# Do you do this? Re: Cleaning when inviting guests **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249 "2010-04-07T05:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/21 "2010-04-07T13:02:58Z")
No. I either don’t clean, or a clean a “normal” amount. I would never do something as hyper-specific as clean 70% of the normal amount, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/22 "2010-04-07T13:03:47Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > I picked “no” only because I clean up much more than just “tidy.” I try to make my house more or less spotless. Pristine. Except maybe my bedroom. Somehow, I never quite get around to that one. > > I want my house to look perfect when I have guests. I don’t want them to think that I’m a slob. So total top to bottom cleaning. Me too. When my mom comes I do it because she will give everything the white glove test when I’m not looking. It is also a respect thing in our family. My son will also clean his house top to bottom for her visit. It makes her happy and we only see her a few times a year. I remember all my relatives homes were spotless. I am glad for her visits because if nothing else it gives me an excuse to do a deep cleaning. That reminds me I need to paint the front porch. It was mentioned as needing a fresh coat of paint… ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/23 "2010-04-07T13:17:19Z")
I know exactly what you’re talking about, **MOL** , and yeah, I do this too. I want guests to walk into my home and basically not notice the cleanliness level, which means that it is neither a pigsty, nor is it Martha Stewart-level clean and smelling like Pine-Sol. I mean, I have actually thought this out in the past to the point of making sure that if I am going to be mopping the kitchen floor the day that guests come, I do it early in the day so the cleaning solvent smell dissipates by the time people arrive. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/24 "2010-04-07T13:24:48Z")
We tidy up a bit, but if possible we time invitations to coincide with the day after the housekeeper did her thing. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/25 "2010-04-07T13:46:50Z")
My mom thinks like **Lanzy** –she cleans the baseboards and ceiling fixtures while talking about how we really ought to do stuff like this once a month or so, whether there are visitors expected or not. It’s not really like she expects the visitors to notice or care, but having visitors gives a specific deadline. And, frankly, the master bedroom usually doesn’t get the sparkle treatment because she runs out of time/energy before she gets there. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/26 "2010-04-07T13:50:27Z")
It depends on who is coming. If it’s friends, lightly. If it’s his parents, yes, I am cleaning the ceiling fixtures. You should see their house. It’s scary clean. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/27 "2010-04-07T14:05:06Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > And, frankly, the master bedroom usually doesn’t get the sparkle treatment because she runs out of time/energy before she gets there. We just take all the clothes strewn all over the house and toss them in the master. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/28 "2010-04-07T14:11:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > We just take all the clothes strewn all over the house and toss them in the master. 😃 We have a spare bedroom which gets the armfuls of clutter thrown in it and the door shut if people are coming over for dinner or something. If people are coming over to stay… well that requires a whole new level of planning. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/29 "2010-04-07T14:12:09Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > And, frankly, the master bedroom usually doesn’t get the sparkle treatment because she runs out of time/energy before she gets there. But, toys go in the toybox! Been burned on that one before.😃 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/30 "2010-04-07T14:16:29Z")
I like to tidy up a bit and organize anything laying around, but I don’t like making things pristine. My MIL does this and I hate going over there. It looks like a magazine photoshoot and it just doesn’t feel like a _home_, y’know? I mean, if it’s something like a dinner party, holiday gathering, etc. of course I’m gonna make my house look as great as I can. But just guests “over”? Neat but lived-in. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/31 "2010-04-07T14:18:59Z")
Of _course_ we tidy uo. It’s inconvenient if guests can’t get in through the front door because the life-sized Dalek in progress is blocking the way! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/32 "2010-04-07T14:55:26Z")
I use visitors to make me clean. I invite people over for dinner and receive them with my hair still wet because really I’ve been cleaning since 6 AM. Making it look too clean isn’t possible - my house has NEVER been up to my mother’s standards. I aim for acceptable and hope they don’t have to go to the bathroom. I mean, the bathroom’s clean, but if they turn the hall light on while looking for it… maybe I should just unscrew the light bulb in the hall and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/33 "2010-04-07T15:05:19Z")
