“What Have You Seen Inside Someone’s Home That Made You View Them Differently?” (30 Answers) (2024)

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Trick or treating as a kid we were always scared to go to one neighbor’s house. The yard, nor home, was well kept. Stories circulated the neighborhood for years that he was a mean man, had killed his family, etc. As a dare I ran up and rang the doorbell and as I tried to run away an older gentleman opened the door..he said ‘I don’t get many kids nowadays, Happy Halloween!’ and held out a bowl of yummy candy bars. I peeked in and it was a meticulously kept home on the inside. A little candle lit, neatly folded blankets and magazines next to his lazy boy chair. He was so kind. I believe his kids were grown and had moved away, wife had passed away years ago. Made me not believe the rumors that get started about people.

Medical_Reputation29 , Sonya Holland / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

I'm a CSI. I went to a residential burglary when I used to work at an agency in North Carolina.

The homeowners were in their 70s. Their house was your typical grandparent's place with lace doilies everywhere, flowers, and photos all over the walls of the entire extended family. A table near his chair with hunting and fishing magazines. A table near her chair with knitting needles and yarn. The whole 9 yards you'd expect to see at grandma and grandpa's house.

As the lady was showing me around with the officer to tell me what was stolen or moved I came to a slightly ajar door next to the master bedroom suite. I asked her if anything had been moved in there. She said she wasn't sure since she had called the police the moment they had gotten home from church and realized their house had been broken into. I elbowed open the door. Full on sex dungeon room. We're talking sex swing, hooks on the ceilings with ropes, restraints on boards nailed to the wall, cuffs, paddles, floggers, strapon harnesses on hooks, ball gags of various sizes, video camera on a tripod, you name it. She looked around, put her hand on her chest and with what seemed a sigh of relief said "No. Thank you lawd! It looks like nothing was touched in here."

I will never look at an old woman in a peter pan collar and flower patterned dress the same now.

LisaKnittyCSI Report

Woman I nannied for had a very messy house but she always looked so put together in public. She had 6 kids and always said “don’t judge me, our house is ‘lived in’”. Made me realize it was ok not to ruin your life over a perfect image house as long as everyone and everything was functioning.

kittenmcmuffenz , Jason Leung / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

One family I went to visit had a room in their house that was set up for a college kid. Posters, tv, some weights, computer desk, even a half empty cologne bottle on the desk. I asked them what college their son went to and they immediately changed the subject and the mom looked down and away. They said the room is rented out. I later found out their son could not get into the college he wanted and decided to take his own life. They left his room exactly as it last was.

I still think about them.

Burger419 Report

A girl I hung out with in college had me over to study together. We didn't have dorms, we lived close enough to just walk to college, so it was at her house. I saw this little colorful urn on her tv stand and I said "oh, thats a pretty pot", she got this really sad smile and replied "thanks...that's my daughter." I felt so bad.

Spuzzle91 , Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Was dating a girl for a couple of weeks and went to hang out with a couple she was close friends with. We are at their house, hanging out, and having a pretty good time. They seemed pretty cool. The guy starts talking about the iguanas they have and asked if i wanted to see them. They had a separate room for them. We go in there, see the big cages with lizards. They were very impressive. And the big f*****g Ku Klux Klan posters on the wall next to them. I made an excuse to leave their home soon after. My girlfriend asked what was wrong, and I explained what I saw. She knew and didn't think it was any big deal. It ended that relationship as well.

NephRP Report

Their Labrador in a crate so small it could only turn around with great difficulty. The crate was anchored to the wall, because otherwise the dog would thrash around in the crate until it shook and moved across the floor.

I asked if the dog had done something wrong to be put in timeout in the crate, like chewing up some shoes? My(ex) friend said no, that’s just where the dog lived for the most part. It got out every so often to eat or toilet in the yard, but all other times of day and night it was crated. Their reasoning was that when they let it out the crate, it was too hyper and destructive. Probably cause it spent its whole life stuck in a tiny f*****g box!

