The Mindful Survey: Home Sweet Home

Too many teapots, farting with abandon, dogs who don’t help with the chores—these are some things that define “home,” from our latest reader survey.

Illustration by Mindful Staff

Are you a neat freak?

are mindful readers neat freaks? 70% no, 30% yes

If you haven’t used something in three years, where do you put it?

55% donate it to charity, while 22% let it petrify at the bottom of a closet somewhere. 6% chuck it immediately— no need for drawn-out goodbyes! And 7% insist there’s a use for everything! Everyone else sells their stuff or puts it in storage.

Who does most of the cleaning in your household?

• “A little bit of everyone, but it usually falls on my husband because he is a neat freak. Poor guy.”

• “I do. My two dogs refuse to assist.”

• “I am a nun so we all do our share as members of a community.”

What takes up the most room in your house?

31% fill up the nooks and crannies with books, 21% keep more clothes around than anything else, 10% have a lot of useless junk in their house, and 4% have a lot of toys (kids’ toys, we assume?)

What’s your biggest pet peeve about your house right now?

• “The smell of the water.”

• “No pool or hot tub.” (We hear you, pal, we hear you.)

• “It’s so disgustingly dirty in terms of filth.”

• “Dog hair.”

• “Papers, papers, and papers.”

• “Cleaning it! Maybe one day I’ll hire someone else for that.”

• “I have eight cats and they have ruined the furniture and rug.”

• “Thanks to Wall Street, mortgage payments until 75.”

• “No pet peeves. Grateful to have it.”

• “My husband’s hoarding issues.”

• “The dark master bathroom.”

• “Too car dependent. Nobody walks!”

How do you let loose when no one else is around?

• “Read all day long and have a baked potato with lots of butter for dinner!”

• “Wear ugly but comfortable clothes.”

• “I watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It’s my guilty pleasure.”

• “I turn off the TV and call a friend or relax in silence.”

• “I don’t let loose.”

• “I’m an introvert so I cherish the quiet.”

• “Kitchen disco.”

• “I ditch all clothing and live in total nudity.”

• “Talk to the dog.”

• “I let it rip whenever I have wind.”

• “Leave dishes in the sink and watch daytime TV.”

When you need to make extra space in your home, what do you struggle to get rid of?

• “Back-up electronics.”

• “Kitchen gadgets.”

• “Old greeting cards.”

• “Unfinished projects.”

• “Teapots.”

• “Nothing. I’m ruthless about throwing things out.”

• “Stuff my mother-in-law gives us.”

Is your home too big, too small, or just right?

chart: 60 per cent of mindful readers think their home is just right.

This article also appeared in the June 2016 issue of Mindful magazine.
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