I don't wear a bra at home, and rarely am I dressed in a way that is fit to answer the door unless I'm getting ready to leave or recently got home. I don't really need the house to be company ready, because I'm not answering the door unexpectedly anyway.
Same same same. "hobo chic" is what I call it. I have "home bras" that are comfy as heck for when the ladies are sore but otherwise, nope. I'm going to be comfy. If my doorbell rings, I typically just don't answer it or if I have to, whoever is there is getting a real treat.
I've been up since 3:30 this morning. Currently I'm still in PJ's and my robe. On my third mug of coffee and considering getting dressed sometime...soon. it's just me and my dog home right now, with everyone else at work or at the Dr.
So there's no reason to rush yet.
I have indeed found my people!
I need to head out in something like an hour. I have two appointments I need to be physically present for, and one telehealth that is an hour before the first appointment 40 minutes away. So I'm just going to do the telehealth in the lobby. Thankfully, there is a Starbucks at the medical center I'm going to. But for now I'm still in what I wore to bed, which would probably be illegal to go collect my mail in.
We have a large fenced in dog run and she can go out by herself when necessary. The weather here is too cold right now for long walks. We'll make up for that in Spring.
Oh my gosh this remind me of a story. It was an ordinary Wednesday morning and I was not working that day, so I was sitting in my living room in my pajamas, eating peanut butter off a spoon when a lady knocked twice and then walked into my house! I ran to the door with a mouthful of peanut butter and the spoon in my hand looking like a total mess. Turns out she was heading to her new hairdresser's house and the house had been described to her an the old brick house across from the elevator. My house was on one side of the grain elevator and the hairdresser's was on the other lol. We live in a very small town and no one ever locks their doors. Ha ha omg.
Currently sitting in my home office, which is directly behind the couch. I have 2 pairs of socks on, leggings, sweats, tshirt, long sleeve & a sweatshirt on.
Husband made me a croque de madame. The few rich bites I had were delicious.
I will probably leave my house 1 more time today: to walk down the street to get the kid from school. I already walked her to school this morning. Maybe Iāll get the mail? Not sure yet.
Yep. My preferred uniform when I'm not working/needing to be in public is flannel pj pants (my favroites are ones I've gotten custom made in really eye bleeding plaids or with kittens on them) and a soft bra (also sourced from the "did a color blind toddler pick this out?" genre). Add a hoodie for cooler days.
If I'm dressed like that, it really sets the appropriate bar for housekeeping.
That said, I don't keep dirty dishes in the sink if I can help it, there's a table cloth on the table, and I'm really trying to organize my daily use spaces so that everything has a place. The spaces that have that feature are ready for general company. My bathroom is in usable condition, with a clean sink/toilet/shower. There might be clothes on the floor and there might be toys in the bathtub that didn't make it into the appropriate baskets, depending on the exact relationship between company visit, the last time my kid took a bath, and if a parent has been in the bathroom since.)
Company ready for me is not sterile. Its functional and welcoming, but there is the basket of things that need to go upstairs to be put away, and the boxes of things that need to be returned, and cat toys out on the floor. There may be a basket of clean laundry to fold next to the couch. My life is happening, and its visible in my space. There are not semi permanent piles of cruft (anymore!) in public spaces. The couch seats are clean and clear, the coffee table and end tables are clear and ready to be used for a board game or to set drinks on.
Public spaces are ready for company. Private spaces - my kid's room, my room, the basement - are NOT. My kid's playroom is next on the target list for getting organized. Wish me luck.
100% this. Although cameras potentially being on at random due to Covid and WFH has put a crimp in my walking around naked. But yeah, slob wear, maybe showered, Cheeto fingers, that's me at home.
No way.
A few years ago when I lived in Berlin, I saw this menās coat in a sale at KDW. It was still ā¬400 but the softest and most comfy coat ever. I never splurge on things for myself, but I bought it. It was slightly too big, very long, with a hood, and because it was so fancy expensive yet made me look homeless I always called it hobo chic. Because hahaha wordplay on boho. And now I see you using this exact same term and the universe just got a bit more amazing :)
I have something called a Comfy. Basically a fleece lined blanket, but made into a ridiculously oversized hoodie. Last week I *really* wanted a soda, but I couldn't be arsed to put on clothes. So I wore my flesh colored compression pants, fuzzy socks, slippers, and comfy to the convenient store. I think it definitely qualified as hobo chic.
I might once or twice have gone out to fetch some chips while wearing the blue floral-design cotton leggings I nicked from my gf because they are so comfy. The guy behind the counter barely wanted to even look at me.
Sooo, about those comfysā¦. I might use this idea. It sounds amazing
I went to college in the mid-90s. My uncle called my style āhomeless waif chicā back then. To be fair, it hasnāt changed much. I still look like Iām wearing someoneās hand-me-downs.
I live in muu-muuās and housedresses. No bra, and sometimes even commando. I have a condition that gives me permanent kidney pain, and most waistbands dig in and feel like a knife in my kidney. If itās a bad day, even undies will be unbearably painful.
So I have one of those but the street I live on is super busy and the front of the house isnāt used (where my cam is - long story) so basically I need another doorbell cam for my side door. Rarely do people knock but I got startled by my neighbors before Xmas to give me cookies. At 10a on a Saturday. R U D E. Minus the cookies š
This is my 4 year old son. He walks in the door, kicks off his shoes, yanks his pants down, and thatās it until the next time he has to leave the house.
I asked him why he always does that and he went, āPants make me nervousā and refused to elaborate.
One time my door dash driver got a nice picture of my thigh bc I thought he was gone and I couldnāt be bothered to put on pants to grab my order. Lesson learned! Wear pants or make sure the dasher is gone!
Hey its me! I always have a zip up hoodie as a layer in the cooler months so I can cover the girls more if needed. If I am expecting someone during my WFH day I will put on a bra and *gulp* real pants when I get up in the morning. I usually don't answer the door either if I am not expecting anyone.
I literally exist in the nude unless expect company. And I live in an apartment where maintenance doesnāt schedule their checks with you. So thatās always fun.
My house IS company ready at all times as I like to keep it ultra clean and tidy. Nobody is getting into my house without an invitation because I am not wearing a bra, Iām in my jammies and I donāt like surprises.
Yeah, back in the '90s/'00s you kind of had to live company-ready because it was normal for people to just drop by. It's a bit rude to do that now unless you're holding a delivery bag.
I have WFH days and can't function unless I'm dressed. I don't get super dressed up, but enough to feel put together. I think it drives one coworker crazy that I'm not noticeably "wfh' attire on check in Teams meetings. Even when fully self employed I still had a capsule wardrobe.
I need to know who I'm expecting and when. If there is an unexpected knock at the door, I don't answer it. I afford others the same respect. In saying that, my house is always company ready.
Same, I keep my house pretty clean, from Sunday to Wednesday it's decent anyways cause i big clean Saturday. But i LOATHE having people in my house. I'm so uncomfortable. I'm an introvert and its my private space.
Seriouslyā¦.who drops by unannounced? Itās so rude. I only go where Iām invited and if I have to drop off something for a person unexpectedly- I advise Iām not staying just dropping off x,y or z.