I argued with the friend and left the house on bad terms. I did phone an animal rights hotline but was told there wasn’t anything they could do. Since the dog was technically provided food, shelter, and decently hygienic conditions it wasn’t illegal to crate them near constantly, even though the org agreed it was neglectful/abusive.

thyIacoIeo , riaan_cornelius / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

I did home visits for students from poverty. Some were refugees, others were here on asylum, or farm work programs. Wow. Were their houses clean. Mopped and dusted daily. Gardens were immaculate. Kitchens well organized. I guess I expected their homes to look like the homes of poor Americans, but nope. They treated their new homes in America like castles and welcomed our visits.

Careless-Two2215 Report

A dude I had a crush on didn’t put sheets on his bed. It was so gross and weird. His mattress was all dirty and I couldn’t imagine how it would ever get clean. I couldn’t get past it and it didn’t work out lol.

Alexiarae5 , Mattress Test / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

When my friend and his wife could always afford new shoes/outfits and nights out with miscellaneous substances but their kids slept on a mattress on the floor with no sheets...like ... Where are your priorities?!

Afraid_Composer Report

A married couple, both medical doctors, with kids. They had one of those tall, giant outdoor propane heaters, in their living room. You know the kind they have for outdoor seating at restaurants? One of those. In their living room. Running on propane. No fans, no open windows. I told them they need to knock that s**t off.

Mmmmmmm_Bacon Report

A sandbox in the middle of the living room. There were Tonka Trucks and toys and cigarette butts in it. Then came the cat. Ugh.

2dogz1cat , Markus Spiske / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Honestly? A big confederate flag hanging the entire span of their dining room wall. Their business, but I drew the line when they said the pledge of allegiance to it. Like?

GotNothingBetter2Do Report

They didn’t own soap, like, no soap at all anywhere in their house.

loserpatrol , Karolina Grabowska / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

I go into multiple homes every week. For the most part, people are clean and what I’d call normal.

Then we have the people whose animals don’t get let outside often enough, or the litter boxes aren’t cleaned often enough. Or the children have the run of the home, and no one cleans for them. That’s all normal to some people.

We also have a large group of people who collect odd things, or old things. They can’t let go of the past, or of great grandma’s tarnished brass. That’s also normal to some.

The worst, to me, are the hoarders. With just a pathway leading to a tight space for one, they expect me to adapt to their living conditions while finding a place to sign multiple documents. Some claim to be remodeling. Others claim to be moving in or out. It’s obvious their claims are untrue.

But what gets me about these hoarders, is that if they aren’t sick and in bed on the final days, they are business professionals who walk right next to others, looking tidy and clean. They are doctors and nurses, they are attorneys, accountants, and some even own multiple properties across the country.

I’ve learned that we really don’t know a person until we’ve seen their home.

FinanciallySecure9 Report

Super popular, rich kid in high school. Drove a BMW, had a huge house and both of his parents were doctors. Went to a party at his house one night and was absolutely horrified by the filth they lived in. There was dog s**t and p**s absolutely everywhere in the house and little chihuahuas running around. Then there were even more dogs stacked on top of each other in crates in the garage. I was so stunned and disgusted I couldn’t even have fun and was just horrified for the animals, and him because he obviously thought this was all normal. And because he was cool people weren’t saying anything. All I could think was “holy s**t if this is what his house looks like when he KNOWS people are coming over, what the f**k does it normally look like”?!? I still feel terrible for those dogs and wish I had told an adult who could have helped them 😔.

Hot-Ad7703 Report

Once when I was a kid I was invited to stay over for dinner at a friend's house. My friend's mother poured a large quantity of ketchup into a cereal bowl, which the entire family all casually dipped their fingers into and licked throughout the meal.

Potential_Elk_566 , Bob B. Brown / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

Pills.... all over the floor. Every room I went to had random pills on the ground. I picked them up and put them in a zip lock when I was watching their cats. I let them know and they didn't seem to care. Watched their cats again months later and again found pills all over the place. So bizarre.

