to go and have a bath?

[MildChilliBlend]

Need to do some tidying and cleaning before this evening when someone is coming to check us out for having one of their rescue dogs (so I don't know if she'll just have a shifty round downstairs, or will want/need to see upstairs too).

Honestly, my dcs' bedrooms are a tip (though they can help with those for an hour or so when they come home from school), so is our room (mid-reorganise with a fireplace sat squarely in the middle) and the spare room is full of clean, unfolded laundry and dh's work bags (packing for a trip away). Downstairs needs a quick tidy and hoover. Need to stick dinner in too (casserole - so veg to be chopped mainly). And I NEED a shower or bath before then too.

I have 100 mins until I need to leave for school pickup.

I'm going to have a bath and read my book for the first 30 of those, leaving me about an hour of cleaning time. That's reasonable isn't it? I know I could shower in 10, but it's not UNREASONABLE of me, is it, to go and read in the bath?

They'll be coming to see if you live in suitable accommodation to have a dog. They won't care if your children have messy rooms. You don't need to tidy up, as long as it's clean you'll pass with flying colours.

Have a bath, a long one!!

No go for it. Its more important that you're yourself for your home visit than the house looks like a show home.

I've had these when we've had rescue dogs in the past. Really they want to check that you're not precious about your house (you're realistic about the dog you're looking at), that you've thought about where the dog will sleep, where it can have free access to, where its food and water bowls will be. Most importantly that you actually live at the address you've given.

Sod the tidying and have a bath! I'm a homechecker and I'm looking for a families suitability to own a dog not their housekeeping (bit a bit of a pot-kettle-black situation if I was!)

Thank you all, will do.
I know they're not looking for immaculate homes, and that they're looking at how we "are" as people, and how we handle our kids, I should think, but the house IS a tip (and my embarrassment threshold is way higher than dh's so I'm trying to win favours with him too). They're not just seeing if house suits (no worries on that anyway) but to see if we'll suit this breed and what we're like so they can match a suitable mutt.

Wish us luck for the dog anyway! Bath running!

They wont be looking at if the bedrooms are tidy. They will be checking the garden is secure, and that there isnt danger in the garden (ie broken glass, holes in the fence).

Make sure waste bins are uncovered or over flowing. No food lying around (ie chocolates) that a dog could help itself to.

make sure the bins are NOT uncovered I mean..

Thanks Charliesmommy - we meet all those requirements. Hadn't thought about the bins like that, but we're ok. We have a cat, so never leave even a glass of water uncovered! And will move the kids' selection boxes pronto!

Good Luck hope, hope it all goes well

Just thought I'd feed back for anyone interested in the outcome... the homechecker was here for 3.5 hours! I'm sure she could have done it much quicker but we chatted about lots of dog-related stuff, she was very nice, and it was a useful visit for us too.
So... she approved us, and we went on Sunday to meet the dog they thought would suit us, and we brought him home. He's lovely, but ever so timid. Funnily enough, he's happy and relaxed when out walking, or at dh's work (where there's another dog), but at home, he's rarely braving coming out of his crate. Hopefully it won't be too long till he relaxes.

Time for another bath I think...