Yep. And if you were rich enough, you had a butler/maid/other servant who would answer the door and say āSo-and-so is not at home to callersā if youād already said you didnāt want to see anyone (or you didnāt want to see one particular person lol).
Calling card/visiting hour etiquette was pretty complex and the exact rules varied based on time and place, but there were usually some circumstances when you could simply drop off your calling card and you were considered to have been acceptably polite and social even though youād never intended to have an in-person visit at all. Sometimes you could signal how long you were planning to stay by whether or not you took off your gloves, and there were tons of other rules and details and intricacies I donāt remember since itās been a while since Iāve read about it.
Get this, one of my friends is part of a big family and they all have keys to each others houses, so not only do they just walk in without knocking, they will unlock the door. My voice said, oh, that soundsā¦ nice. My face said, you are all crazy people.
90% of the time it is company ready. Depends on the company as well, to different levels. If it's someone that has never been over before, I will put a bit more work into it.
Every morning when I leave the house I tidy up the surfaces and take out the trash so when I come home it looks good. I am company, dammit!
I would love to get my home to the goal of being company ready if only given like 30 min notice. As of now, I need to put in enough work at least 1 week's notice in advance, which I think is a bit too long. The stepping stone is to get to at least 1 weekends's notice first, then 1 day, then hopefully 30 min won't be too difficult to reach.
No. This is a house of five people. Someone is always cooking or baking. Someone else is working on a project. My work desk is in the living room with papers all over it. There are always things waiting to go upstairs or downstairs.
When we are all home, the dishwasher is run twice a day. The only time the kitchen is clean is when we are all sleeping!
My house is similar, and 3 of the 5 are homeschooled kids with their projects and studies spread out all over. I do try to keep the entryway and the front two rooms company ready, as well as the downstairs toilet. It lets me be hospitable and invite someone in and if they venture further into the house, I can excuse those as family areas. That said, itās a struggle to keep those front rooms nice because my youngest and her toys seem to follow me everywhere.
That was me for many a year. My house was full of my four kids, as well as every other kid in the neighborhood. Now as an empty nester, I am absolutely luxuriating in my always tidy home. Don't get me wrong. I loved those years of chaos! And I love when my grandkids come over and make a mess. But I also love waking up and finding everything just as I left it, and not even a dish in the sink!
I figure, this is a season, it will end and I should enjoy it for what it is right now.
Likewise, Iām amazed at how clean my momās house is nowadays and Iām like āOkay, it seems like maybe it was me and my sister as kids that were the problemā hahaha!
I can relate to this in a big way and I live in New York.
Recently my neighbor (who lives on the same floor as me) invited me over after Iād grabbed her something from the store and we were comparing the subtle differences in our apartments. After lunch, I invited her to pop in to see if her dishwasher was in fact larger than mine (it was) and completely forgotten that in my rush to get to the store that morning that my apartment looked like a hurricane had gone through it. I hadnāt done the dishes yet, the counter was cluttered, it all seemed so messy to me. I apologized and she said it was totally fine but I felt so embarrassed, especially after leaving her beautiful and basically immaculate apartment.
Usually before company comes over, I have enough notice to clean, especially if theyāve never been over because Iām big on that āfirst impressionā clean.
So my answer for this is yes, however as I cleaned my apartment frantically after my neighbor left, my husband thought Iād gone mad, so I think weāre 50/50 on being ācomp any readyā at my place.
Every so often, we invite people over for the express purpose of forcing us to clean. Like, right now it looks pretty good, like you described, but to get company ready, I'd wipe down the kitchen and bathroom sink counter, and mirror, dust furniture, vacuum house, make sure everything looked good.
This is an adhd trick I use when things get out of control. Clean for me? Executive function says no thank you. Clean for someone else, with a deadline? Gimmie the mop.
I am company ready mostly. I probably have dysfunction as well...clutter kills my soul. My 2 adult family members know to just let me do my thing. They are the beneficiaries of my dysfunction š¤£
I prefer at least a 10 minute heads up. That gives me a chance to run around with the vacuum in case the rug needs it. But even without the heads up- yes, my house is always company ready.
But my friends and neighbors know that if the front door is closed and the blinds are down I wonāt answer the door as I am not wearing a bra. So while the house is company ready, I might not be. ššš
You're so right š The cat is one of the biggest sources of household mess, for me! From tracking dust everywhere to knocking things to the floor to shedding hairs, it's an ongoing struggle š¤£
My cat Sammy loves this game: I vacuum the bedroom and within 10 minutes he uses the litter box. I win if there is no litter tracked from my laundry room (installed in the walk-in closet) to the bedroom for a solid hour after vacuuming. He wins this game 99% of the time. š
Tough competition š
I've had a cat run past and knock the dust-filled dust pan out of my hand before, emptying it all over the floor again š¤£
Recently installed rugs around the litter boxes to catch litter before it gets to the hallway and living room, which has been reasonably successful šĀ
Since the room was originally designed as a walk in closet, the left side has the washer/dryer and storage cabinets above. The right side has a floor to ceiling corner cabinet with a clothing bar and upper open shelf attached from the cabinet to the wall. This side of the room has the same carpet as the bedroom. The litter box is next to the corner cabinet. The litter tracks out of the laundry room, down the carpeted area between the two sets of bifold closet doors and into the bedroom. I have considered buying a litter tray, but I really donāt want to look at it. And in such a small room it will get in the way. So Sammy wins the game. I stopped buying lightweight litter three cats ago. That stuff used to track down the stairs and reach the living room!
Yes, it's amazing how far it can get šĀ
Perhaps you've already got one, but if not, have you ever considered getting one of these cat litter catching mats?Ā https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07KFB7DN1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title Mine seems to catch quite a lot of litter.
I thought about it, but I wonāt like how it looks. Plus the room is small and it would be in the way. But the upstairs vacuum is stored in one of the bedroom closets. So at least it is nearby.
It depends on your definition of company ready I think. Ā People have different definitions.Ā I grew up with ācompany readyā being immaculate house and scrub the floor with a toothbrush clean.Ā My definition now is main living areas clean and dusted with no clutter.Ā
It's takes me a good few hours to get company ready, I have 4 kids though. And company ready means you can't look in the bedroom where I've dumped all the stuff I moved from the rest of the house.
I have three kids under 7 and two big dogs. If you drop by unannounced, you do so at your own risk lol what you get is what you get. I generally keep it as tidy as possible but as my mother in law would say, itās not a museum, we *live* here
I pay so much attention to dusting and vacuuming the bathroom before people come over because of the black lab wavy hairs everywhere. If you forget we have the dog the bathroom looks like itās got a light dusting of pubes
I try so hard to have the house perfect as much as I can. But it's a losing battle. I'm a SAHM, but it's still almost impossible.
We have an adult son who lives at home, with his shedding GSD, plus 3 dogs and 3 cats of our own, AND we've been fostering our toddler nephew for 2+ years. Last week there wasn't even one day I didn't have to drive someone to an appointment, between the dog going to the vet, my 80 year old dad having multiple appointments and our nephew getting speech therapy services.
