Is Your House Clean Enough For Drop-By Visitors?

I can say my bathroom is spotless... I clean it ALL THE TIME... every time I'm in there I need to clean it... like, even if I just wash my hands, I will have to spray the mirrors with mirror cleaner or something LOL
 
Wow, I can only wish to be as good at cleaning as some of you ladies! My place is presentable but I'm never satisfied with it. I always think it could be cleaner. And the "messy/clean" cycle never ends, does it? :rolleyes:
 
Always ready for visitors.

Have to set an example as interior design is part o' my blood, plus a good thing DH is the same way; his mom's house can be featured in country magazines... no kidding!

My trick for the bare min work is after the initial decor, try the best not to touch or mess up so you do not have to clean up! ;)
 
just because you have kiddies that doesn't mean your house is or has to be unclean. give them a play area that is not where company would visit. also teach them to pick up after themselves after playing or playing with a specific toy before getting another. i have three children 29, 24, and 13. and i don't play. i believe in old school ways teach them while their young and if they turn out to be slobs it won't be because of you :smile:
 
just because you have kiddies that doesn't mean your house is or has to be unclean. give them a play area that is not where company would visit. also teach them to pick up after themselves after playing or playing with a specific toy before getting another. i have three children 29, 24, and 13. and i don't play. i believe in old school ways teach them while their young and if they turn out to be slobs it won't be because of you :smile:
Ah, but that is assuming one has enough space to dedicate solely to children's play. :smile: Here in San Francisco, that simply doesn't exist (unless you are a multimillionaire, which we are not). We have one living room....no family room and no play room. So our living room is where we entertain and also where we, well, live and play as a family. My kids are required to pick up their own toys, but not until the end of the day (any earlier would be pointless since they'd mess things right up again)....so if someone were to pop by at mid-day, they'd see toys all over the floor. :shame:

But the system works for us, and even if guests surprise us for a visit and see toys all over the floor, at least we know the place is pretty clean! (thank God for our weekly housecleaning lady!)
 
just because you have kiddies that doesn't mean your house is or has to be unclean. give them a play area that is not where company would visit. also teach them to pick up after themselves after playing or playing with a specific toy before getting another. i have three children 29, 24, and 13. and i don't play. i believe in old school ways teach them while their young and if they turn out to be slobs it won't be because of you :smile:


I agree!

My mother-in-law has 6 kids and 9 grand-children... her place, spotless enough to have a country magazine to feature it every single day! The trick is to expose the children to an environment that is pristine and take pride in that.

I also find that if you expose children to home lifestyle magazines, take your children to nice furniture stores/decor places (I love seeing whole family in a furniture store)... they can learn that lifestyle.
After-all, all of us here wants a "bag" or a "shoe" etc. featured by a model/celebrity, why wouldn't a kid want a "nice" house/environment (like in a magazine) to show off to his/her friends?

Teach them the ways of "putting things back" right after use, don't wait, waiting is still "putting off", a sign of laziness. I do not believe an adult needs to put away a kid's mess unless we are talking about a baby here. Teach responsibility.... kids are never too young to learn that.
 
Yes, my house is clean enough. However, I don't "do" drop-by visitors. I think it's extremely INCONSIDERATE to assume you can just show up to someones home and expect them to have time for you! I do not open the door unless I know someone is coming over. That goes for neighbors and family. I have told them all to not expect me to open the door unless I know they are coming.
 
My house looks clean almost all of the time but the knitty gritty cleaning (intensively scrubbed [on hands and knees instead of just mopping and sweeping] floors, windows, etc.) only occurs a few times a year. I maintenance clean because my s.o. and I get a lot of guests and I just can't get any writing/research done when I look up and see a wreck.

On occasion if I'm really really busy things will get messy but it's never dirty. I think there's a difference between messy and dirty. Messy is leaving my shoes next to the door or a coat on the back of a chair. Dirty means not doing the dishes or not taking out the garbage. We always do that stuff. There are piles (papers, library books, etc.) at the end of the semester since my partner and I are both academics but we weed through those quickly and keep them away from the parts of the house in which visitors gather.
 
Yes, my house is clean enough. However, I don't "do" drop-by visitors. I think it's extremely INCONSIDERATE to assume you can just show up to someones home and expect them to have time for you! I do not open the door unless I know someone is coming over. That goes for neighbors and family. I have told them all to not expect me to open the door unless I know they are coming.
Ha! ITA and I'm the same way! :yes:
And yeah, I'm a neurotic neat freak and our pad is picture perfect, with the exception of my teenager's bedroom, and clean enough for company.