On 4/8/2018 at 8:13 PM, farmerjo said:

A house and a shed(to put excess belongings in) has never caught on in Asia.

A good point. With no attic and no basement, a house is bound to be cluttered.

1 minute ago, Ombra said:

A good point. With no attic and no basement, a house is bound to be cluttered.

 

HUH?

 

That's quite a leap, isn't it?

 

On 4/8/2018 at 5:13 PM, Peterw42 said:

People are confusing neat with clean. My wife loves clutter and is untidy "BUT" the floor gets moped and swept 2-3 times a day, clothes get washed after a 5 minute wearing, I had to re-grout the shower because she scrubbed all the grout away. 

She is still trying to break the world record for hoarding plastic bags, cardboard boxes and take-away containers.

 

Exactly the same with my wife. Exactly.

Depends on their upbringing I guess. My wife and all her sister are very clean and keep their homes spotless and uncluttered. Don't think it's a cultural thing. It's what their parents teach them, just like everywhere else.

7 minutes ago, Ombra said:

A good point. With no attic and no basement, a house is bound to be cluttered.

 

No. I dedicated a room to putting stuff in, and even the bedroom has a walk-in closet where all the wardrobes are. I just wanted no cupboards around. Minimalist. Works for me although others might consider it a bit sterile.

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I just wanted no cupboards around. 

 

How is that neater with no cupboards?  My kitchen in the same and because of that, all the condiments and cooking ingredients and plates and bowls just sit around in piles.  There's almost no counter top space for actually preparing food, resulting in much of the work being done on the floor.

28 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

How is that neater with no cupboards?  My kitchen in the same and because of that, all the condiments and cooking ingredients and plates and bowls just sit around in piles.  There's almost no counter top space for actually preparing food, resulting in much of the work being done on the floor.

 

I should have said except in the kitchen  But then, cupboards are an integral part of a kitchen aren't they. Very necessary. as you're experiencing.

Edited April 10, 20188 yr by Bangkok Barry

is a stupid question, my Thai girlfriend's home is spotless clean with polished floors and sparkling windows, the outside garden is always looked after and clean and beautified, much, much cleaner and better cared for than any houses I've seen here in Australia, so in which slums have you looked to form such an idiotic opinion??

In general the Thai houses and accomodations I've seen and I have travelled from south to north and east to west are mostly well cared for.

On 4/8/2018 at 3:49 PM, CLW said:

Most people in the west take a lot of pride in a neat and clean looking house and room.

Crazy generalization...down to the individual, especially in the west. 

My observation during the last 9 years:

I know women who work in 5 star hotels and hospitals that are imacculate.

They work as nurses, receptionist and room maids. Yet, in their houses it's neither clean nor tidy. Blind windows, baskets and propellers of fans covered in years old dust, spiderwebs plenty and dustcovered. Whatever you touch is sticky.

In my house it is clean and tidy as long as we are alone. Five minutes after my wife's relatives arrive, the house is a mess. Inside and outside. All their shoes right in front of the entrance

door. A few hours later the house is not only untidy but also dirty. Dozens of plastic bags, food containers, one way cups and such all over the place. Spilt food, baby diapers or drinks ?  Never mind, the ants will take care of that. Smokers throw cigarette buds on the street or in the garden or just drop them. Not to talk about the bathrooms. Just abominable...

In my experience, they just don't care about anything, just like toddlers, don't see the difference between tidy and messy.

My wife don't seem to mind, but she knows what I do expect from her and she cleans up after the relatives left. Now I'll leave the house not later than half an hour after their arrival, just to return 10 mins before their departure.  Culture ?  C'mon.

Carelessness all over, just like they are in driving.

 

Yeah, I also know Thais who are very clean and very tidy.

5 hours ago, mike1967 said:

My girlfriend refused to clean a rental property and would only clean a house I built that would obviously have to be in her name. What do you make of that then? ??

 

I can believe some never clean a rental property  and never tighten the toilet seat !

I guess they are too busy enjoying every moment of their lives!

1 hour ago, Jimbo1964 said:

Don't think it's a cultural thing. It's what their parents teach them, just like everywhere else.

Good point , like father like son etc. 

 

That's why you see whole families riding a bike without helmets .   They respect their family so much that they even have to continue their bad habits.  If not maybe the "ghosts" will get upset . 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 20188 yr by balo

6 hours ago, mike1967 said:

My girlfriend refused to clean a rental property and would only clean a house I built that would obviously have to be in her name. What do you make of that then? ??

What I make of this IMHO....is to    n e v e r    purchase any property in her name....and never to forget the golden mantra...be worth more alive then dead....also if you have purchased someting in leasehold, just tell her it is rented and never show her the blue/yellow book....and keep all your bank papers out of sight....

