I have been prepping my home for the last five hours and I’m exhausted. Couldn’t really do it sooner because I was working. My family always make me feel bad when there is cat hair or dust somewhere. Is it okay to put the bar a little lower? Would it be okay to just do less? What are your own standards about cleaning?
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Lol visitors in my home are gonna get what they get, if they don’t like it they are welcome to not come over. Especially with animals, it can be extra tough to stay on top of it.
My standards aren’t low and I’ll pickup, sweep and do a vacuum before company comes by. If the toilet is gross I’ll give it a quick scrub but I’m not going around dusting every trinket and shelf to satisfy someone that’s just visiting.
Edit- I’ll concede there are levels to this. I aim to dust at least twice a month year round, so it’s never extraordinarily out of control for me. If previous holiday was the last time the shelves were wiped, that probably need addressed.
Yeah, pretty much the same boat. Honestly I don’t really want to invite them anymore because of it, but I can’t shut my parents off. Maybe I could groom the cats ahead of holiday season lol.
If they don’t like it they can start cleaning themselves.
If they don’t like it they can host.
You don’t have to live up to any kind of ridiculous standard, but you have to embrace all of the unpleasant tasks that come with inviting people to your space.
The biggest one is that you can’t have people leaving filthy and covered in cat hair.
I know you have a cat, but you have to figure out how to balance your cat ownership and your desire or intention to host people in your home.
Clean the cat hair. Vacuum the furniture. Think about how you would feel if you had a cat allergy and had to go to somebody’s home and drag all that filth home with you.
Don’t get me wrong, I like cats, but let’s be real.
I get that. What is difficult for me is that I am the person in my family living closest to everyone. Plus, my parents, who are getting older, don’t want to host anymore. I therefore became the de facto host without wanting to be one. But my family have such a high standard of cleaning that I find it difficult to have them over. For example, yesterday, they teased me about the fact that my bedside table was messy, in my own bedroom. I’m tired.
I refuse to accept that you’re looking for any answer.
I think validation is what you’re seeking and we can’t give that to you.
I think it comes down to one of two things, reimagine your relationship with your family, or clean your place.
? I don’t understand your comment, but thanks anyway.
My standards aren’t especially high when it comes to cleaning before guests are over but definitely higher than many. Any area they will be in or anything they will interact with is my top priority, beyond that I am a lot more relaxed. If someone tried to make me feel bad about something minor like cat hair or a little dust they probably won’t ever be a guest again because that’s dickish and rude. As a guest you should never make your host feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, even if there’s a legitimate issue it should still be approached respectfully and with kindness.
I complete maintenance items daily. I live in a small place so I can even mop/vacuum daily if need be. I dust and do deep cleaning once a week as well as laundry. It’s really not time consuming if you stay on top of things (like 15-30 minutes a day). I do not have pets so that helps a lot. I also don’t have a second adult in the home, which helps a lot. Historically I’ve found it’s a lot easier to keep my home clean without multiple adults. I need a nice tidy place to feel comfortable, but I don’t judge anyone else for their choices.
Pareto Principle. Focus on the 20% of chores that get you 80% of your cleanliness. Just found this, which seems to give a decent explanation:
https://www.cleaningchecklist.org/what-is-the-80-20-rule-house-cleaning/
Pareto principle definitely applies here. I have a similar cleaning pattern, with tidying and cleaning being grouped together.
I’d be curious about the grouping you do. I usually do the tidying before the rest what do you mean with cleaning at the same time?
It typically pans out that I tidy up the worst of it, then clean the worst, then proceed to messes that aren’t as bad.
It is difficult to clean when there is a lot of clutter, so unless an area is dirty but not cluttered, I usually need to tidy first. Bathrooms would be an example though where I may just need to clean.
That sounds like a good idea but, man! That’s a very chatgpt site.
Hardly even looked at it, honestly, just grabbed the first article that seemed to align with what I was describing, haha
To answer your question - your judgemental family is the problem, not your cleaning. I have my own (pretty loose) cleaning standards, they don’t apply to others. If someone invites me to their house, it would have to be pretty dirty before I might say something, and even then more because I might be worried about them.
We do kind of a lot of ongoing maintenance, run the Roomba twice a day and have help - we pay for every other week deep cleaning. But generally speaking yes there is cat hair and dust. We live in the world, the world is made of dirt.
Yeah, thanks for that. I feel like I have a pretty high standard of cleanliness, after all I grew up with my parents, who are very nitpicky about it, but I never tell anyone I’m visiting that there is any problem with their own cleaning. Everyone has a life and their own responsibilities. I just wanted to see where the bar was for people.
I have my standards higher than my fiancee, which is annoying for both of us since she’s mostly reponsible for housework in our apartment. But we’ve just compromised on the level
Why is she mostly responsible? My husband has higher standards for housework than I do, so I do more of the cooking and gardening, finances, we arrange the division of labor to accommodate our strengths.
I work, she is at home most days
That makes sense. We both work, I go to office and he works from home, but both full time.
save about $200 through the year and hire someone from a reputable cleaner to clean your home about a week before.
then, the day before, just do touchups.
it’s the best gift you can give yourself if this is such a problem.
btw, it’s about $4 per paycheck if you get paid weekly.
You know what, didn’t really think about this. I thought if I had to have professional help, it’d have to be a regular thing and it’s not in my budget, but I’ll look for that kind of service. I won’t be able to tell my folks about it, but they won’t know!
Hair and dust are like the most difficult things to keep your home or apartment clean from. Because dust accumulates just by what is in the air, it’s inescapable. The best you can do is just grab cleaners that’ll at least postpone it a little but you’re always going to get dust. Hair, same deal, you’re always going to get hair somewhere, find hair somewhere or whatnot.
Just got to accept some things are impossible to keep clean for long periods. Just focus on what you can clean, give things a wipe down at least and call it good.
If I throw it against the wall and it doesn’t stick, it’s clean.
If my family complains about my house I gladly thank them for volunteering and show them where the cleaning supplies is
I’m really sorry, but *are
What am I? A pirate?
There’s only one cleaning supply, that’s why their family complains
I agree with others here when they say that if they have a problem with it, they can help clean. One of my biggest pet peeves is someone coming in just to complain-- usually family members.
“Are those ALL dirty dishes?” “There’s so much cat hair, have you cleaned recently?”
I have five cats. There will ALWAYS be cat hair SOMEWHERE.
Hell, when my friends come over they never complain. One of them is allergic to cats, but not to the point where it’s a HUGE issue. I dust, vacuum, wash the carpet, change the sheets, etc. before they come over because I want the place to be as comfortable as possible.
Again, I never get any remarks from them or any other friends that come over. It’s always family.
That’s also a pet peeve of mine. It’s a little different if it’s an officially assigned task, for example if I am the one that takes the trash out, and you mention that the trash is full, thanks for letting me know, I’ll get on that. But if it’s a shared or unassigned task like: “The dog shit on the floor.” Ok, and why didn’t you do something about it when you saw it?
If I’m not willing to fix it myself, I’m not going to point it out to others.
Lol yeah, I only have two but wow is it hard to get every hair. I have a very dark couch in the basement, the textile on it makes it impossible to remove hair, I tried with sticky rollers and the red brush without success.
I wash my bedsheets yearly whether they need it or not and besides that it’s mostly a self-contained ecosystem for example I don’t change my bath mat because that’s where my mushrooms grow.