I’m with **DianeG** , that’s it exactly, it depends who’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/34 "2010-04-07T15:07:50Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > I know exactly what you mean and yes, I do it. If it’s for a party or an event, everything is pristine. It’s like I’m trying to make it look like nobody lives their daily lives here. > > But when it’s supposed to be a casual thing- hell yes, I clean. But I still want it to look like people live there. The textbooks I’m using get stacked neatly and put off to the side, not hidden away. Cluttered surfaces get organized, anything really junky is cleared off, and usually they get dusted. But I usually leave them so that there’s some empty space, but stuff still sitting there. > > Part of it is intentional- to kind of make it look like I really didn’t clean at all and this is just how my house always looks. Part of it is just that I’m doing kind of a lazy cleaning job and putting some stuff away is too much of a hassle- nobody is going to care if they see my backpack by the door or the bird’s night blanket folded on a chair. Yes! This is me, word for word. I was only going to quote part of it, but the whole thing is me. > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You don’t have cats, do you? Nope. > [@DianaG](#): > > Depends on who’s coming, and for what. Yes, I suppose if I were hosting a fancy party, the place would sparkle, but I don’t have people over for that kind of thing. > [@Antigen](#): > > I don’t _strive_ for it, but it’s what I end up with because about halfway through my extensive cleaning project I say “screw it” and decide to do “enough” instead of _everything_. That’s how I am for myself. Half way through I say, good enough, then quit. For guests, I do the half way clean on purpose. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I know exactly what you’re talking about, **MOL** , and yeah, I do this too. I want guests to walk into my home and basically not notice the cleanliness level, which means that it is neither a pigsty, nor is it Martha Stewart-level clean and smelling like Pine-Sol. I mean, I have actually thought this out in the past to the point of making sure that if I am going to be mopping the kitchen floor the day that guests come, I do it early in the day so the cleaning solvent smell dissipates by the time people arrive. Yes! I was cleaning up last night, and I realized that I was intentionally leaving some things out. Then I thought, good lords, this is so contrived. Does anyone else do this? Does anyone else leave their spices off the rack on purpose, and try to pull the “Oh, this is just how neat my place is, but there are a few things strewn about because I actually live here” effect? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/35 "2010-04-07T15:14:47Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Of _course_ we tidy uo. It’s inconvenient if guests can’t get in through the front door because the life-sized Dalek in progress is blocking the way! That wasn’t the question. But thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/36 "2010-04-07T15:39:14Z")
I used to clean up, in my OCD way, like a fury when I was expecting guests. The thing was, once I was on a roll, there was no stopping and saying, “good enough”. I’d end up mopping all the floors, cleaning the oven, vacuuming the furniture, dusting the lightbulbs - the bathrooms: operating room clean! Now, I pick up/hide clutter (or at least arrange it into attractive neat piles); spot clean spills on the kitchen floor; scrub the kitchen sink and put away the dishes; take out the trash; clean the bathrooms well; concentrate on tidying up the room we will most likely be spending time in. That all takes about half an hour, if that long. Then I get myself ready, get food and drinks ready, and open the windows to air the joint out (not much of one for sprays, plug-ins, or candles, fresh air, that’s the ticket.)…Because when I go to other peoples houses, I really don’t notice if there are crumbs on the counter, mail and magazines on the table, or dust on the ceiling fan blades. It’s how the house smells, and how clean the bathroom is, that’s what I notice. (Don’t want to smell a cheap plug-in flowery thing mixed with the smell of cooking broccoli, don’t want to see a grimy bathtub festooned with wet towels, or bars of soap with hairs on them, a splattered mirror and only a damp washcloth to dry my hands on. Toilet paper? Yes, please! Don’t make me have to get up and ask you!) ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/37 "2010-04-07T16:06:56Z")
I’m not sure if I’m reading the poll question wrong, but it seems to be asking whether I deliberately tidy in a way to make it look like I haven’t tidied at all. If that’s the question, then no, I don’t do that. But when I have friends over, I tidy up to what I consider a respectable level of tidiness. That’s a different level to what I might do if, say, I was having people over to stay for a period of time. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/38 "2010-04-07T16:08:44Z")
> [@](#): > > That wasn’t the question. But thanks for sharing. Actually, it was, but thanks for playing. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/39 "2010-04-07T16:11:47Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > I’m not sure if I’m reading the poll question wrong, but it seems to be asking whether I deliberately tidy in a way to make it look like I haven’t tidied at all. Yes, that is the question. When I was cleaning yesterday, I noticed that I was purposely not making it too clean, so that my apartment would look neat, but as if I always keep it that way, and didn’t neaten up for the company. Re: Mopping floors. **MsWhatsit** , I do that too :). I mopped the floor last night so that when my company comes over today, it won’t smell like Pin Sol, making it obvious that I had just cleaned. Edit: Sure thing, Meach, the question is whatever you want it to be. I’m flexible. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249/40 "2010-04-07T16:16:59Z")
Yeah, and how’s it different from the first response?: > [@](#): > > I tidy up for visitors, of course. It shows that I value and respect that person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-do-this-re-cleaning-when-inviting-guests/535249.md?page=3)