On 8.4.2018 at 9:05 PM, robblok said:

Hmmm... I am mostly guilty here in the house for having the most stuff and taking up the most room, gf on the other hand prefers to have as little stuff as possible so its easy to move around. 

Just the other way round in my case.

Can we change wife, gf ?

1 minute ago, maximillian said:

Just the other way round in my case.

Can we change wife, gf ?

I prefer not too.. you see if i were to have your wife / gf i would have to get a bigger house to fit my stuf and hers while you would be able to move around freely and even live smaller. Seems to me your getting all the benefits 

3 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

What I make of this IMHO....is to    n e v e r    purchase any property in her name....and never to forget the golden mantra...be worth more alive then dead....also if you have purchased someting in leasehold, just tell her it is rented and never show her the blue/yellow book....and keep all your bank papers out of sight....

She's as lazy as you like, not just with the cleaning. I got rid a few months ago in all fairness. 

My dad use to say if you go to someones garage  that work on cars and it is clean they don't do anything but someone who has a messy garage is busy with lots of work.

That being said I like things neat organized and clean. My wife and myself keep our house clean. I hate clutter and if it is not used i get rid of it.

On 4/8/2018 at 11:26 AM, Crossy said:

"Mine's different".

 

Well she is, obsessive about cleaning (OK to her eye level).

 

I have to be careful where I put my beer lest it be tidied up.

 

But yes, many homes I've visited are like there's been a bomb explosion followed by a tsunami (or maybe vice-versa).

I believe there are also differences from where the Thai partner originates; some villages looks very neat and clean, including what one can see of the homes – often fairly open wooden houses, or half wood homes – other villages looks like a garbage pit, or something close to it. But of course there can also be differences between the various families.

 

My GF once told me after visited another Isaan village, about 10-years ago, that where her village was fairly (she said "very") clean, and houses kept in good condition, the other village was dirty, and everything seemed like almost falling apart; but the people living there wore fancy clothes and all had new smartphones, whilst in her village folks dressed traditional or in modest clothes, and mainly had old mobile phones.

 

And of course we may also have different levels of what is "neat and clean" – I think that my farang-level is slightly different from my GF's...

Has more to do with the class of Thais you hang around with. You’ll find that the lower echelons of other nationalities are also lazy to clean after themselves

On 4/8/2018 at 6:16 PM, RichardColeman said:

She is not OCD

Really, ok then.  

On 4/9/2018 at 9:56 AM, Henryford said:

Do Thais care about anything?

Yes, its called Money.

6 hours ago, Bundooman said:

Are we married to the same woman?

Probably, nothing would surprise me in this place.

On 09/04/2018 at 7:18 AM, Neeranam said:

Are you calling your Thai wife/relatives monkeys?

Whatever next.

In hinsight I realize that I shouldn't have compared them (Thais in general) to monkeys. 

Unfortunately, I can't go back and rephrase it - what's said, is said. 

Sometimes I'm just way too frank for this world...

Different strokes for different folks..... I had one self rule before going 

to bed after a night of pounding beers.  Take no beer in the bedroom and throw out all empties before going to bed. My reasoning I did not want to wake up hung over and see beers.....

On 8/4/2018 at 10:28 AM, cyberfarang said:

To westerners they consider homes as their castles, but the reality is, that in most owned western homes the buyers are mortgaged up to their necks and therefore have to keep their properties up to certain standards otherwise they won`t be able to sell and the banks/mortgage lenders won`t give loans on properties that are in dilapidated conditions. In other words, property owners in western countries become trapped in a system where they have to live and work for many years for the upkeep of their properties.

 

In Thailand whereas they place more emphasis on land values and properties can be cheaply built, they consider their homes as just roofs over their heads not as assets of investment value.

 

Now you know.

I’ve heard it all now... 

Don't know the people you guys are hanging with but my wife might have OCD as everything needs to be in it's place , can't wear shoes in condo or house, uses separate sponge for dishes/pans. I tell her "leave my computer desk alone" as she will come by straighten everything on it or file it away and then I can't find it. When I get up have to fold blanket make bed has our nieces doing the same when they visit and basically it's the same at her sister's or aunts house. She taught one of our nieces to help dust and clean floor since she was 3.

I'm not sure how long the OP has been here or who he is with or what range of Thai friends/aquaintances he has but.....

I don't  think Thai people are necessarily any messier than anyone else.  I've been to many a Thai house that has been immaculately clean and tidy.  And this has been in Bangkok, Isaan, Chiang Mai. Both rich and poor.

1 hour ago, Acemaker said:

Yes, its called Money.

 

And Face, of course.

Mrs Possum does.[emoji3]

Same as my missus

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