Everyone does their best to maintain a clean and tidy home. We appoint our homes with tasteful things, work hard in the never ending battle against dirt, dust and grime and decorate in a manner befitting our personal tastes. Both the exterior and interior are precision engineered to not only be a pleasant space in which to spend our increasingly precious free time, but to telegraph elements of our personality to visitors. Don’t believe me? Take a good, long look at your bookshelf. Which tomes do you routinely push to the front and center to give the appearance of a well read and witty sophisticate? It’s not the celebrity biographies, am I right?

Yet, despite our tireless efforts to present guests, friends, family and colleagues with a snapshot of domestic bliss… our homes may be saying some very unflattering things about us behind our backs. Check your house for any of these signs that your home may be giving visitors a misleading account of your personality…

Your political affiliation

Political views are entirely your own and there’s a broad spectrum between liberal and conservative, authoritarian or libertarian. Yet, your home may give visitors a less than subtle hint about your political leanings that may or may not be accurate. The journal Political Psychology conducted a study that revealed the conservatively inclined to be generally neat and tidy as well as being traditional and classical in their decor. Liberals, on the other hand tend to have more cluttered homes with more art and books on display as well as bolder use of color. Of course you can be a liberal clean freak with a penchant for industrial cleaning equipment and a minimalist approach to book display. You can also be an art loving conservative. Nonetheless, it’s interesting how people infer political affiliation through these semiotics.

Your front door color and your personality

Of course we try to infuse our decor and the way in which we arrange our homes, but our choice of colors can say some potentially misleading things about our personalities. Apparently, the humble front door is a goldmine of telling information. Those who favor red, for example, are perceived as outspoken while those with blue doors are assumed to be easy conversation comfort in virtually any social situation. Green is the color of a conservative traditionalist while black is the color of introverts.

Your kitchen is calling you fat!

This is a really wacky one. Apparently the foods you choose to leave on display in your kitchen can provide a rough indicator of your weight. According to a study by Cornell University, women who displayed their cereal on the kitchen counter weighed 20 lbs more than those who kept their cereal hidden in the pantry. Moreover, those who kept soda on display (even zero calorie soda) weighed 24-26 lbs more than those who stowed it in the fridge or pantry. So, if you have your soda and cereal on display, don’t be surprised if people assume you’re 46 lbs heavier than your actual weight!