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How clean is your house really? Do you hide things in the closet when visitors come, or do you just tidy up a bit before they arrive? Are you happy with this aspect of your life in general?”

Asked by mamajama on 24th June 2008 | 24 replies

24 replies so far...

With a child, a husband and several pets, all I seem to do is tidy up. There is ALWAYS a flurry of tidying before someone comes over!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Diane on 27th June 2008
I have a housekeeper that comes in once a week so from that perspective it is pretty good. With two kids and three pets I sure as heck wouldn't eat off of my floors though. But it is a mostly dust and dirt free environment. I used to be a professional organizer which doesn't mean I am superbly organized but I am definitely not a pack rat either. I think I have a good handle on the piles. LOL

Flag as inappropriate Posted by KathyHowe on 26th June 2008
Clean as in sanitary, or clean as in organized and uncluttered? The first is a priority: the second, well, I'm working on it.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Daisy on 25th June 2008
Well, I am on the road to organization. Mopping, vacuuming and other cleaning duties are not too bad here. My son loves to help so he is the trash man. He takes out the trash and on trash pick up day, he rolls the green monster down to the curb. I have purchased a shredder so I can get started on shredding old mail and junk mail. If I can get that closet just right, I will be much better. LOL !

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Itswrite4u on 25th June 2008
As soon as the kitchen floor is clean, the dogs come in with dirty paws, shed, and invariably find something to lick/chew on it. The downstairs stays fairly tidy, but the bedrooms look like a natural disaster hit. I don't think we can ever keep up with the laundry.

When we have guests, closets are my best friend. The vacuum is a close second. And, Swiffers were the best thing invented. A paper towel and windex to wipe the world down, toilets brushed, and a final check that my youngest has flushed the toilet after I cleaned them, and we are ready for company.

It's not perfect, and when Mom comes she is convinced she'll catch something (somewhat exaggerating). But with 3 kids, two dogs, and a cat, the house will never be perfect. If the bathrooms and kitchen are clean, we keep up on the vacuuming, and the downstairs isn't a disaster, I'm pretty happy.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Michele on 25th June 2008
on a "good day" my apartment is pretty clean. well... the living room/kitchen and bathrooms are pretty clean. i do have the habit of sometimes letting my room go to almost resembling a "war zone." however, i have had days when i just let everything go - and i'm awake early saturday morning at dawn cleaning and bleaching everything in sight. on those days.. should a visitor come.. or my mother.. then i'm cleaning so fast when i'm finished i have a head-ache.

i always keep in the back of my mind.. my mother's favorite words.. children are like sponges.. they're picking up everything that you do and don't do on some occassions. i've seen my daughter toss her shoes in the closet just as she's seen me do on most days, instead of putting them in the shoe boxes or stacking them neatly. she has seen me kick off my shoes at the door and keep walking and for a while "ALL" of our shoes were at the front door. after i found myself asking my daughter.. why are your shoes here and hearing her answer me.. because i see you put your shoes there mommy.. heck! what could i say.. soo.. practice makes perfect. and children are like sponges. i try not to do anything that i don't want her doing. so i TRY to make every effort to clean up behind myself as much as i can and stop being lazy and saying my favorite line, "i'll come back to pick that up."

Flag as inappropriate Posted by on 25th June 2008
I'm still in the 'getting furniture' stage. I'm 22 and we got our own apartment when I was 18, but we only have things we were able to get from our own homes and our living room suit. We have a dining room table and it's nice, but we have folding chairs for it. I'm not embarrassed about the cleanliness of my home, but rather the lack of nice furniture. If someone is going to come in and judge me based on the cleanliness of my house, they can stay out. We do keep it mostly clean, but we also have an almost-2-yr-old that thinks her toys belong on the floors in every room. I don't stress myself out about it.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Marcia on 25th June 2008
You have an interesting question out here! To me there is a big difference between clean and organized. Clean to me is grime and dirt. Organized is if I can find things when I need to use them. Different people have different success levels with both areas in their home!

Our home is a lived in clean -- meaning -- I don't mop the floors every day and I would not eat off of them (because the puppy is constantly licking on the floor...) but we are not embarrassed when someone comes by.

Since my business is to help others with their productivity and organization, I'm always looking for ways to make our home workable for the way we live. No Martha Stewart here though. My family could not function with that much structure, but I have seen it work fabulously for some of my clients.

If you have a great tip for home organization please share on my Your Organized Home blog! I love getting new ideas. http://www.ProductiveAndOrganizedHome.com

Flag as inappropriate Posted by on 25th June 2008
The house is clean as far as dirt goes. We have it cleaned once a month and then keep up with wiping things with the new Clorox Wipes. I know I sound like a commercial but those things make it so easy to keep stuff clean! The only thing that doesn't get cleaned as often as it should is the couch which gets dog hair. However, our house is always cluttered with papers and such. Our closets are piled high with boxes and junk. When people come over, we thorw it all in drawers or in closets. We have moved a lot and we always throw out what seems like tons of stuff yet somehow, the amount of crap we have never goes away!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by oceans mom on 25th June 2008
Am I the only person in the house that knows how to wipe up crumbs after I make something? SERIOUSLY!?! The whole "keeping the house clean" thing is such a hot topic with me. I pick up messes every day when I come home from work and then again right before I go to bed. Who knew that men could be so messy when taking care of a baby. And really, the baby doesn't even eat FOOD yet...just another thing to look forward to picking up off the floor.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Jo-Ann on 25th June 2008
It's not! Actually we're going to put our home on the market so I have to not only clean it...but really clean it, baseboards and all. I always have high hopes for keeping a clean home, but we can't seem to manage it. I do tidy a bit if someone is coming, but usually I don't have too many visitors:)

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Leslie Truex on 24th June 2008
I wouldn't advise any guests to eat off my floors, but my house is generally clean and tidy. It's definitely cluttered. With three kids and two adults under one roof, keeping things organized is a constant battle that I only seem to care about. My husband and kids have no problem stepping over the same pair of filthy socks in the hallway all week long -- I don't get it.

Sometimes (okay, maybe often), I wish we could afford a maid service again. At least then, I'd know that once a week the house was sparkly from top to bottom.

But overall, I'm okay with the cleanliness of our home. I just wish I could figure a way to encourage my husband and kids to care just a tad more about helping me keep the place clean. My type-A personality is sometimes pushed to the brink.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Michele Dortch on 24th June 2008