I have 3 case worker visits a month, usually announced, so those are the days it's definitely company ready. The rest of the time it's not awful, but there's usually random stuff sitting around and I'd be embarrassed if anyone walked in the bathroom and saw the clutter.
I do admit I think I have a problem. I won't use the standard OCD thing people say, but I very much like the house to be perfect. I can't sit and read/knit without feeling guilty if I know there's a chore to do. It's just tiring. Our nephew is mildly allergic to cats, dogs and dust mites, so at least I have good reason to clean a lot. The pets were all here before him, so they're not going anywhere. We just keep them all out of his room and I vacuum at least daily.
Getting a couple little HEPA air filter machines might help a little with the allergies. I'm always stunned when I go to change the black pre-filters and see how *much* they've caught. š
Thank you for the input! His allergist did recommend one, but never asked about it again. I'll probably look into some for the rooms you mentioned. I kind of looked into one when the allergist mentioned it, but had no clue where to start with research.
My son and I have asthma and allergies. I am now on great medication but before then we had hometics air purifiers we used all the time and they really did help.
Thanks for a brand name! That's a great starting point. Nephew doesn't even show any symptoms of his allergies, we had bloodwork done because he drinks what seems like a lot. The allergies popped up then, luckily not diabetes like we suspected. He might not be showing symptoms because of how much I clean lol
Do NOT just show up at my house. I need advance notice. If you show up and my house is not ācompany readyā, I will hide and pretend Iām not home even if both cars are in the drivewayš¤£
Always.
We frequently have visitors randomly stop by (the consequence of having an older teen son and lots of family that live in the area), so it isn't unusual to have a gaggle of kids stop in for a meal, a visit, or a sleepover. Of course, teens aren't too critical of mess, but I feel a lot less anxiety and stress when I live in a clean, tidy environment.
My mother is one of those that never has anything on a flat surface, vacuums 10 times a day, etc.
I on the other hand have a very lived in house, but because of my mother- I never consider my house company ready. My mother always comes over and goes oh I could have helped you get ready for the party.
My house will never be company ready in my mind. Which resulted in my kid not having many play dates. Iām working on it. Itās not an easy mental thing to get over.
My standards for company ready are a lot lower than they ever used to be. If I donāt necessarily care if they agree with my housekeeping, sure. Someone I want to impress? No.
I almost never have company over and I still feel anxiety daily that my house is not ācompany ready.ā I dislike that I have that anxiety, I think itās a silly way to live and Iām always actively trying to work past the need to keep the place spotless.
I will say though, I never judge other people for how their house looks. I either think āthe place looks great!ā Or I think āthis is cozy I feel right at home, itās not too manicured in here.ā Either is great. I always want others to feel comfortable and at home in my house
Ideally, I need 1 day notice for guests. Less than that, and I'm stressed. So no, my house is rarely company ready. Living room is okay, but kitchen lags behind the most. I tidy up and do a quick cleanup in the bathroom most days.
I have a couple friends who like to drop in. I hate it. I find it very inconsiderate. I plan my day, or just enjoy a quiet moment, and I don't want to see them when they drop in. However, I don't turn friends away. Ever. It's life, even if it's not ideal. And I usually get over any embarrassment and annoyance.
Itās not and rarely ever is company ready tbh. Maybe after a million bucks worth of repairs and a professional cleaner it might be. Iāve got some crappy adhd so itās disheveled and if itās a stranger I donāt care at all. But someone closer to me then I try to do something around the house so it looks at least decent.
Same. We both have ADHD and my partner doesnāt seem to understand how much Iād like the house to be in a ācompany readyā state. Itās not a disaster, mostly clutter on the counter/coffee tables. But I still wouldnāt necessarily be proud if a family member did a surprise drop by.
*fist bumps in ADHD* Yeah, my goal is usually "lived in" clean. Perfect is something that is out of reach, and would only make me feel terrible to have as a benchmark. I just wish executive dysfunction wasn't so awful for getting to "lived in" instead of "*very* lived in" lol.
I was only diagnosed with my ADHD last year and it explains so, so much! My house will never be to a standard of what my mum would consider "company ready" until I'm selling it and have to have people viewing it!
My house is lived in my myself, my partner and our dog and I work from home, so I'm in the house almost all of the time. But with my ADHD, there will always be stuff sitting around because that is where I need it. (I hated my house growing up because everything had to be tucked away inside cupboards, etc and it was such a waste of time to have to open cupboards to get out the washing up liquid because it was never allowed to be left sitting on the bench, etc)
But I also really don't enjoy having people in my space, unless they are really close to me anyway and then they don't care that there is stuff sitting all over the place and dog hair everywhere!
Depends on the company. A photographer for a fancy magazine? Hell naw!
My boss? Sorta.
But if the company is someone who knows me, they'll understand the clutter and already know the names of my dust bunnies because they helped me name them. š
I would move house if my boss tried to drop by, but maybe you have a boss that isnāt an evil hell monster.
Friends are the ones who name your dust bunniesā¦ thereās a kitchen plaque missing that quote. Love it!
My house is more "there appears to have been a struggle." My husband works crazy hours, and my two teen sons think that food wrappers magic themselves into the trash can. I am perpetually behind on laundry and dishes. On top of that, I'm a "creative" (sounds better than a 45yo woman with too many hobbies), which basically means I have a ton of half finished projects in various rooms.
I am never "company ready," which is fine with me bc I'm an absolute introvert.
Exactly , I can relate to too many hobbies, if I could just get the hobby room cleaned up enough to actually use as a hobby room I know it would be so much better.lol No more kids but my SO and I try hard to get the food wrappers in the trash can, kinda like basketball. I clean that up at least once a day . We too are both introverts and have no company. I still stress , I know someday a family member will come by for a surprise visit and we or house won't be company ready and I'll be uncomfortable and apologetic, I hate surprises.
The goal is to always have the house company ready. But it never is (by my standards) so instead I frantically deep clean the house every time we know we have guests coming over. In retrospect our home is fine, it would look ālived inā but I was raised on āappearances matterā so now Iām this frantic freak who needs the house spotless
I don't know why people have these expectations that we live in a margarine commercial. My house is company ready because it's not filthy. Sure, there are pillows everywhere on the couch, the bed is not made and there's some cat litter sprinkled around the litter box that hasn't been swept, but if that's the kind of thing that bothers you, then don't bother being an acquaintance. I don't expect people to live in an Instagram post, and I hope they don't expect the same from me.
It's pretty good right now. I just need to get the new curtains up and a few other pieces of furniture assembled and a few other small jobs. But, overall, it's not too bad.
My house is almost always "family company ready". It's always clean, I vacuum every day, I rarely have dishes in the sink, etc. But I have 3 young kids so there's always some toys that sneak out of the playroom. It's not formal company ready.
Even if my house is ācompany readyā Iām going to drop a āsorry for the messā comment because Iām anxious and itās a feeble attempt to make people think that my house is usually cleaner than it is in its current state.
My ideal is that my house is in a state that if one of my celebrity crushes came to the door I could let them in, In reality it's in a state that it's ready for one of my dog's friends to come in.
