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Original poster

To wish my house was permanently guest ready?

186 replies

apples83 · 29/02/2020 16:38

DH and I have some friends coming over for drinks tonight. As ever in this situation, I’m frantically cleaning the house to try and get it looking half presentable for when they arrive (DH did upstairs and the front room earlier and has now gone to visit his mum). Cue mad dusting, vacuuming, mopping and a big tidying away session. I’m now slumped on the sofa shattered and am only halfway through!

Every time this happens I vow that I won’t be in this situation ever again and that if someone is coming round, my house will be such that I simply need to tidy away a few bits and bobs give the kitchen surfaces a cursory wipe. As it is I have to give up half of my weekend doing some sort of deep clean like a crazy woman.

Does anyone have a guest ready house at all times and if so, how do you do it? (Cleaner not an option here as budget doesn’t allow sadly).

OP posts:
Bringringbring12 · 29/02/2020 18:16

* I think a massive percentage of people live in the real world as opposed to fake Instagram world.*

I don’t have an Instagram account! But I still have my home looking pretty lovely and absolutely guest ready for vast majority of time

BackforGood · 29/02/2020 18:20

I also think that people are coming to visit because they like us and want to see us, not to see how tidy or otherwise the house is

This ^

fishonabicycle · 29/02/2020 18:21

Mine isn't alway perfect, but generally good.enough with a 30 mins whip round. I tidy up as I go and always wipe kitchen down each time I use it. I go a proper Clean on a Thursday morning, as I work mon-wed.

cretelover · 29/02/2020 18:25

Another vote for the organised mum method, it's changed my life

Krong · 29/02/2020 18:27

I also think that people are coming to visit because they like us and want to see us, not to see how tidy or otherwise the house is

It's important to me that people feel comfortable and relaxed in my home though. If I'm in a dirty messy house I can't wait to escape!

MamaFlintstone · 29/02/2020 18:28

I have a toddler. My house is full of crap. I’m trying to teach her to tidy up with me as we go along but not succeeding so far. Even though we’re all out of the house most of the day it still seems to be messy all the time. I think I need a purge of stuff and then a Roomba.

Bringringbring12 · 29/02/2020 18:29

I also think that people are coming to visit because they like us and want to see us, not to see how tidy or otherwise the house is

In the vast majority of cases, that goes without saying.
However it is lovely to show your guests a lovely clutter free bedroom with a spotlessly clean bathroom. We love it when we stay at hotels and I like to ensure the same when guests arrive.
Plus my kitchen I like gleaming - from both a hygienic perspective and also - guests and I often in there, so it’s nice that not piled high with mess.

Redcrayons · 29/02/2020 18:30

Mine has improved a lot since I started TOMM. But I have a depressing amount of clutter which I don’t seem to be able to get on top of.

I reckon I could get the downstairs visitor ready in about 90 minutes, though a large part of that would be shoving stuff upstairs.

cardibach · 29/02/2020 18:34

Krong then maybe you have gravitated to a friendship group with the same opinions about tidiness. I know none of my friends would judge everyday untidiness or a house which needed hoovering or dusting. They would in all probability not even notice - and if they did they would move on to chatting and enjoying themselves quickly. I know this is true because it’s what happens...

MrsFogi · 29/02/2020 18:34

Does this video sum it up OP?
It reminds me of my mother whenever we had guests coming over when we were kids - "There cannot be any sign of living in this house!" Grin

IWishItWasSummer · 29/02/2020 18:35

I wish my home was always immaculate and guest ready but.... I have an actual life.

Mine is always guest ready and I live a very fulfilled and happy life. Having an organised home doesn’t mean I can’t go to the gym/ride my horses/walk my dogs/go out with friends or work etc.

Everyone is different and there was really no need for the above comment.

BackforGood · 29/02/2020 18:35

It's important to me that people feel comfortable and relaxed in my home though

Me too - which is why I am happy for them to come into my home and not some kind of display showroom

If I'm in a dirty messy house I can't wait to escape!

Don't think anyone is talking about 'dirty' houses. People are talking - I presume - about some 'stuff' being visible, you know, evidence that people live there.

Wilmalovescake · 29/02/2020 18:36

We both work full time and have kids who I want to spend time with, but we also like a clean and tidy house. We do:

Load of washing each day- I put it on in the morning, take it out and dry it when I get home (tumble) and then it gets folded and put into each person’s bedroom.

