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?

This. Not showhouse but warm and there’s food. There’s always a bed and bathrooms are clean.

Nope. My house is clean, but it's messy thanks to my husband's work stuff. I don't mind as I don't see it anymore, but I wouldn't have guests with no preparation.

Mine is. I have 3 DC and a messy husband but I’ve always been a very tidy and clean person.

@GrinAndVomit yes, my brother!

He can't relax if there's a bit of mess.

I remember going to pick him up to travel to the airport together at 7 in the morning. I joked with my partner that he was probably up mopping the kitchen floors all night. Opened the letter box and he was cleaning the hob.

My ex husband was also clean and tidy and worried more than me about housework.

Yes, I would always be happy for unexpected visitors to drop in. There might be a few toys on the floor in the playroom and breakfast dishes by the sink, but the place is clean and tidy. Bathrooms always clean and the spare room is made up and clear of clutter.

I read somewhere that you're doing OK if you can make it guest ready in 15 minutes which I could. I spend all day tidying up and it just gets messy again. The main rooms could easily be quickly whipped into shape in a guest emergency.

nope, I'm a LP and there is ALWAYS something that needs doing. Decluttering, cleaning bathroom, toilet, etc etc. I do a lot of cleaning but no way can I stay on top of it all the time.

Good lord no.

I just don’t answer the door.

Yes. There might be a blanket or a play mat out as I've a baby but it's always hoovered and clean.

Our is reasonably tidy and clean, it's only 2 adults and 2 large dogs. Ideally I'd always like time to run the hoover around, because we have a huge garden and we're in and out of it all day long all year, so my floors are only pristine once a week for approximately 10 minutes.

Ours is “good enough”. Not to host 20 for Xmas dinner but for a friend or two for a cuppa, yes. It’s lived in - there might be stuff on the side waiting for the dishwasher to finish or clean laundry in a basket just in from the line but I’m not ashamed of that.
I hate stuff on chairs, esp clothes, so I make dh and dcs take their stuff upstairs so people can always sit down. Toys being out are also ok for me (within reason).

I do hoover daily, but it lasts all of 10 minutes. I mop weekly, absolutely pointless daily.

This happened to us on Friday afternoon - 2 old friends turned up out of the blue because they were "just passing". They stayed on into the evening and joined us for dinner. When I was younger I would have worried about how tidy the house was, but now I feel if people arrive unannounced they have to take you as they find you!

Lol! This is me too! 🤣😆

Yes, but I am neurotic so 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had terrible antenatal depression and one of the things that I became preoccupied with was my house being ruined by having a baby. My house is my pride and joy. I renovated it, made it exactly as I wished and I love it. Anyway, off the back of that, I seemed to get into a mindset whereby no matter how tired or unmotivated I was, I always had time to tidy it at the end of the day. And it’s persisted. Because I do little and often, it’s not bad at all.

I don’t really have unexpected visitors - most people who know dh and I would always text/ring first, but if the kitchen or living room were abit messy, it wouldn’t exactly take long to tidy up. The bathrooms are always clean.

I’m not really bothered about abit of everyday mess though - we have a toddler, toys/books/playdoh and a few crumbs on the floor come with the territory.

We have stuff on every surface, it's pretty cluttered. The sofa is "clear" but we have cats, so unless you fancy getting covered in kitty glitter, I'd need to take the blankets off first. (Blankets on in the first place for this exact reason) But it's otherwise clean, we have space to move, places to sit, and food and drink to offer.

I used to get worried about being judged if it was messy. Then I divorced my dickhead of an ex (who never lifted a finger), so I no longer have him or his mother making shitty comments, and it doesn't worry me anymore.

Unless it's actually gross, I'm not going to judge someone on the state of their house. Whether you keep on top of your dishes, or hoover twice a day, has no bearing on your character, and it's not an indicator of morals.

Hell, no!
im dying of shame as the cleaner is here. We’ve had a sick household so it’s worse than normal. Every week I think - I’m going to try harder, but every week something crops up and thwarts my attempts. Illness, work etc. I need to seriously declutter, but half the stuff is OH and he is terrible. He just uses the excuse that the house is tiny, which it is - but it isn’t going to expand and I can’t live like this forever.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

😂😂😂😂😂😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

No.

Fwiw - I fear we go from cluttered into dirty / smelly territory. Cringing as I type this. But just trying to be honest.

More or less but I live on my own.

It hasn't always been this way but I had a mass decluttering and reorganisation.

Don't have any problem answering the door unless I'm working.

No, it’s a tip. Sometimes I just want to burn it all down and run away.

I’m naturally a slob, and mobility issues mean my stamina is awful. I have a mad frenzied clean if someone is coming but I just can’t or don’t keep on top of things.

My brother, on the other hand, cleans things endlessly.

I don't expect homes to be as show homes when I visit them. Mine certainly isn't. It's basically clean but there are toys out, washing to be put away, a couple of cups in the sink.

As long as they like dirty floors, dog hair and a scattering of toys, absolutely. Always have good biscuits and tea in.