JennsGizmodo , Alexander Grey / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Went over to my best (at the time) friend's house, hadn't been by in a while. She had two young children (I think they were both under 5). But she was a stay at home mom and her husband worked full time. I walked in the door and their house was COMPLETELY TRASHED. You could barely see the living room floor, there was a big box by the front door completely filled with dirty diapers. The wood floor was fully ruined. Dishes everywhere. Like, I get two kids is a lot of work, but what the f**k do you do all day? I'd known her since we were win elementary school. Her mom had THREE kids and their house was basically spotless, and her mom made them help clean so it wasn't like she had no idea how to clean or grew up around filth. I'd been best friends with this woman for over a decade at the time I was seeing her house like this, and I almost called CPS. That's how bad it was. While I sat on the fence debating whether or not to call CPS, her mother-in-law ended up doing it. CPS was involved in their lives for years after that, it was so sad to watch.

m00nf1r3 Report

Stayed the night at this girl's house and got up early to make some breakfast. I'm riffleing though the cabinets looking for salt and pepper to add to my eggs. Come to find out this lady has no spices in her house. None. Not even salt. Like what?!

Chaxum , Trey Schatzmann / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

A carpeted bathroom that also contains a gun safe, wine glasses, a wine fridge, board games and snacks.

mantistobogganagain , rick / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

My husband’s aunt is white and is married to a black man. When you enter their house, there is an entire wall with a painted velvet canvas of a beautiful black woman in her full glory, boobs, pubic hair and all. When you sat in the living room, well, she was there.

becktacular_b , SHVETS production / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

I better appreciated that a friend of mine was badly depressed when I saw how messy his home was. I wanted to let him know if he needed anything Id do my best to help, but I dont wanna just say, "Hey sad-a*s, lemme help!".

onionleekdude , Mitch Barrie / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

I had a roommate once that went away for a bit, and while he was gone we went in the basem*nt for something and discovered that he and his best friend were making paper mache molds of each other’s bodies… like… dozens of them. Full body casts all over the basem*nt. It was very unsettling.

davsch76 , Roxanne Minnish / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Black mold in the shower. It was our fifth date, I think, he was a nice guy, very smart and kind, and I went to his apartment that he shared with a roommate. The whole place was a pit but when I saw that shower I knew I had to call things off. Luckily the Covid lockdown started a couple days later and we just stopped texting each other.

KieshaK , pfmurray88 / flickr (not the actual photo) Report

I did maintenance for apartments. One had crushed velvet everything. And a shrine to Tupac with the centerpiece being a statue of Tupac as Jesus.

fattymcbuttface69 , Rue S / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

I was once a bartender in an affluent area. I would occasionally get invited to after parties with the regulars. More than once I saw a large home barely furnished as in multiple rooms we're completely empty and they just lived in maybe two rooms of the house. It appears that these people would buy and even rent the homes, to put on the look.

MagnusJohannes , Alexander F Ungerer / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

-The dirtiest bathroom I have ever seen.

-The cleanest anything I have ever seen. Everything had plastic covers to keep it clean. The couch had plastic covers, the rugs, chairs in the kitchen, hand rails on the stairs. Everything. I was around 9 and went to dinner and watch TV at this kid's house. He asked his mom if 'we' could take the plastic off the couch to watch TV. Mom brought out clean pajamas for us both. Mom explained that everyone gets so dirty in that house. They have to wear pajamas mom has clean and ready if they want to sit on the couch. When dad came home and saw the cover off the couch, he got his clean pajamas too and joined us. Weirdest kcufing people! The older kids and dad all worked on cars and engines and were always covered in grease.

MontEcola Report

Went on a date with this smoking hot woman. We instantly hit it off and had a great night. She ended up inviting me back to her condo and when we sat down in her living room I noticed a set of binoculars on her side table so I asked what they were for. Her response was something like,

“Sometime I just like to look into peoples places and see what they’re up to.”

Completely weirded me out. Still smashed though.

PewpyDewpdyPantz , Erik Mclean / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Her toddler chewing on a used douche applicator.

emmadilemma , ndanko / envato (not the actual photo) Report

Note: this post originally had 50 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

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