my mind. Your "home" may not be a "house", it may be a manufactured/mobile structure, may even be a tent or lean too for the time being. Just be careful who you allow into it and don't be afraid to show them the door if they need an exit.

My little "home" is easy to keep up. An hour, maybe, in the morning. It isn't my "house" but it is my "home". We've been here for 20 years. One thing missing is an extra 1/2 bath with toilet and small sink. If we lived in the country, I would be ok with an out house.

brilliant, pure genius! And dust bunnies and tumble cat hair weeds, dirty fingerprints are actually IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOSTERS! I will no longer feel guilty for leaving these where they lay while I hide from them in my sewing room!
Guilt blocks creative juices!

I loved this! This is my home -- you can even write in the dust on some surfaces. :o Thanks for sharing.

What a beautifully written, and very thought-provoking, article.

Thank you!

My home keeps me warm, keeps me cool, keeps me dry, and also keeps my fabric dry. What more do I need?

Love it!! I really like the word "perspecticals", I'm going to have to remember that.

I'm a messy person and it embarrasses me sometimes. Not DIRTY, just messy - things like books and mail and baskets of laundry waiting to go upstairs tend to be sitting around. I had a friend from work come over so I could help her do some last second work on favors she was making for a mutual friend's baby shower. It was all a last second thing so I didn't have much time to clean up so I just didn't even try; when she got there I apologized for not cleaning up for her visit. Her reaction was marvelous, she just laughed and said she was FLATTERED that I didn't clean for her. She says that if I cleaned up before she came that would mean we weren't real friends, because real friends just don't care about that stuff! I told her, "In that case, you just became my best friend!" LOL

I don't necessarily think people with super clean houses have empty lives, it's just a different way of doing things. I work pretty closely with a lady who keeps her house immaculate and she's VERY busy with a full life...but she also works on keeping her house spotless every single day because that's important to her. We actually joke about it a lot...I love to tell her something like, "Hey, guess how many shoes are on the floor in my living room right now?" or "You know what? My vacuum cleaner has been sitting in the hallway for THREE WEEKS now!" and she'll have a (phony) freak-out about it... OK, that sounds really stupid but at work it's pretty funny...

It definitely is true that it's good to appreciate what you have.