One habit my husband has that drives me nuts is when he works to get the backyard ready for our guests in the middle of winter when no one will be stepping into the backyard. Why does he do this? Why?
The need to clean the house may be the number one reason I may NOT invite people over. A lot of us are very intimidated and concerned about what people will think of us and our housekeeping. It’s really a sad thing to waste our time worrying about judgmental friends and family, but that’s human nature. But let’s say we are having some friends over for a casual dinner and I do want to clean things up a bit. Here’s what I do. I realize for the organized and generally tidy people, this all sounds very basic, but I’m not talking to you superior folk:
Prioritize:
- Picking stuff up before bothering to clean. Getting rid of clutter goes a long way. Throw things in your bedroom if necessary and shut the door.
- Clean the bathrooms. Dirty bathrooms go a long, undesirable way.
- Balance the cooking with the cleaning. This is a bit of an art form, depending on how dirty (or how much cooking) you have to do.
- If you have done what needs to be done to allow people into the house, and you have completed your prep work for whatever food is being served, and you actually feel motivated, then go ahead and clean a little more if you feel like it. Hahahaha… just kidding. Who feels like it?
Rules:
- Do not touch any part of the house that people will not see.
- Prioritize which part of the house gets picked up/cleaned based on amount of time people will likely be hanging in there.
- Don’t wash the floors unless they are disgusting. Same with dusting.
Now, go relax and enjoy your guests. If you have fun, they will also have a good time.