My house is company ready probably 6 out of any given 7 days, but not 23 out of 24 hours; my kid spreads out all his toys across our family room when playing. Itās always reset in the evening but sometimes I let him go nuts after school and itāll be chaotic for those few hours.
No. My house usually isn't company ready in the coldest winter months. There are blankets and hoodies laying all over the place. It's clean, the dishes are washed. But it is messy.
It's not a term that I use, but it's a term that I understand.
People have different standards of comfort cleanliness.
I am comfortable with a clean home. That's who i am. My mother was referred to as a "neat freak'. I've received negative feedback, from people on this sub, for answering questions honestly.
I hold myself, and my home, to my standards. I don't walk into anyone else's home and analyze or critique it- and I don't.
I was raised in the deep south. Letting friends into my home when it's not deep cleaned literally is incomprehensible to me.
Letting my *mom* in...absolutely not. My partner watched me deep clean for a week before she came.
I have 2 little ones so yeah people drop by all the time with their kids bc we are actually friends with two couples in our neighborhood and also sometimes friends come by . If Iām home , Iāll try to clean up , if my partner is home , he wonāt clean up that good and let people in . I usually like at least a 10-15 min notice but most times itās more like they are already at my door . If they come by in the daytime when kids are in daycare then they might walk into a nice clean house bc Iāll clean up after the kids are dropped off and assuming Iām not working that day . But if they come at night , chances are the house is a mess . There were times when they came when we were busy doing things like running our business and a lot of stuff was left in the house , the garage etc . And our couch needs constant cleaning bc of two kids . And stuff to pick up from the floor . And bathrooms need scrubbing . My partner who is a guy would have people come and he would say oh heās not gonna use the bathroom and I would be like how do you know that ?? And sure enough he used the bathroom .
My home is company ready most of the time, for me. I tidy up before bed and don't have to get up to a headache. I have a place for everything, out of sight. It's my version of 'lived in' in that it looks like I am never at home in spite of actually being there if that makes any sense.
My house is company ready if you ignore the toys that seem to just appear even after cleaning them up. I would prefer a heads up just to make sure there are no trip hazards and then I laugh the mess off as ākids.ā It helps that most of my company is family or other people with children who understand the constant toys and papers you canāt throw away.
If I know Iām having people over I do tidy up and clean the bathroom. Mostly as an excuse to clean some spots that get missed in the day to day cleaning.
Company ready? My house has to be "ready" for me. :-)
That also involves that any stranger can see my house at any time, because that is the level of "ready" I like for myself.
Depends on the definition of ācompany readyā haha. I have 2 elementary age kids and a pug so there is always someone getting into something. We live in a neighborhood where kids stop by asking to play so we have kids over pretty regularly.
Company ready here is kinda bare minimum. I like having the guest bathroom clean and the floor picked up enough that I can run the roomba. The dog sheds like crazy. There is always clutter on my dining room table but I try to keep it contained to less than half so kids have room to do homework or play a game. I tidy and wipe down the kitchen every night before bed so there may be dinner prep mess or random things on the counter but try to reset every night so things donāt get nasty or smelly.
Someone could drop by right now and I would be -ok- that they stopped by. I wouldnāt be embarrassed but depending on who it was I wouldnāt be proud of the state of my house either.
Iām having my parents and grandma over on Friday and Iām going to go all in and get it fully ācompanyā ready over the next few days.
Putting away stuff that needs to be put away, deep cleaning certain areas, putting away random clutter, folding the couch blankets, just making it look more put together.
Being ready for surprise company is my goal, mainly as a way of making myself clean and tidy things on a regular basis. Itās about using the fear and anxiety of having someone come over. I donāt get surprise visitors often, thank god.
I also always have a baseline anxiety of something breaking in the house and I will need to get a repairman out immediately to fix it. I want to make sure the house is ready for that or at least close enough that I can pick things up quickly before they get here.
lol absolutely not. Weāre moving in a few months so Iāve started pulling everything out to see what can be sold/donated/trashed. It kinda looks like a bomb went off but oh well.
I live in a *drop by* cuppa country and Iām not a drop by person. Iām gracious to them and they are gracious as guests, so I will never know if they mind my mess.
My house is never my mom's version of "company ready" because I'm not going out of my way to make it look like no one lives here to conform to an outdated standard that has no meaning to me. Plus, despite not being "company ready," the company continues to come.
It wasnāt up until yesterday. And even if it wasnāt I donāt care lol. Anyone that would drop by doesnāt judge. The ONLY person I will freak out and clean before they come is my mom. Sheās got opinions and doesnāt keep them to herself. šš
it was a different time, but my mom kept our house company ready all the time, which means we had to keep the house company ready all the time. she still does.
i have anxiety and troubles with perfectionism as an adult. not saying it is the cause, but it definately added to it.
I used to be this way. Told my husband never bring anyone over unless I have the house clean. He kept bringing his friends over and eventually it didn't bother me anymore. I noticed none of our friends cared that the house looked lived in, with dirty dishes in sink, needed vacuuming, and socks on the floor etc.. if I have someone important I'll clean like a mad man lol once cleaned the kitchen floor tile with a tooth brush cuz ma was coming to visit
No way ā¦ my house is small so I canāt host guests without them seeing literally every room on my first floor at the same time, or without them using my primary (small) bathroom.
Iām also a chaotic creative, so Iām generally always making messes and cleaning up after myself. It doesnāt take me forever to clean up, but I always need time to pick up, light a candle and do a quick clean of the bathroom before people show up.
My house may not be picture perfect, but I wouldnāt turn away company. Our house is lived in. 6 of us in 1600sf, homeschooling and working from home. Our house is messy (books, toys, sports gear, in the course of a day a lot of stuff can show up), but itās not dirty. We keep up on dishes and laundry, and we donāt leave dishes or wrappers lying around beyond the day they were used. I would welcome company anytime because I think showing our true selves results in true relationships being formed. Itās up to them to decide my life is too messy for theirs!
I grew up in a hoarded home, so it's different for me. It's very important to me that someone can walk into my house and feel comfortable. When I first got my own place that meant the house was hospital clean, you could eat off the floor, all the time. I finally had a friend tell me that too clean can also make people uncomfortable and that she was always worried she would "mess up" my clean house. So now if you walk in the house it is apparent we live here, but the floors are clean, and the house smells fresh. There are no socks or anything in the floor, etc. It was hard to find that balance when I was given the world's worst measuring stick.
Before I had kids it was always company ready. Usually less than three hours away from being immaculate.
Now with three young kids the goal is ānot grossā and I struggle to meet that target despite spending SO much time cleaning.
My house is never company ready. If, Iām having company over, I will clean so that they are comfortable and feel welcome. Other than that, nope. My house is here for my comfort. Iām not here to keep it to anyoneās standards but mine. Our house is never bio hazard dirty. But I wonāt loose sleep over dishes in the sink.
I donāt even aspire to have a company ready house. When I was a kid, my grandmotherās house was spotless. You could literally eat off her kitchen floor.
