Is your home always 'guest ready'?

[Bigbonesmeatandgravy]

If someone drops by unexpectedly would you be happy to let them in or would you feel embarrassed about the state of it? My house is always a bit of a mess and I feel conscious of unexpected visitors more often not. Things like the bin needs emptying, crumbs on the floor, dishwasher needs loading, clothes strewn around randomly. I feel like I spend half my life tidying so it's not laziness, it just gets messy again straight away. I also have one spare room that is a dumping ground and such a mess at all times that I would be mortified if anyone entered it.I have 2 kids under 4 so that's my excuse! YABU My house is always visitor ready YANBU My house is rarely visitor readyAnd if your house is a bit of a mess, do you care what people think?

My living room, kitchen and bathroom are always “guest ready” the bedrooms often look like a bombs gone off

My house is always visitor ready and always was even when I had small children , if you look really closely you may find some dust but it’s basically clean and tidy . When the children were small there were obviously toys about but that is not what I consider to be mess .

My house isn't always spotless. There's sometimes crumbs and a few pots to wash and then I will get an unexpected visitor. But I am good at putting things away and keeping the place tidy. My bedroom usually becomes the dumping ground as I can shut that away.

I think if a visitor is unannounced, they can take you as they find you! If they're your friend/family member, they shouldn't bother that your house isn't a show home.

No. Never. Ours is like that old Yellow Pages advert with the "burglary". I honestly don't care as life is far to short to give a fuck about such matters.

Hahahaha no. Def not guest ready BUT whether I care depends on which guest it is and what level of not ready the house is! Some days it would take 30 mins to get sorted enough not to be a huge embarrassment if my boss dropped in. Other days it would take 3 hours or more.

Ours is always guest ready as I can’t relax in an untidy house, yes there are toys out and you find washing on the airer in the spare room but that’s life.

No.
It may be if I got off MN.

I am you OP.. l can't believe the coincidence as well. When is ready no one comes when it's not we have guests dropping by unannounced.i would like to get tips on how to keep it always tidy.

I don't let people in. 😂 I hate unexpected visitors but to be fair, we very rarely have visitors so I don't really have to worry about it. This is great because our house is always messy. Not a full on bomb site but mostly toys and stuff everywhere because DC and DH are both really messy. I tend to ensure the bathroom and occasionally the lounge are ok just in case, because I'd be embarrassed if someone asked to use our toilet and it would be all minging.

I also don't judge messy houses unless they are actually filthy.

My house is always visitor ready. Clean and tidy, but as pp says I wouldn't consider a few toys out to be messy in a home with small dc.

I don't do guests. My house isn't tidy either. These 2 things are connected by autism.

The concept of ‘visitor-ready’ depresses me. Has any man, ever, sat about debating whether an unexpected visitor would judge him a slattern for the state of his floors?

Yes, pretty much. I might have a basket of laundry ready to go upstairs or the dishwasher might need loading but that's about it. Guest loo is always clean and main bathroom wouldn't need too much of scrub.

Nope. But better a house unkept than a life unlived.

Always in a condition where I'd open the door, welcome them in and be able to offer a cuppa. Not up to some MNetters standards.

I always remember when doing the rounds with the NCT group that some homes felt that you were on edge in case DC disrupted anything. I've made it my mission to make my home more welcoming than that. It's cleanish most of the time and there's always milk.

Yes but I’m a SAHM and the baby naps now. I have three under 6.

If I walked into a friend or family members house I wouldn't even think or care about mess - it's their safe space they do as they please.
But if people come to me it's a whole other ballgame. Everything needs to be tidy, in a 'place', no odd pieces of clothes pretending to be a cushion.. I even chuck in a nice wax melt. Because I only ever use them when my house is tidy, I feel like it's a waste making the house smell good if it looks like a bomb site 😂

Yes. I know lots of men who like to keep their homes tidy and clean.

My attitude is generally this — there’s always coffee in the pot and wine in the fridge. That’s what ‘guest ready’ means for me — nothing to do with cleaning. It’s not the 50s!

Pretty much is if they can look past everything my toddler has flung around the room

Yup. Its got a roof over it, and there's a chair to sit on, a toilet, running water and a range of drinks and food, and most importantly for anyone who wants to visit me, I'll be there too!

No. Absolutely not. Visitors are always welcome, they are never asked to remove shoes, they are always offered cups of tea and biscuits from clean cups and plates but beyond that most visitors know my standard of housekeeping and it's their choice to visit or not! Between the dogs, horses, kids, both of us working full time I refuse to be a slave to some Kim and Aggy ideal of clean. Loved in, loved and happy (but I do only clean the horse stuff in the dishwasher overnight so nobody spots that in there!)

I Always welcome any visitors in. My house is not perfect but i simply dont care if i have to move stuff off the seats in order for a friend to sit down. My friends don’t care either.

Nah, we both work full time, I have friends coming this weekend so a big clean up will have to be done

Lots of men do. Visitor ready is a thing whether male or female- there’s a certain level of mess that is uncomfortable for anyone other than the closest family or friends to see.

I would appreciate tips from those whose home is always visitor ready (this includes a 10 minute tidy away from being so). I imagine not having clutter and having lots of storage helps. But day to day, how do those people keep on top of things?