To think you need to clean for “guests”

[CleanHouseForNow]

We have family visiting tomorrow for lunch. A planned meal with about 15 people. We see them regularly but not often at home.

In the interests of full disclosure we have a cleaner who does 3 hours once a week. I think in addition we need to:
> Deep clean the kitchen
> Mop the floor of the whole downstairs
> Deep clean downstairs toilet
> Remove all clutter from downstairs
> Wipe all downstairs surfaces
> Empty downstairs bins
> Hoover upstairs
> Deep clean upstairs bathroom

This is the minimum. I would actually do more if time permitted.

DH thinks it is WAY too much and would probably just wipe down the kitchen and spray some air freshener in the bathrooms. AIBU?

Then you’re very lucky!

I’ve been in homes where your feet stick to the floor, where the work surfaces are covered in spillages with pet hair stuck in them for good measure. Piles of old dishes in the sink that are growing a nice layer of fuzz, filthy carpets that clearly haven’t been vacuumed in months etc.

Yes, I would do all that. I hate cleaning with a passion but it needs to be done.

My cleaner left a few months ago and I've realised how much she didn't do that I didn't notice she hadn't done. The light fittings above my cooker were absolutely filthy, clearly had never been dusted. Cobwebs in corners. I guess the fact I didn't notice says it all!

I would prob do this OP. But I’d try to do it over a few days and build up to it. I’d also change the hand towels so they’re not smelly.

on the morning of the visit I’d whizz the hoover around and check the toilets again. Make sure there’s enough loo roll near toilets.

i think for me I could then relax an enjoy the company. So it’s worth it.

I do notice grubby houses and I like to be clean and tidy.

Only thing I wouldn't do is deep clean the kitchen, everything else is standard for visitors.

Is your kitchen very dirty? Does it need to be deep cleaned?

I’m the same, for the sort of occasion you describe. For, say, my ma or a friend popping round for a cup of tea, it’s a bit different and I wouldn’t worry quite so much (altho would still whizz around the bathroom and kitchen, hoover and mop etc, it wouldn’t be deep cleans) but yes, for bigger visits or actual hosting sort of occasions, yes, I’d do the same. I think my house is generally quite clean and tidy and perhaps that’s some of the difference? It doesn’t seem insurmountable to do these jobs if you’re starting from a reasonable spot iyswim?

It’s so rude when people neglect to clean before visitors. You are absolutely normal and correct to be doing all this 🥰

She really isn’t.

Ha! This is me too!!! Quite a few of my friends have higher standards than me and I'll put off cleaning til the day before they arrive aswell.
Ive often thought to myself its a good thing we have overnight guests quite frequently 😬

This.

I do have a cleaner once a fortnight and I then try and keep on top of it daily. This is what I would do before guests arrived. Quick hour between DH, eldest 2 kids and I.

All i would do is tidy away clutter and clean anything that obviously needs it.

This would be easily solved for me. If my family was coming I’d do it to my standards (what you are suggesting). If my DH family were coming I’d know he wasn’t bothered/wouldn’t do it so I wouldn’t either. Very simple, just do what works for you.

If you have a regular cleaner it shouldn't be excessively dirty.

I'd make sure there wasn't anything obviously awful ie I'd check the state of the loos, run a hoover round if the floors were obviously in need (eg in the summer part of our house that has a lot of glass often gets dead insects...) and quickly tidy anything very messy (but tbh we're pretty tidy...). I always wipe kitchen surfaces and the hob as I go when cooking anyway.

But I would't be deep cleaning anything! 15-20 mins whip round on average? Tends to be DH's job as I tend to be cooking.

Years ago when we were young and didn't have a cleaner and didnt keep on top of things as well then having my mum over would motivate me to clean properly. Not least because my mum had very high standards (though that stuff was probably partly in my onw head). But these days, the house is always basically fine. Not perfect, but fine. And I'd pretty much always be happy with anyone coming round without me doing much first.

I would do all of that and I’m not even clean freak adjacent not even curious lol 😂
I love but don’t expect it when you visit someone’s home and it’s super clean and you can relax, I’d love guests to feel the same especially if I’m cooking for them.
I don’t have a cleaner and work 32 hours pw it’s never as clean as I’d want
YANBU

Then you are very lucky!

I have been in houses that are absolutely disgusting. Years of filth, kitchen full of unwashed dishes, pots & pans. Bins overflowing onto the floor. Sink full of cold greasy water & empty unclean tin of cat food floating around.

Animals everywhere. Full litter trays. Animal wee & poo on the floor.

Piles & piles of clothes & random objects on every surface. Filthy toilets & often no toilet paper.

Yes we offered help & tried to assist the (fit, ablebodied) person to get on top of it to no avail.

There is no way i would eat or drink there. We suggest cafes instead. Its v sad to see someone live like that.

Anyway, our own house is always clean & tidy - enough for us day to day. We have an elderly cat so lots of hairs we have to keep on top of with regular hoovering & sometimes we don't do that as often in the week as i'd like.

If someone called to the door unexpectedly 9 times out of 10 the downstairs would be totally fine to have them come in for a coffee but i'd prefer to have notice

If we've invited 15 people around for a meal, then 100% we're going deep clean!