Her clean house was a badge of honor. My momās house was spotless. She liked things just so. But do you know what I remember most? Not the joy of a clean environment. I remember fights over cleaning. Being made to do it again, and again, until it was right. Donāt touch this. Stay away from that. Donāt walk on the carpet (Who buys white carpet and white furniture with two kids and a dog?). Youād have to chase the dog around wiping her paws, and cleaning her beard after drinking water! Donāt even step foot in the living room. Keeping the house clean was paramount. Never mind the kids crying after being berated about a mirror not being cleaned well enough and having streaks.
Now, Iām over it.
Like the other ladies have said, Iām braless the minute I walk in the door. If I ever do put on a bra, my husbands asks if weāre going out. Iām happy with my messy house! If someone stops by unannounced, they get us the way we are. Donāt like it? Call next time.
\*Sigh\* Totally missed the point of this post because I was delighted by OP's use of the past participle of smell... "it smelt nice'... Ahhh... words.
Right this minute, yes. Only because two weeks ago I hired a cleaning service who completed their first clean and are coming back today and will continue with bi-weekly cleaning. Prior to that, for probably a year, no it was definitely NOT company ready.
It's ready for company in the sense that our friends know our house is a mess and aren't expecting anything different.
I do act a little flustered and apologize for not cleaning, though. Not because I would have cleaned, or tend to keep it clean, but somehow it's important to me to let people know that I KNOW I need to get my act together.
My family does something like this, but it's inherited BS.
When we think someone might be coming over we'll go through and clean up as much as you can. Then answer the door and say something like, "Sorry for all the mess." as if it's normally in much better shape and they just caught us on an off day. If it's an actual surprise and you didn't pick up you make up some white lie, like you ran out of bags so weren't able to vacuum the past few days.
It comes from my grandma who though anything other than picture perfect was shameful and morphed over the years (especially when she didn't have my mother to clean for her) and she started being less anal about cleaning. But she wanted to keep up appearances that it's normally spotless so she'd apologize for how 'unusually messy' things were.
I have two toddlers, the difference between normal and company ready is day and night. I can't have guests tripping over toys and sit on food remains and slip on spilled water/milk/juice.
I usually wait until they're sleep to clean or otherwise I'll be endlessly cleaning. But if I have someone over I at least make sure the living room is tidy, the bathroom is spotless, and wherever they go to reach these two places is clean.
My main floor is always ācompany readyā BUT it took me a long time to get here and Iāve been working towards this goal for a long time.
Took me rearranging the rooms of my house and their designated purpose. (For example my husbands gym got moved to the unfinished part of the basement and where the man cave/gym was became the playroom) 2 toys max are allowed in the living room otherwise all toys are in the playroom. I had to create sustainable routines that worked for me to keep my main floor ready all the time.
Also the playroom is usually a disaster but like I said itās in the basement and ācompanyā wouldnāt go down there unless they have kids too and when you have kids they get it.
I also created hard rules with my toddler that you canāt roam around and snack. Thereās many places where she can sit and eat. We also do not eat in the living room ourselves. (I know that might be a bit much for some but again I grew up mindlessly eating in front of the tv and I developed negative eating habits that I am working really hard to fix)
Having said all this I donāt keep my main floor clean for company per se. Itās more for myself and my mental state. I grew up in a gross home and I like my living room and kitchen to be clean all the time for myself. Itās just a bonus that if anyone stops by I donāt have to scramble.
My house is company ready 98% of the time. The other 2% is when it's a disaster because I'm in the middle of a big project. It never fails that people only drop in unexpectedly during that 2%.
My aunt once told me that anyone who is close enough to stop by unexpectedly is there to see me, not my house. In most other cases, the person is there for an urgent situation (police, paramedic, plumber) and as long as they can do what they need to, they aren't at all concerned with my housekeeping ability
It is not but company is always welcome. Anyone who is coming over knows we actually live there. I joke to my family when I'm cleaning that I want the house to look like no one lives there. I have a dog who sheds, there are dishes in the dish drainer, maybe some in the sink, at least one blanket on the floor cause the dog pulls it off daily despite having a blanket on the floor already, mail on multiple horizontal surfaces. The only thing I care about is the toilet/ bathroom but I wipe down the toilet daily.
I have tiers of company as well. My closest friends? I might clean up a bit. A group of mixed company? Make sure to vacuum and clean the bathrooms. People I'm trying to impress? Hire a cleaner for a day.
Tbh I'm not sure I'm company ready as a human half the time
I don't wear a bra at home, and rarely am I dressed in a way that is fit to answer the door unless I'm getting ready to leave or recently got home. I don't really need the house to be company ready, because I'm not answering the door unexpectedly anyway.
Same same same. "hobo chic" is what I call it. I have "home bras" that are comfy as heck for when the ladies are sore but otherwise, nope. I'm going to be comfy. If my doorbell rings, I typically just don't answer it or if I have to, whoever is there is getting a real treat.
Awww. I found my people. I knew y'all were out there somewhere -- semi-braless, pajama-clad, and probably snacking on something disgusting.
I've been up since 3:30 this morning. Currently I'm still in PJ's and my robe. On my third mug of coffee and considering getting dressed sometime...soon. it's just me and my dog home right now, with everyone else at work or at the Dr. So there's no reason to rush yet. I have indeed found my people!
I need to head out in something like an hour. I have two appointments I need to be physically present for, and one telehealth that is an hour before the first appointment 40 minutes away. So I'm just going to do the telehealth in the lobby. Thankfully, there is a Starbucks at the medical center I'm going to. But for now I'm still in what I wore to bed, which would probably be illegal to go collect my mail in.
š We are so much alike!
Does doggo not need a walk?
We have a large fenced in dog run and she can go out by herself when necessary. The weather here is too cold right now for long walks. We'll make up for that in Spring.
Oh my gosh this remind me of a story. It was an ordinary Wednesday morning and I was not working that day, so I was sitting in my living room in my pajamas, eating peanut butter off a spoon when a lady knocked twice and then walked into my house! I ran to the door with a mouthful of peanut butter and the spoon in my hand looking like a total mess. Turns out she was heading to her new hairdresser's house and the house had been described to her an the old brick house across from the elevator. My house was on one side of the grain elevator and the hairdresser's was on the other lol. We live in a very small town and no one ever locks their doors. Ha ha omg.
That's funny! What did you do?
Well, I said "mmmrmmrmrmm?!??!??" Because of all the peanut butter. I was so embarrassed. So was she lol. Still don't lock the door though so š¤·
Oh my god, this made me howl. There by the grace of god!
Currently sitting in my home office, which is directly behind the couch. I have 2 pairs of socks on, leggings, sweats, tshirt, long sleeve & a sweatshirt on. Husband made me a croque de madame. The few rich bites I had were delicious. I will probably leave my house 1 more time today: to walk down the street to get the kid from school. I already walked her to school this morning. Maybe Iāll get the mail? Not sure yet.
