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?

You’re asking whether a messy home makes family life with kids and teens a bit… difficult?

Aren’t they always hunting for things? Depends how many, how old and how messy 😂

Yes my house is alway very clean and tidy I don't know how to have it any different to be honest. I get extremely stressed when my house is untidy. But I have friends who are not as tidy and when I visit their house it honestly doesn't bother me at all it's just something about my own home.

*Nope, not depressing at all. What bit of "family life" is more difficult?

We always have a house full despite the mess. It can be messy and comfortable. A home isn't just a house, it's the people in it that make it feel homely.*

Kids not being able to find things, not being properly organised, not having space to spread out toys or projects. Being embarrassed of school friends coming, not being taught to care for their belongings.

There’s many ways living in a tip could negatively affect kids.

You put it better than me!

@Ohthatsexciting

No you put it well too! There was actually a whole thread about it not too long ago, about those of us who grew up in messy homes and how it affected us. I think it’s pretty basic that most people function best in a neat and clean environment. I would link to the thread but not sure how!

I am a pretty tidy person, so never lots of clutter around, but my house is an old thatched cottage and oh, the cleaning! I hate it and it’s perpetual. It’s a bit damp and attracts those thin leggy spiders which means I have to hoover not just the floors but the uneven dust trap walls and the ceilings between all the beams and the windows for cobwebs. I don’t use my front door and porch and was horrified when I had a tradesman round who needed access to see that the inside of my front door was covered in mildew and when I opened it it was black with mould and cobwebs where the door met the frame. So I have just spent 45 minutes just cleaning my front door and frame inside and out. The single glazed windows get black with condensation, every so often I have to take an old toothbrush to the frames.

My house is rarely tidy. I clean the important bits regularly (loos, sinks etc) and the rest occasionally. If people come round I front it out. Used to apologise for the mess but my definition of mess has changed over the years and I've gained confidence so I tend not to worry what others think.
I might panic if HMQ showed up but that's unlikely 😃

Hmmm... BARELY.

We had the cleaner in yesterday pm and its a mess again already. I don't care. DH cares even less.

This great advice, thank you!
I'm definitely guilty of cleaning up after the kids and not encouraging them to tidy after themselves so that probably accounts for a big amount of it.

Not everyone on here is bashing a man, I can assure you.

What @Floella22 said!!!

Yes. I couldn’t live any other way to be honest.

Just to clarify. Yes it’s always guest ready.

Would I care what people though if it wasn’t? I’ve no idea because it’s not likely to ever be anything less than guest ready.

Actually just to clarify from my earlier response.

My house is guest ready, but I would assume guests would be friends who wouldn't inspect the skirting boards for dust, or be upset if the mirror wasn't wiped sparklingly clean.

We absolutely never allow guests into our home. Our children have been brought up with the belief that there are no outsiders past our porch. Can’t understand why anyone would think otherwise. Our home is our private sanctuary and it will remain that way

@Lonelygal22 I really hope you are joking.

Her username certainly makes sense though, if she's serious.

Not in late June or early December (our labradors moult months).

Rest of the year it is my definition of "guest ready" I have no problem with anyone taking us as they find us, whether that is dishes in the sink or havent dusted for a while. Mines is a home that people live in.

Yes always guest ready although I'm the sort who, like just now, notices the dog has stopped playing with her toy so have got up and put it back in her basket. I've done childcare for dd today so have vacuumed again since he's left and straightened cushions and throws. I do a little bit every day plus one extra task be that ironing, changing beds, wiping cupboard fronts down etc. I can't relax if things need doing.

Sounds like story line for the latest Stephen King horror

No. It is a source if stress, having been brought up in an immaculate at all times house. For example, if you washed your hands, there was a cloth to dry the sink with.

@Lonelygal22 but any chance are you…. Lonely? Because perhaps your approach to your home is a contributing tor to that loneliness! I just hope you’re joking, for you childrens sakes!

I Iive on my own and so it's either immaculate or a big skip. There is never anything in between.
Visitors have to take me as they find me. I never apologise.

It’s people like you that pushed me into my closed door policy.