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?

I can honestly say this has never crossed my mind. I don't do housework very often but it's not something i would ever notice in someone else's house so I assume that friends and family who visited me would also be blind to the condition of my house. If someone has made the effort to visit and I'm pleased to see them then I'm going to invite them in. It would never occur to me to consider how clean or tidy my house is 😂

Same op. Even when I spend all day cleaning the next day it's messy again!!dog hair, dc crumbs, dh leaving crap around. Washing, pots in sink.

most of my downstairs is flagstone and herringbone so that’s a really quick go with the steamer, I’d say 20 minutes in total. Then hoovering the carpeted rooms that are used daily, maybe another 15? The main bathroom I wipe round when the DC are in the bath. That takes 10 minutes or so and I figure I’d be in there anyway so may as well do it then. I hoover upstairs 3 times a week and that takes around 30 mins a time. The dogs don’t go up there and there are 2 DC at school so it doesn’t need too much. Putting things away when you’ve used them is probably my main tip. Just having stuff back in it’s place makes such a difference. I appreciate its a habit you have to form though.

Mine is since we moved to house with a utility room. All washing in there and door can be shut. I load dishwasher after every meal and wash anything needing hand washing after dinner. Other bits cleaned once a week but only secondary age kids (rooms messy but door shut) and fish as pets.

Ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha no.

I’m saying all this and the puppy has just peed next to my feet and there are randomly several buckets and spades and a ‘dog poo game’ on the breakfast table sooo 🙈

I had this exact conversation with DP last night as we’ve had a few occasions recently where people have announced they’re popping in and we’ve panic-tidied! We’re not slovenly by any means, but the popper-inner is usually my mum, who always has something to say about mess.

@Quicknamechangefortoday

I've got to be honest. Your daily routine sounds like my idea of hell. But each to their own.

I'm happy to receive guests at any time so the house is ready in that there's always a welcome, the kettle is always on, there's biscuits in the cupboard, the lav is clean and there's no clutter to traipse through or move in order to sit down. That said, this is easy for a single person without dcs still at home. Also, I've usually lived in places that are not quite big enough so to function at all you need a level of organisation. I never judge anyone else's house though. Is their business how they live. I also find the concept of 'guest ready' about as depressing as I do 'turnkey ready' insofar as often creating an utterly soul-less place to live or visit. Homes are homes. Not some sort of museum of carefully curated housekeeping

Thanks greenfingers 😂 it really doesn’t take long so it doesn’t bother me to do it. I like a tidy house (obviously toys don’t bother me I just mean mess). It helps me to feel more relaxed. Living in a tip where you couldn’t find anything would be my personal idea of hell tbh.

Yes… it’s not a show home but I’m not embarrassed by it.

i keep my home nice to make me feel good

guests can like it or stop visiting, I don’t live my life to impress others

I’m willing to bet that a lot of people posting yes either don’t work full time and/ or have a cleaner

And yes, hopefully no one is judgy visitors that would judge mess in a friends house. They are not the kind of visitors you need and they won’t be welcomed back!

*no one has

Nope and if any visitors don't like it they can either tidy up or leave - life is way too short!

The older the kids and the lower the number of hours worked make this more likely...

My kitchen and sitting room are usually fairly presentable. One spare bedroom is clear and would only need a quick hoover and to put on some bed linen.

The rest of the house, definitely not. I have a teenage boy so the bathroom always needs scouring 😀

Not really visitor ready. I have a tidy up at weekends and when I get home from work in the afternoons. I like to have a fairly tidy living space but rarely do I get unexpected visitors! My DD2 and OH are pretty messy so if anyone was to drop by when they're the only ones at home they'd probably get a big shock!

Not particularly - there are always books and papers about the place, some surfaces will need dusting and there are usually cobwebs if you look. I blame the dog........

But you can get away with a lot more in an old house. Mugs, plates and glasses are perfectly clean and we always have decent coffee, tea, wine and biscuits to go in/on them.

Clean - yes
Tidy - my standards its fine - visitor ready no

But it’s our home and I neither have the time or energy stressing about being visitor ready. I remember once someone saying it’s homely - I initially felt embarrassed and then they followed it up with it feels welcoming :) & they feel comfortable so I’ll take that.

I will admit, I run my own business so although I suppose I never truly ‘switch off’ from it, some things can wait until 11pm when I’m watching my Sherwood recordings rather than needing to be done in the here and now.

Nope, never visitor ready unless the visitors are expected.

In terms of whether I care - depends who the person is. Close friends don't care what the house looks like. Don't really get any unexpected visitors who are not close friends but if I did then I would be embarrassed of the house. Not worth constantly cleaning just on the off chance such a person shows up though!

My home is always visitor ready BUT that is because I live alone (no pets) and if I mess the place up, I tidy it up pretty quickly. When my children were small and at home and when I still had a "D"H it was rarely visitor ready. Nobody needs to worry about how their own home is. As it is home. Not a show room.

There is always a small mess around my house in the kitchen or living room, the sort of mess that would only take 10 mins to clean up. To be honest life is too short to keep the place in show home condition and I feel sorry for people who feel compelled to do that. If any drop in guests take issue with a bit of mess or judge me then they are not really people I want to associate with.

Generally, yes, I find it hard to relax if it's untidy. The furniture and carpets are a bit shabby because they're old and we're in rented, but there's generally somewhere to sit, I've been decluttering for a good while so it feels reasonably tidy, and we've recently got a cleaner so it's looking much better than it did. I'm sure it wouldn't be up to everyone's standards, but I'm happy with it, and I'd always have a cup of tea and some biscuits for an unexpected guest.