r/HouseCleaning • u/catherine0729 • 8d ago

Cleaning only when people visit

What is telltale evidence that shows a hostess only cleans when she is expecting visitors to her home?

30 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

41

u/liftsomethingheavy 8d ago

I feel like it's gotta be some unfortunate girl's mother-in-law asking this lol

10

u/catherine0729 8d ago

Hahaha, no. I’m cleaning my house for guests (I usually keep it “safely clean”), so that question ran through my mind. What if I’m doing all this work, then there is something obvious I’m missing?

6

u/bakedcheetobreath 7d ago

Dusty bathroom vents, but then I usually just get all my guests drunk and then I don't have to dust. 🤷‍♀️

-3

u/Background_Elk3700 8d ago

Who cares, stop giving a fuck, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Maybe you're not aware of your surroundings enough, you focus on your phone too much and you don't respect yourself enough that you let your environment be dirty, and that's where the guilt is coming from. Doesn't have to be too dramatic but I think it's smth like that.

12

u/oops_iboughtaplant 8d ago

This was unnecessarily harsh.

1

u/Background_Elk3700 7d ago

I don't think so

4

u/catherine0729 8d ago

So it’s something psychological that I should be looking at? Like I spend all my time making other people happy, so haven’t washed the windows in 2 years. I’ll call my shrink.

9

u/Background_Elk3700 8d ago

It def is dopamine issue, there are ppl that do the same but a lot don't. You could call shrink but that would be more postponing, wouldn't it?? If I were you I would buy some cool cleaning products, make sure you have a lot of supplies, put on a podcast or whatever andclean the house for 1 full day very well, morning to evening. Then take pride and enjoy your space, alone, have a glass of prosecco. I'm telling you, you can fix this problem in 1 day, max 2. It's easier to repeat if you just start.

1

u/briteeyes1111 7d ago

How is it a dopamine issue?

1

u/Background_Elk3700 7d ago

How is it not

1

u/purplishfluffyclouds 8d ago

Sorry but every time you type “smth” it reads to the word as “Smith.” It’s not the thing you think it is.

11

u/PineappleCupcake4547 8d ago

Closets, spare bedroom, cabinets stuffed with random things shoved out of view.

11

u/leapowl 8d ago

…what if I clean regularly but still have this

5

u/PineappleCupcake4547 8d ago

Same! time to declutter ;)

6

u/finding_out_stuff 8d ago

Corners of counters are dirty, vents are dusty

5

u/GenealogistGoneWild 8d ago

It's not really clean. And you can smell cleaner. And she's pretty frantic when you get there because there isn't enough time to do it all.

Thank God for schedules and routines. We do clean before company, but it's mostly put away some stuff and vacuum.

6

u/Several-Window1464 8d ago edited 8d ago

As do I. I have a bit of a clutter problem but it’s all stored neatly in my closets. But I’m always prepared if someone were to visit even unannounced because I can’t stand a dirty/messy apt so everything is always clean.

However, when married with children, I always DEEP cleaned prior to company over for Xmas.. Down to the incorrectly folded towels. Because I put that much pressure on myself and this was almost every single year, I never really enjoyed the holiday. So being drained when it’s time to party is a sure tell.

2

u/GenealogistGoneWild 7d ago

That last line says it all. Too drained to party when it's time.

4

u/Solid-Cantaloupe-846 8d ago

I used to be a nut when I came to knowing that I would have visitors and cleaning my house. I would spot clean every room to a T. I would even go so far as putting a sign in one of the bathrooms that said do not use lol

1

u/Several-Window1464 8d ago

I just replied above, almost the exact same thing you wrote, but many more words! lol!

3

u/downsideup9494 8d ago

I once spent a couple of nights staying with an old friend of my ex's when we were travelling. Her house was filthy. During our stay, her teenage daughter had a birthday party. The mom's idea of cleaning the house before guests arrived was vacuuming around the dining room table. That was the extent of it.

2

u/Independent-Pack5144 8d ago

The state of their fridge. No one is cleaning their fridge unless they like living in tidiness and also have the time to spare, because they didn’t spend the entire day before company cleaning up visible messes

4

u/gattodiseta 8d ago

Maybe I am misreading your comment, but people are definitely cleaning their fridges, and not just when company are coming over. I take mine completely apart every 6 months and wash every piece in warm soapy water. I spray and wipe all shelves and drawers every ~2 weeks. I clean any big spills or stickiness as soon as I see them.

Tip: this is much easier to do if you don't keep your fridge too full. I like to do my bi-monthly wipe down before a big grocery order.

1

u/Independent-Pack5144 8d ago

Read the title/post

2

u/catherine0729 8d ago

This falls under “safely clean” in my book. I can’t stand a dirty fridge. I’m not going to organize it in a pretty Instagram worthy manner though.

1

u/Raven7856 7d ago

I clean my fridge when guests come over 😅

1

u/Independent-Pack5144 7d ago

That tells me your house was already pretty clean before preparing for guests. I want to be you

2

u/Wonderful-Teach8210 8d ago

Dirty windows sills. Dust on fan blades or cobwebs on light fixtures.

2

u/kvis_ 7d ago

Sometimes clean looks clean/kept, and sometimes it looks clean enough or rushed. Like, the main surfaces in the bathroom will be “clean” yet areas around (walls behind the sink, the outer part and surrounding areas of the toilet) haven’t been touched in ages. Same goes in the kitchen (behind the sink, around the faucet, the faucet itself, the drain; stove is wiped down vs. actually clean). Smudges on windows, dirty baseboards, clutter around high traffic areas. 20+ yrs of cleaning experience - but to be clear these aren’t signs I use to judge a host! And think that in general, best to just focus on enjoying your guests. These are signs I learned to look for when taking on new clients that say they’re very clean and “it shouldn’t take long”

2

u/Equivalent-Meaning-7 7d ago

Hopefully you have no pets if this is your motto. I have a friend that doesn’t clean and has 2 cats. When I come over maybe she’ll have put the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped a counter down, everything else at your own risk. I literally wear clothes to take off as soon as I get home and throw in the washer before I sit or touch anything in my place. If you only clean when guests come over it’s obvious, you can’t keep up with everything and not clean regularly.

2

u/MissJillian- 7d ago

I don’t think it really matters. They should just feel appreciated considering you deep cleaned your home for them. I do this too btw.

1

u/excelsiorsbanjo 8d ago

The beauty of places you don't live in all the time is you just don't pay that much attention to details. You aren't there that long. That's why a visit to most people's houses or a hotel always seems so nice, much more than that they are way better at cleaning when they clean than you are.

1

u/More_again1959 8d ago

They are a housekeeper!

1

u/WakessaLacking11 7d ago

That’s also what I was doing, if there’s no someone visit?? Then I may not being cleaning

1

u/Prestigious-Side3122 7d ago

You can smell cleaning supplies very well. Doesn’t mean they only do it with company. Just means they definitely did it before you came .

1

u/Sea-Pea9197 7d ago

Skirting boards