To always have a tidy round before guests (lighthearted)

[Flamingogirl08]

My husbands friend rang earlier and asked if they could pop in for a quick visit with the kids as we haven't had a chance to see them over Christmas. I said yep of course.

I then immediately got up ran the hoover round, gave the bathroom a wipe, cleaned the toilet and generally just made sure everything was in its place. I then made all the leftovers into a little buffet and put a bowl of choccies out for the kids.

Husband said I should relax and there's no need to put so much pressure on myself. I don't really see it as pressure though I like guests to come to a clean house and feel welcome with food and drink. So yes YABU, just let last minute guests take me as they find or no YANBU

This is surely what most people do?

Best thing about having visitors is the tidyhouse feeling!

I agree with you. It's common curtesy.

I make sure the toilet is clean if someone is unexpectedly coming over, I also open a window, make sure any washing up is at least neatly stacked in/next to the sink, would empty the bin if overflowing, and might tidy toys a bit as I have a toddler.

Probably 5 mins in total, I find others seem more comfortable if they are walking into a lived in home rather than a show home and I feel the same when visiting other houses.

Essentially just want to make sure kitchen and bathroom are hygienic and guests won’t trip over a fire engine or dinosaur when coming into the house.

I thought everyone did this. My DH wouldn’t though.

I had a planned visit to a friend's house recently. I was asked/invited, it wasn't my suggestion. Her place was a tip and the hosting made me very uncomfortable, I brought most of the food (didn't realise this in advance so i didn't bring that much!), we didn't wait to eat all together (her partner had nipped to the shops), there was only one place to sit. Hosting is to make guests feel at ease. It's really important.

Yep I always do a run round doesn’t matter who is popping in. MIL tells me off for it saying you don’t clean up for family as they’re not guests, they’re family. It amazes me what she can work herself up to be insulted by 😂

The Visitors Klaxon is one of the essential pillars of household hygiene.

I've always run the hoover round, tidy things away and clean the toilet
Even if it's just a tradesman!

Completely agree with you OP. I always run the hoover round, do a general quick tidy up, make sure the toilet is clean, and get some biscuits out ready.

I thought everyone did this.

No. And if I thought people were going to do it I wouldn't suggest visiting their house. I don't like visiting other people's houses anyway, but I definitely wouldn't do it if I knew it was creating work for them.

YANBU, but in our house everyone gets a pre-guest job - I'm not running around on my lonesome tidying around them.

This 🤣

Haha sounds fair. My husband thinks I'm being silly but on the other hand I swear sometimes he is just blind to any mess 😂

Glad to see I'm not the only one though!

Unexpected knock-on-the-door guests - take us as you find us (I’ll probably apologise but no one has ever refused a cuppa based on the state of our house so I’ll assume it’s not so bad).

Text first guests - quick clean up and make welcome. Why wouldn’t you?

The hoovering and buffet sound OTT.

This is so true!

Buffet would be a bit much, but of course the guest clean happens.

Buffet was probably a bit generous 🤣. I put out some cheeses and chutneys, crackers, mince pies, a bit of quiche and some choccies. Just out on the coffee table

This is what we do. I find it frustrating that we seem to have to do this and the house doesn't stay tidy! 🤣

I don't remember this being a thing as a child though, but it's a heavy feature of this adulting malarkey here ..

We don’t get visitors a lot tbh, and a family with two young kids, things can get pretty messy quickly. It’s fine for us, but if a visitor wants to pop in on the day, I wouldn’t want them to see the clutter and untidy room. So I clean the loo, a general tidy up of toys and a hoover. We also have an open plan kitchen/living room area so the kitchen can’t look too horrendous.

If kids are coming I usually try and make sure there’s something available for them to snack on. Similarly with adults, some nice biscuits/crisps etc. I don’t think it’s unusual at all! I’m sure they would do the same for you.

The buffet was OTT but having a quick tidy up is normal.

The hooverings not OTT - a hoovered carpet makes everything feel cleaner!

The buffet is because it's the perfect opportunity to get rid of the leftover Christmas crap before you open the New Year crap

Ah! The chemical smell of impending visitors!

Good job folk do visit! That's my main motivation for tidying up!

I had this conversation with a friend. Yes, I tidy up if guests are coming and I get a little bit of notice. It's about being welcoming, a matter of basic courtesy. If they just turn up on the doorstep, obviously they would take us as they find us.