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?

My house is not a filthy pit by any means and is basically presentable - but I wouldn't feel comfortable with guests arriving unless I had first vacuumed, dusted and spruced up a bit. There are four of us and two dogs and its a sizeable house.

I expect housework to be minimal in a few years time when we downsize to a smaller house and there is just me and dh (plus a couple of dogs).

I have a toddler who is constantly dragging out the next toy or throwing things on the floor as I'm tidying up the last mess he's made. My house will never be visitor ready until he starts school and I actually have time in the house by myself to clean and tidy.

The sitting room is pretty much always visitor ready we don't use it much. The hallway and entrance too, for some reason I always make sure is neat and tidy.
I do like to have a general, quick spruce up if we're expecting visitors though. Longer for people overnight, more preparation required.

The foil arms video is brilliant...we had unexpected visitors earlier and the first thing I did was hiss at ds1 to run upstairs and close the bedroom doors

Our Hallway and lounge is always visitor ready. Step past that though and no, it would need a bit of attention first for me to feel comfortable.

Scuryfunge is an amazing word! That describes perfectly our preparations for DH's relatives visiting. My own, I'm more relaxed about as they can handle a lived in habitat. My best couple of mates can pop around whenever. If I can shift enough Lego to safely manoeuvre the vacuum, that's a bonus. We know each other and our standards enough to be well past a good scuryfunge!

YANBU - I’d need an afternoon to properly sort mine! My PILs house is always visitor ready, however there’s just the two of them, they are retired and they have a cleaner!

“Visitor ready” sounds like a packaged product such as an “oven ready chicken”. Unless you live in a cling-film wrapped plastic pack with a label on top, it doesn’t sound like a description of a home.

I wonder when your MIL will realise it’s a good idea to be polite to your hosts instead of criticising their ways of doing things. Then she might be ready to visit!

Visitors are welcome anytime but they have to take us as they find us. We have an excellent cleaner but lead busy lives with no time for extra preparation for visitors. Not had any complaints and friends, family and numerous friends of DC’s keep turning up!

I used to have a mega stress if I was expecting visitors, lasting for days. The bottom line for me would be to have the bathroom and kitchen clean (I don't want my guests feeling ill at the thought of eating in my house) and the living room tidy ( so they can sit down). I would be worn out by the time guests arrived, and dreaded impromptu drop ins from neighbours. Anyway, I recently got a cleaner and then had some visitors. It was so relaxing, I really enjoyed having them. All I had to do was cook lunch, and I had time to spend getting out the posh tablecloth and nice tableware! And the cleaner washed up the non dishwasher cutlery the next day! She is the best money I have ever spent in terms of quality of life.

I’m ‘visitor ready’.

Bed gets changed after the last visitor.
House Ian always tidy and clean enough.

YADNBU. If we have a house inspection (currently renting) or family coming over DP and I spend several hours beforehand cleaning. Of course we vacuum etc in the week but we still need to spend a few hours cleaning prior to visitors.

We are always visitor ready. I need things to be that clean/tidy and it doesn’t take a lot for us to keep it that way because we are both quite tidy and ‘clean as we go’ type people.

I work from home.
The living room floor is totally covered with stuff.
I have 800 padded envelopes in the porch, other boxes of materials.
Not visitor friendly at all.

Kitchen is almost always visitor ready unless I'm in the middle of cooking something epic.

Lounge would need a brief tidy most of the day time as I have a toddler. But it is hoovered a couple of times a day. hallway fine meant always. Bathrooms usually clean enough. But I'd still whizz round if i had a 10 minute warning of visitors.

Overnight guests would be a totally different matter. As the spare room is currently storing all kinds of things on the bed and I'd want to put fresh sheets on. They're clean but fresh would be nicer.

Mainly guests take us as we are found

I'm always ready for most visitors in that there's supplies of tea, milk and food and booze, and clean bedding in a pile. Sort the bed yourself.

Getting ready for my parents involves the cleaner plus a day of me and MrNC attacking mess. It's not that they'd say anything but I know they'd be thinking it!

YANBU mine is never visitor ready. In fact if someone just turned up they probably wouldn't have anywhere to sit lol. It's never dirty but messy with a 3 year old and probably pots in the sink and clean washing sat on the stairs ready to be taken up etc. No one gets through the front door unless they've called to say they're coming lol x

I love in squalor, multiple animals ensure this. Visitors arriving means the place gets a good clean occasionally.

My house definitely isn't visitor ready. If I died tonight and someone had to come and sort through all my stuff I'd die of embarrassment all over again.

I need visitors to stay or come to dinner at regular intervals just so the house gets cleaned and tidied. My friend and I once had an argument about whose turn it was to host that was won (by me) because my house was more in need of a clean than hers !!

My home is a sanctuary away from people.....dogs are welcome tho....lol

@LoveYouTimMinchin

Ha ha, I've often thought this myself! But what the heck I'd be dead and I won't feel anything, least of all embarrassment.

My loved ones know what I am like, so there will be a fund available for a skip and clean up operation after I'm gone. I think that's a good way not to be post dead embarrassed!

I think it is just the STUFF you accumulate over the years, not necessarily the fact that you have an unclean or messy house!

Whenever I start tidying DS asks who's coming!!

This is basically me when we have impending visitors.... www.facebook.com/chrisflemingfleming/videos/1249120155103767/

OP. You dont have a tidiness problem ... you have a MIL problem!

Nope, mine is always visitor ready when there is no chance anyone will turn up sigh If its a tip, then you can guarantee someone will pop round. The only time it is actually tidy for when visitors come is when I know when they are coming and spend several hours tidying up and cleaning.