To think most houses aren't 'visitor ready'?

[Pandrawerschangedmylife]

Got friends coming to stay this weekend. MIL just phoned to speak to DH, I explained he'd taken the kids out so that I can get the house sorted (change bedding, put the hoover round, clean the bathroom etc...) She sounded very surprised and made a comment along the lines of the house being pretty untidy if I need a few hours to clean it, as she just cleans hers as she goes (of course she does, there's only two of them living in the house!)

AIBU to think that most houses aren't tidy enough for overnight guests? There always seems to be things to sort and put away. Or am I actually living in squalor without knowing it?

[TossDaily]

God no, it's like the last trump if we have a visitor coming.

[Bloodybridget]

There are only two of us and we have a cleaner, and I'd still want time to sort things out a bit before having house guests!

[TheWhyteRoseShallRiseAgain]

Impending visitors spark frantic activity here!!

[Bluntness100]

Yes, mine is vistor ready. The only time it’s not visitor ready is when guests have just left.

[Lovelilies]

Mines not visitor ready. Nowhere to put them anyway 😬

[IJoinedJustToPostThis]

Is your MIL retired? I'd love to live in a constant state of visitor-readiness, but other things (work, family, little things like that) seem to get in the way...

[Oblomov17]

visitors
Foil Arms & Hog - visitors.

About how much you need to clean before visitors come.

[rollingonariver]

I would say mine is but we live in a small flat and only have one DD who’s one. Right now I’d probably have to run a hoover around but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t.
Having a baby has made us more organised though we have places for everything and I clean as I go because I hate mess !

[TinyDoom]

I tidy as I go along every day and our house is reasonably neat, but not ready for guests to arrive on the doorstep without some preparation for us.

Before we had children, it probably would have taken me 15 minutes to make sure everything was sorted. Now that we have the lovely little hurricanes tykes I need more time. MIL is BU.

[custarddinosaur]

Just had two unexpected visitors arrive, and you should see the state of the place
Whoops!

[Catalufa]

YANBU. And she sounds a bit annoying.

[Masonbee]

I make sure mine is visitor ready by only inviting visitors who fully expect and accept that my home is always in a state of needing to be tidied

[happypoobum]

YANBU

I find it easier to just never have anyone round

[crisscrosscranky]

Mine is visitor ready all the time... because my friends and family know what to expect.

I always do the “excuse the mess” spiel (even if it’s tidy than normal!) but they all know I’m not sorry at all!

I do like a bit of warning but for me it’s in case I need a poo and someone turns up for a cuppa!

[MirandaWest]

Ours is very rarely visitor ready.

[speakout]

Your MIL sounds lovely.

No my house is never visitor ready, certainly not for overnight guests.

[bridgetreilly]

It depends on the visitor. Mine is almost never ready for my mother to drop in (so I have discouraged this). But friends who don't care that there's still washing up to do, and that I haven't hoovered in ages, sure. The best friends to go and visit are the kind that welcome you into their family with all its mess, rather than the kind that put on a show of super-cleanness that I will instantly spill something on.

[PricillaQueenOfTheDesert]

Two of us here, no children and never fully visitor ready either. Your MIL sounds a cow tbh.

[PurplePillowCase]

for overnight visits yanbu
we would need to clean bathroom and run hoover too.

for cuppa-in-kitchen we are always 'visitor ready'

[centreyoursoul]

That Foil Arms thing is brilliant That is my DM, right there and in the middle of it all “I cannot stand that woman” (The visitor.)
To answer your question OP, nope. I think most people with children would need a couple of hours to be visitor ready. As soon as the D.C. enter the house there seem to be crumbs everywhere, shoes, coats, hats, (yes I’m trying to train them to put them away), toys out, they use the loo & don’t clean it afterwards, pick up s book & leave it out, etc etc

[StressedtoHellandback]

A nice visitor would take you as they find you. I do accept that people would prefer to be found spotless and tidy though not always possible

[viques]

Surely no one in their right mind is visitor ready for overnight guests unless they are running a B and B? Visitor beds made up ? Bathroom if shared scrubbed to visitor standard, clean family and visitor towels sorted ? If visitors have own bathroom then you would still have to wipe over dusty surfaces, put out towels, check toilet roll quantities etc.

After visitors my spare bed is stripped, and I don't make it up again until another set of visitors are due, and would hoover round and dust, put out fresh bottles of water, open the window and air it out etc.

Then I would have to deal with the kitchen and sitting room and other spaces they would have access to!

[ravenmum]

My kids are 18/20 and constantly bringing people round unexpectedly. I've given up anything more than checking the cat has not sicked on the rug.

MIL should know better than to tell DIL that her home is untidy! How rude.

[centreyoursoul]

Another one who thinks your MIL is awful. What a ridiculous thing to do: compare an adults only household to one with children it it.

[TheHobbitMum]

Haha nope never perfect tidy in my house! But I don't particularly like visitors so rarely get them and those who do arrive know what to expect (family of 6 with pets everywhere so always clean but usually messy/things not away). Whenever I do have the house looking like a palace no fecker comes anyway to appreciate the large effort I've made, they always seem to arrive when the house is at its worst 😂