A poll of 2,000 adults found that more than four in 10 Brits admit they avoid hosting anyone in their home for this one key reason
Over four in 10 Brits confess they dodge hosting anyone at their home because they can’t face the clean-up afterwards. The survey of 2,000 adults revealed that Christmas, family parties and birthdays are the events that cause the most mess, leaving three in 10 frustrated after such mess has occurred.
The study found that 17 per cent have had a dinner party go pear-shaped with red wine splashed all over the new carpet, while 15 per cent have dropped a birthday cake face down just before guests arrived.
Rosie Kinsey, spokesperson for Kärcher UK, which commissioned the study and provide a variety of indoor and outdoor cleaning solutions, said: “Sometimes when a mess is so chaotic, all you can do is laugh.”
She added: “It’s in the flour-dusted kitchens, the accidental upholstery spillages, and the living rooms that aren’t always polished to perfection, that real family life happens.
“These messes aren’t signs of disorder – they’re evidence of creativity, connection, and shared joy. Every spill tells a story, every stain marks a moment, and when we look back, it’s not the tidiness we remember – it’s the laughter that came alongside the chaos.”
When it comes to dealing with the aftermath, adults continue to use these ‘messy moments’ as opportunities to bond. Nearly a third have found an incident so hilarious they couldn’t stop laughing.
More than a third (39 per cent) spend time strategizing about how best to clean it up, 29 per cent snap a picture to share online, and 28 per cent and 28 per cent tell their loved ones all about what happened.
Children are the main culprits when it comes to creating a mess at home, with nearly a quarter of untidy incidents being caused by their antics.
Rosie added: “There’s something beautifully human about a home that’s lived in – where cushions are never quite in place and fingerprints decorate every surface.
“These messes are the backdrop to bedtime stories, weekend crafts, and family dinners that run late. They’re not problems to fix, but proof that life is being lived fully. In the end, it’s the clutter of shared experiences that makes a house feel like home.”