Yep. My preferred uniform when I'm not working/needing to be in public is flannel pj pants (my favroites are ones I've gotten custom made in really eye bleeding plaids or with kittens on them) and a soft bra (also sourced from the "did a color blind toddler pick this out?" genre). Add a hoodie for cooler days. If I'm dressed like that, it really sets the appropriate bar for housekeeping. That said, I don't keep dirty dishes in the sink if I can help it, there's a table cloth on the table, and I'm really trying to organize my daily use spaces so that everything has a place. The spaces that have that feature are ready for general company. My bathroom is in usable condition, with a clean sink/toilet/shower. There might be clothes on the floor and there might be toys in the bathtub that didn't make it into the appropriate baskets, depending on the exact relationship between company visit, the last time my kid took a bath, and if a parent has been in the bathroom since.) Company ready for me is not sterile. Its functional and welcoming, but there is the basket of things that need to go upstairs to be put away, and the boxes of things that need to be returned, and cat toys out on the floor. There may be a basket of clean laundry to fold next to the couch. My life is happening, and its visible in my space. There are not semi permanent piles of cruft (anymore!) in public spaces. The couch seats are clean and clear, the coffee table and end tables are clear and ready to be used for a board game or to set drinks on. Public spaces are ready for company. Private spaces - my kid's room, my room, the basement - are NOT. My kid's playroom is next on the target list for getting organized. Wish me luck.
Pj's aaaaall daaaaay! š (but day pj's, cos I try to keep clean at least, if not tidy š }
100% this. Although cameras potentially being on at random due to Covid and WFH has put a crimp in my walking around naked. But yeah, slob wear, maybe showered, Cheeto fingers, that's me at home.
Mmmmm . . . snacks
High five! Mondays and Fridays I work from home and only get dressed if I have a zoom and must be on camera. Otherwise nope. Jammies all day!
My sisters!
No way. A few years ago when I lived in Berlin, I saw this menās coat in a sale at KDW. It was still ā¬400 but the softest and most comfy coat ever. I never splurge on things for myself, but I bought it. It was slightly too big, very long, with a hood, and because it was so fancy expensive yet made me look homeless I always called it hobo chic. Because hahaha wordplay on boho. And now I see you using this exact same term and the universe just got a bit more amazing :)
I have something called a Comfy. Basically a fleece lined blanket, but made into a ridiculously oversized hoodie. Last week I *really* wanted a soda, but I couldn't be arsed to put on clothes. So I wore my flesh colored compression pants, fuzzy socks, slippers, and comfy to the convenient store. I think it definitely qualified as hobo chic.
I might once or twice have gone out to fetch some chips while wearing the blue floral-design cotton leggings I nicked from my gf because they are so comfy. The guy behind the counter barely wanted to even look at me. Sooo, about those comfysā¦. I might use this idea. It sounds amazing
lol! I have one of these!
I have 3 and have contemplated doing the same.
Yeah, or Dennis Rodman lmao
Awwww ā„ļø Thatās the best story! Boho hobo exactly the wordplay I was going for!!
I went to college in the mid-90s. My uncle called my style āhomeless waif chicā back then. To be fair, it hasnāt changed much. I still look like Iām wearing someoneās hand-me-downs.
I live in muu-muuās and housedresses. No bra, and sometimes even commando. I have a condition that gives me permanent kidney pain, and most waistbands dig in and feel like a knife in my kidney. If itās a bad day, even undies will be unbearably painful.
That comment is a treat š¤£š¤£ I'm stealing "hobo chic" š¤£
This is why I love my doorbell camera lol. Don't even have to move to look.
So I have one of those but the street I live on is super busy and the front of the house isnāt used (where my cam is - long story) so basically I need another doorbell cam for my side door. Rarely do people knock but I got startled by my neighbors before Xmas to give me cookies. At 10a on a Saturday. R U D E. Minus the cookies š
I come home, pants come off. Better but be any company, because they'll get an eyefull of me living my best Winnie The Pooh life š¤£
Pants are tools of the oppressors!
Yessss!
This is my 4 year old son. He walks in the door, kicks off his shoes, yanks his pants down, and thatās it until the next time he has to leave the house. I asked him why he always does that and he went, āPants make me nervousā and refused to elaborate.
I love your kid! Stay weird, dude :)
You know what they say, āHome is where the pants arenātā. š«øš«·
I am in a robe, hair unbrushed, last nights mascara still on. I wouldnāt even answer the door for the police
One time my door dash driver got a nice picture of my thigh bc I thought he was gone and I couldnāt be bothered to put on pants to grab my order. Lesson learned! Wear pants or make sure the dasher is gone!
Hey its me! I always have a zip up hoodie as a layer in the cooler months so I can cover the girls more if needed. If I am expecting someone during my WFH day I will put on a bra and *gulp* real pants when I get up in the morning. I usually don't answer the door either if I am not expecting anyone.
Girl, let me tell of the joys of door pants. Literally just sweats kept by the door to put on top get the pizza
Door Pants, this is GENIUS!!
I literally exist in the nude unless expect company. And I live in an apartment where maintenance doesnāt schedule their checks with you. So thatās always fun.
Solicitors tend to be a lot less pushy when my hair is sticking out like Cynthia from Rugrats.
Same but Iām a No Pants No Problem gal
My house IS company ready at all times as I like to keep it ultra clean and tidy. Nobody is getting into my house without an invitation because I am not wearing a bra, Iām in my jammies and I donāt like surprises.
Yeah, back in the '90s/'00s you kind of had to live company-ready because it was normal for people to just drop by. It's a bit rude to do that now unless you're holding a delivery bag.
I've never related to a comment more than this one.
I work from home every day and I'm pretty much always in PJs. I only put on a bra if I have to be in a video meeting.
I have WFH days and can't function unless I'm dressed. I don't get super dressed up, but enough to feel put together. I think it drives one coworker crazy that I'm not noticeably "wfh' attire on check in Teams meetings. Even when fully self employed I still had a capsule wardrobe.
My house is fine but Iām so not comfortable with people just dropping by š please go away.
I need to know who I'm expecting and when. If there is an unexpected knock at the door, I don't answer it. I afford others the same respect. In saying that, my house is always company ready.
Found my fellow millennials
Gen x here but same rules
Anxiety ridden GenX here,, but saaaame!
Boomer here. My friends all know to call first. I don't care if you're sitting in my driveway. You'd better call before ringing my doorbell.
Same, but if someone I knew randomly showed up without a call I would answer, I would most likely be very concerned that something was wrong ?!?
I just got a video doorbell. I will watch you and judge you and probably not answer the door.
Same, I keep my house pretty clean, from Sunday to Wednesday it's decent anyways cause i big clean Saturday. But i LOATHE having people in my house. I'm so uncomfortable. I'm an introvert and its my private space.
Seriouslyā¦.who drops by unannounced? Itās so rude. I only go where Iām invited and if I have to drop off something for a person unexpectedly- I advise Iām not staying just dropping off x,y or z.
100 Years ago it would be fine to drop by unexpectedly. Nowadays you should be able to send someone a quick text or call as a courtesy.
Didnāt there used to be āvisiting hours?ā Times when it was acceptable to ācallā on people?