Dishwasher goes on immediately after dinner and gets emptied before bed so it’s ready in the morning.

Quick sweep after dinner to take crap back to the right rooms. Kids tidy their bedrooms once a week.

Wipes, bleach and anti bac spray in each bathroom.

Honestly once it’s set up it doesn’t take long at all to keep it going.

My best tip is to declutter. I do regular charity shop/ dump runs and don’t hold onto old stuff. The fuller your house is, the harder it is.

1moreRep · 29/02/2020 18:38

deep clean:
windows
skirting boards
pet bowls/ crate / cat litter
fish tank
fire
settee wipe
dusting
all bathrooms (including walls in there)
fridge
microwave
cooker
hoover and mop (under everything)
all washing ironed and put away but this is a daily task to put away and hang for drying (we converted under the stairs to dry laundry)

1moreRep · 29/02/2020 18:39

the trick is that we all help, its all OUR responsibility not just mine.

indeed if i walk the dogs a long walk then dp will do most of the cleaning

adaline · 29/02/2020 18:39

which is why I am happy for them to come into my home and not some kind of display showroom

But some people like living in a "display showroom". I mean, we do have some stuff on surfaces but mostly things are put away when not in use. I don't like having loads of bits or trinkets sitting around.

Imaginethat456 · 29/02/2020 18:40

Google Team TOMM!

chrissycn11 · 29/02/2020 18:41

Automate as much as possible -

*Robot hoover
*Robot sweeper/mop - great if you have a lot of hard floors

Tidy as you go, with a daily mini clean in the kitchen, bathroom and cloakroom. Then a weekly big clean of these areas and dust everywhere.

Another bonus of the robot hoovers/mops is that they can whiz under sofa's and being close to the ground they don't spread dust around, so you can dust less often.

Alsohuman · 29/02/2020 18:55

The only way mine would always be guest ready is if the old man was under the patio.

FudgeBrownie2019 · 29/02/2020 19:00

Mine is usually guest ready but it's nothing to do with guests or social media; I just can't tolerate mess and stuff everywhere and am habitually an organised person.

I don't walk into friends homes and judge their clutter at all, but for the sake of my mental 'calm' each day the house looks tidy before I go to bed so I wake up and don't have that 'ugh' feeling coming downstairs to a load of chores.

Straycatstrut · 29/02/2020 19:04

Single mum - no help from a person, no help from a robot, not even a dishwasher. Can't afford any of it. Always clean and tidy and "guest ready" (not that I ever have any) but I do run myself ragged doing it all and feel like my muscles are on fire by the time I slump down. I feel like it's all I ever do and it's really depressing.

By the time I've entertained the kids, fed the dog, cooked, cleared away, washed up, bathed them, got them to brush teeth, dried them, moisturised their dry bits... (all of which involves a lot of shouting, flinging themselves around, fighting, me asking 20 times, dealt with whinging and tantrums etc etc etc) tided up any toys, emptied the bin/recycling, put on any washing, made a mental note of what I'm doing tomorrow.... I'm hurting so much I'm in tears.

With 2 adults in the house sharing all the jobs and encouraging each other it should be easy!!

woodhill · 29/02/2020 19:13

My house is much tidier when I am off work and have time to sort things out.

everythingisginandroses · 29/02/2020 19:17

I'm out of the house 11-12 hours a day 5 days a week, and work some Saturdays. If I was a guy, no-one would expect me to give a fuck whether my house was 'permanently guest-ready'.

squishedgrapes · 29/02/2020 19:19

I'd be relieved if I went to visit someone and their home was as messy as mine. I have a friend with four sons, whose house was immaculate and always smelled nice. I dreaded going to her house and always felt lacking, she has now moved to Devon, thankfully. Lovely woman, kind, but like a cleaning demon

BackforGood · 29/02/2020 19:36

@adaline - that is absolutely fine - no-one is criticising that, but it is 'different from', 'not superior to' folk who like to have things to hand - be that their knitting or laptop or 'to do pile of stuff' or a couple of DVDs you are making time to watch or the book you are part way through, or whatever it is.

When I have guests - be it like those that popped in unexpectedly this afternoon, or people I know are coming, I still believe they are coming to see me. Obviously those that 'pop in' take us as they find us. If I've invited someone I will put away washing that is drying and have a tidy round of surfaces, but not exhaust myself doing some sort of deep clean.
The bathrooms are clean anyway, at all times. I would put a fresh hand towel out but that doesn't take a lot of effort.