We live in a 180 year old house so that means making sure no cobwebs (eternal battle)
We deep clean the bathroom, hoover & mop all downstairs & upstairs bathroom & corridor, dust everywhere (lots of bookshelves etc), empty & clean all bins, sparkling cooker, plump & tidy all soft furniture, clean special guest towels in bathrooms, nice candles & matching reed diffusers, good soaps in bathrooms & by kitchen sink, kitchen deep cleaned, fresh flowers in each room downstairs
Windows opened throughout the house to air it out

Then if cooler weather we light the fires downstairs & have the heating on so its warm & weloming

I detest the smell of bleach so don't just chuck it into the toilet. We use toilet duck & give it a good scrub & always have a rim cleaner thing (not pine - hate that smell)

If someone's staying over then thorough clean of the guest room - fresh bedding, dusting, flowers, clean towels

Also - i check glass wear to make sure its sparkling clean as i hate a dull or fingerprinty glass

Final step is plan a meal that allows for as much prepping as possible & be organised with timings etc because this allows me to enjoy my time with the guests & not slaving in the kitchen as much

I also notice when other houses are not as clean as they could be.

That's too much for me. I would:

• clean the kitchen because you're gonna prep food and need space on the counters
• clean the toilets/bathrooms because your guests will need them
• hoover the floors downstairs (if they need doing, depends when your cleaner came last and whether you have pets).

Guests aren't meant to wander around the house anyway.

That's it. If there really is clutter like laundry waiting to be folded, school bags etc, I'd just hide it in a room out of sight.

Because you have to do all that for guests, do you enjoy having guests over? I find the prep (I’m on your scale) too much and have over the years stopped inviting. As much as I enjoy them whilst here, it doesn’t outweigh the hate of preparing for their arrival.

Sounds exactly what i'd do for visitors - and more- guests coming this weekend so have washed the downstairs windows and brasso polished the window latches - have also cleaned the kitchen unit exteriors and spot painted chipped skirting boards guests give me a useful nudge to get things done

I tend to keep friends who aren't preoccupied with how tidy my home is. That really is the last thing on our minds when we spend time together. My home is clean and I do not clean extra for guests. Importantly, I also make sure my DC are respectful and appreciative of other people's homes irrespective of the state of tidiness.

We love having guests!
Yes, the prep can be a pain but then its done & we bask in a gorgeously clean house for the next few days, until our beloved cat has swapped preferred snoozing locations enough to have fuzzed up all the chairs!

On a day to day the kitchen is properly cleaned daily as in all washing up done & put away after each meal (dh has a tendancy to leave dishes to drain which i detest), counter & sink sprayed & wiped. Clean dushcloth every second day. Clean teatowels daily.

Table cleared (again were veering towards letting piles of clean folded clothes from the dryer accumulate so we're more mindful of bringing upstairs daily)

Kitchen table wiped after every meal. We have flowers in the middle & we keep it clear apart from that

We give the cooker top a clean after dinner each evening

All food items are put away after use. We have a fruit bowl out but we put things back in the pantry once we're finished so no clutter on surfaces. Our house is old & can get messy looking quite quickly so over the years we've developed good habits of tidy & quickly clean as we go.

So if you walked in now, thats what you'd find & it would be totally grand for an impromptu coffee / glass of wine etc

However when we intentionally invite guests we go a few steps further & i think this ensures we stay on top of things like cleaning the dishes etc on the open shelving in the kitchen (quick glance they look great, in reality they accumulate so much dust), dusting the bookshelves (we have 2 walls of books in one room)

Touch up paintwork i.e. in the kitchen behind the bin which is next to the cooker, we'll touch that paint up a couple of times a year as it can look a bit grubby

I love the feeling when the house is primped & preened & guest ready, just before they arrive, it gives me great satisfaction!

People are different but i don't think it unreasonable to thoroughly clean food preparation and toileting areas,clean floors and emptying the bins !

Having visitors is one of the main excuses we have to deep clean.

I tend to clean the bathroom, kitchen and cook. My OH gets the hoover out immediately when guests leave. They are in the come down to a clean house the next day camp.

Haven't RTFT but I am boggled that 60% think your list is reasonable!!

When my house was a complete tip most of the time, I would probably have to do most of your list, although realistically, "deep" clean would just mean that I would need to do a substantial amount of cleaning in each of those areas, and removing "all" clutter would be unlikely but I would try to remove some.

Now that our house is in a more reasonable state ie cleaner than it probably used to be in "guest ready" status most of the time

Yes I would clean kitchen/bathrooms and dining area, and probably do a sweep for clutter, but I don't think I'd need to especially mop the floors because they do get cleaned regularly, the bins always get emptied as soon as they are about 70-80% full or start to smell, so wouldn't need emptying specially, and I probably would do a bit of a look over for places that need to be wiped down.

But in general most of the time our house is nicer, as I said, than it used to be AFTER I had cleaned for guests. So I am a lot more chilled these days and don't stress much, I just tend to give things a bit of a tidy/once over and look at areas which are prone to getting mucky (sinks where DC brush teeth are always a disaster.)

I don't think it's unreasonable either, but I would ideally like those things to be clean all of the time, not just when guests are expected.

Its very excessive to make sure there's no random crap lying around, clean the kitchen, mop, make sure the bathroom is clean and empty bins? Jesus I must be one hell of a domestic goddess if the bare minimum is deemed too much

I'm sure I'll be told I don't have a life for this, but aren't those things clean all the time anyway (unless they're in use?).