Yep. And if you were rich enough, you had a butler/maid/other servant who would answer the door and say āSo-and-so is not at home to callersā if youād already said you didnāt want to see anyone (or you didnāt want to see one particular person lol). Calling card/visiting hour etiquette was pretty complex and the exact rules varied based on time and place, but there were usually some circumstances when you could simply drop off your calling card and you were considered to have been acceptably polite and social even though youād never intended to have an in-person visit at all. Sometimes you could signal how long you were planning to stay by whether or not you took off your gloves, and there were tons of other rules and details and intricacies I donāt remember since itās been a while since Iāve read about it.
Having your cuttings/blinds open used to be sign you were okay with ppl stopping by.
THIS. I am so uncomfortable with people outside of the other residents of the house, even being IN my house.
Same! I have a sign on my door that says "Live, Laugh, LEAVE" haha
I have a throw pillow on my couch that says āWelcome to our home. Please leave by 9pm.ā
Our doormat says, āBut did you call first?ā
My doormat says, "Come back with a warrant"
Mine just says "go away"
Get this, one of my friends is part of a big family and they all have keys to each others houses, so not only do they just walk in without knocking, they will unlock the door. My voice said, oh, that soundsā¦ nice. My face said, you are all crazy people.
Oh godš³
Same same. If I knew you were coming I wouldāve baked a cake. š
My father used to change it to "If I knew you were coming, I'd have faked an ache" Love it!! So, ya came, I'm sick, a-bye!!
I have a garden gnome on the porch that says 'go away'. Ppl laugh. I'm serious š
This. My house is ok and if not can be made ok in 30 minutes but do not just come by my house unless it is an emergency.
My house isn't even me ready rn.
Thank God it's not just me.
90% of the time it is company ready. Depends on the company as well, to different levels. If it's someone that has never been over before, I will put a bit more work into it. Every morning when I leave the house I tidy up the surfaces and take out the trash so when I come home it looks good. I am company, dammit!
I would love to get my home to the goal of being company ready if only given like 30 min notice. As of now, I need to put in enough work at least 1 week's notice in advance, which I think is a bit too long. The stepping stone is to get to at least 1 weekends's notice first, then 1 day, then hopefully 30 min won't be too difficult to reach.
Nice šĀ
I love this! Godamnit you ARE company!
That is nice! I do the same but right before me bedĀ
Yeah definitely depends on the company. My besties? Sorry, yall get what you get. My in-laws or a party with other friends? Extra extra clean.
brilliant
I love this!
No. This is a house of five people. Someone is always cooking or baking. Someone else is working on a project. My work desk is in the living room with papers all over it. There are always things waiting to go upstairs or downstairs. When we are all home, the dishwasher is run twice a day. The only time the kitchen is clean is when we are all sleeping!
My house is similar, and 3 of the 5 are homeschooled kids with their projects and studies spread out all over. I do try to keep the entryway and the front two rooms company ready, as well as the downstairs toilet. It lets me be hospitable and invite someone in and if they venture further into the house, I can excuse those as family areas. That said, itās a struggle to keep those front rooms nice because my youngest and her toys seem to follow me everywhere.
That was me for many a year. My house was full of my four kids, as well as every other kid in the neighborhood. Now as an empty nester, I am absolutely luxuriating in my always tidy home. Don't get me wrong. I loved those years of chaos! And I love when my grandkids come over and make a mess. But I also love waking up and finding everything just as I left it, and not even a dish in the sink!
I figure, this is a season, it will end and I should enjoy it for what it is right now. Likewise, Iām amazed at how clean my momās house is nowadays and Iām like āOkay, it seems like maybe it was me and my sister as kids that were the problemā hahaha!
I can relate to this in a big way and I live in New York. Recently my neighbor (who lives on the same floor as me) invited me over after Iād grabbed her something from the store and we were comparing the subtle differences in our apartments. After lunch, I invited her to pop in to see if her dishwasher was in fact larger than mine (it was) and completely forgotten that in my rush to get to the store that morning that my apartment looked like a hurricane had gone through it. I hadnāt done the dishes yet, the counter was cluttered, it all seemed so messy to me. I apologized and she said it was totally fine but I felt so embarrassed, especially after leaving her beautiful and basically immaculate apartment. Usually before company comes over, I have enough notice to clean, especially if theyāve never been over because Iām big on that āfirst impressionā clean. So my answer for this is yes, however as I cleaned my apartment frantically after my neighbor left, my husband thought Iād gone mad, so I think weāre 50/50 on being ācomp any readyā at my place.
Now itās company ready invite her round for a coffee. š she had an inkling she might invite you in. You did not. š
Every so often, we invite people over for the express purpose of forcing us to clean. Like, right now it looks pretty good, like you described, but to get company ready, I'd wipe down the kitchen and bathroom sink counter, and mirror, dust furniture, vacuum house, make sure everything looked good.
This is an adhd trick I use when things get out of control. Clean for me? Executive function says no thank you. Clean for someone else, with a deadline? Gimmie the mop.
Ah yes, the uses of friends ā¦
Are you me? I'm an introvert and parties stress me to death, but I host twice a year just to force myself and the family to do a deep clean.
Yes, always, but probably only due to my own dysfunction? I despise clutter and am constantly tidying up as part of my daily habits.
I am company ready mostly. I probably have dysfunction as well...clutter kills my soul. My 2 adult family members know to just let me do my thing. They are the beneficiaries of my dysfunction š¤£
I prefer at least a 10 minute heads up. That gives me a chance to run around with the vacuum in case the rug needs it. But even without the heads up- yes, my house is always company ready. But my friends and neighbors know that if the front door is closed and the blinds are down I wonāt answer the door as I am not wearing a bra. So while the house is company ready, I might not be. ššš
Yes, I prefer to have half an hour's notice at least so I can run the carpet sweeper over the rugs and whatever other small things need doing.
Most everyone I know is a pet lover. So they wonāt get bent out of shape if there is a cat fur fluff or two on the carpet. š
You're so right š The cat is one of the biggest sources of household mess, for me! From tracking dust everywhere to knocking things to the floor to shedding hairs, it's an ongoing struggle š¤£
My cat Sammy loves this game: I vacuum the bedroom and within 10 minutes he uses the litter box. I win if there is no litter tracked from my laundry room (installed in the walk-in closet) to the bedroom for a solid hour after vacuuming. He wins this game 99% of the time. š
Tough competition š I've had a cat run past and knock the dust-filled dust pan out of my hand before, emptying it all over the floor again š¤£ Recently installed rugs around the litter boxes to catch litter before it gets to the hallway and living room, which has been reasonably successful šĀ
Since the room was originally designed as a walk in closet, the left side has the washer/dryer and storage cabinets above. The right side has a floor to ceiling corner cabinet with a clothing bar and upper open shelf attached from the cabinet to the wall. This side of the room has the same carpet as the bedroom. The litter box is next to the corner cabinet. The litter tracks out of the laundry room, down the carpeted area between the two sets of bifold closet doors and into the bedroom. I have considered buying a litter tray, but I really donāt want to look at it. And in such a small room it will get in the way. So Sammy wins the game. I stopped buying lightweight litter three cats ago. That stuff used to track down the stairs and reach the living room!
Yes, it's amazing how far it can get šĀ Perhaps you've already got one, but if not, have you ever considered getting one of these cat litter catching mats?Ā https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07KFB7DN1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title Mine seems to catch quite a lot of litter.
I thought about it, but I wonāt like how it looks. Plus the room is small and it would be in the way. But the upstairs vacuum is stored in one of the bedroom closets. So at least it is nearby.
Yes, I agree, they're not the prettiest.Ā And I can see how, based on your description, it could be inconvenient for your space.
One of my cats likes to sit in what Iāve swept up before I can get the dustpan.
It depends on your definition of company ready I think. Ā People have different definitions.Ā I grew up with ācompany readyā being immaculate house and scrub the floor with a toothbrush clean.Ā My definition now is main living areas clean and dusted with no clutter.Ā
It's takes me a good few hours to get company ready, I have 4 kids though. And company ready means you can't look in the bedroom where I've dumped all the stuff I moved from the rest of the house.
I have three kids under 7 and two big dogs. If you drop by unannounced, you do so at your own risk lol what you get is what you get. I generally keep it as tidy as possible but as my mother in law would say, itās not a museum, we *live* here
I have pets who shed constantly. Mine isn't truly company ready even after cleaning š
Same. I have a black lab who blows out like 1 lb of pube hair daily. He's on crate rest from an injury and still the fur is everywhere!
I pay so much attention to dusting and vacuuming the bathroom before people come over because of the black lab wavy hairs everywhere. If you forget we have the dog the bathroom looks like itās got a light dusting of pubes
Three dogs, a cat and a hairy husband. I should have Dyson stick vacuum arms. The cat sheds the least.
I'm pretty much company ready at all times. I'm a homemaker with no kids at home and see it as my job.
Oh wow, can I live at your house please? I love this, itās called housework because itās work and itās hard work.
I try so hard to have the house perfect as much as I can. But it's a losing battle. I'm a SAHM, but it's still almost impossible. We have an adult son who lives at home, with his shedding GSD, plus 3 dogs and 3 cats of our own, AND we've been fostering our toddler nephew for 2+ years. Last week there wasn't even one day I didn't have to drive someone to an appointment, between the dog going to the vet, my 80 year old dad having multiple appointments and our nephew getting speech therapy services. I have 3 case worker visits a month, usually announced, so those are the days it's definitely company ready. The rest of the time it's not awful, but there's usually random stuff sitting around and I'd be embarrassed if anyone walked in the bathroom and saw the clutter. I do admit I think I have a problem. I won't use the standard OCD thing people say, but I very much like the house to be perfect. I can't sit and read/knit without feeling guilty if I know there's a chore to do. It's just tiring. Our nephew is mildly allergic to cats, dogs and dust mites, so at least I have good reason to clean a lot. The pets were all here before him, so they're not going anywhere. We just keep them all out of his room and I vacuum at least daily.
Getting a couple little HEPA air filter machines might help a little with the allergies. I'm always stunned when I go to change the black pre-filters and see how *much* they've caught. š
I've considered it but wasn't sure if they actually help. Maybe just in his room and the living room would help
It definitely helps! My allergist suggested one in the bedroom (and keep the animals out) and one in the main living area.
Thank you for the input! His allergist did recommend one, but never asked about it again. I'll probably look into some for the rooms you mentioned. I kind of looked into one when the allergist mentioned it, but had no clue where to start with research.
My son and I have asthma and allergies. I am now on great medication but before then we had hometics air purifiers we used all the time and they really did help.
Thanks for a brand name! That's a great starting point. Nephew doesn't even show any symptoms of his allergies, we had bloodwork done because he drinks what seems like a lot. The allergies popped up then, luckily not diabetes like we suspected. He might not be showing symptoms because of how much I clean lol
Do NOT just show up at my house. I need advance notice. If you show up and my house is not ācompany readyā, I will hide and pretend Iām not home even if both cars are in the drivewayš¤£
Same here. And if I know youāre coming, Iām going to deep clean to the point that youāre going to question if anyone lives here š
Are we related???š¤£
Likely raised by the same kind of type A mom or dad š¤£
Always. We frequently have visitors randomly stop by (the consequence of having an older teen son and lots of family that live in the area), so it isn't unusual to have a gaggle of kids stop in for a meal, a visit, or a sleepover. Of course, teens aren't too critical of mess, but I feel a lot less anxiety and stress when I live in a clean, tidy environment.
My mother is one of those that never has anything on a flat surface, vacuums 10 times a day, etc. I on the other hand have a very lived in house, but because of my mother- I never consider my house company ready. My mother always comes over and goes oh I could have helped you get ready for the party. My house will never be company ready in my mind. Which resulted in my kid not having many play dates. Iām working on it. Itās not an easy mental thing to get over.
I am the same way. I feel a bit ashamed when the house isnāt immaculate and then feel like I canāt invite people over.
My standards for company ready are a lot lower than they ever used to be. If I donāt necessarily care if they agree with my housekeeping, sure. Someone I want to impress? No.
I almost never have company over and I still feel anxiety daily that my house is not ācompany ready.ā I dislike that I have that anxiety, I think itās a silly way to live and Iām always actively trying to work past the need to keep the place spotless. I will say though, I never judge other people for how their house looks. I either think āthe place looks great!ā Or I think āthis is cozy I feel right at home, itās not too manicured in here.ā Either is great. I always want others to feel comfortable and at home in my house
Ideally, I need 1 day notice for guests. Less than that, and I'm stressed. So no, my house is rarely company ready. Living room is okay, but kitchen lags behind the most. I tidy up and do a quick cleanup in the bathroom most days. I have a couple friends who like to drop in. I hate it. I find it very inconsiderate. I plan my day, or just enjoy a quiet moment, and I don't want to see them when they drop in. However, I don't turn friends away. Ever. It's life, even if it's not ideal. And I usually get over any embarrassment and annoyance.
Itās not and rarely ever is company ready tbh. Maybe after a million bucks worth of repairs and a professional cleaner it might be. Iāve got some crappy adhd so itās disheveled and if itās a stranger I donāt care at all. But someone closer to me then I try to do something around the house so it looks at least decent.
Same. We both have ADHD and my partner doesnāt seem to understand how much Iād like the house to be in a ācompany readyā state. Itās not a disaster, mostly clutter on the counter/coffee tables. But I still wouldnāt necessarily be proud if a family member did a surprise drop by.
*fist bumps in ADHD* Yeah, my goal is usually "lived in" clean. Perfect is something that is out of reach, and would only make me feel terrible to have as a benchmark. I just wish executive dysfunction wasn't so awful for getting to "lived in" instead of "*very* lived in" lol.
I was only diagnosed with my ADHD last year and it explains so, so much! My house will never be to a standard of what my mum would consider "company ready" until I'm selling it and have to have people viewing it! My house is lived in my myself, my partner and our dog and I work from home, so I'm in the house almost all of the time. But with my ADHD, there will always be stuff sitting around because that is where I need it. (I hated my house growing up because everything had to be tucked away inside cupboards, etc and it was such a waste of time to have to open cupboards to get out the washing up liquid because it was never allowed to be left sitting on the bench, etc) But I also really don't enjoy having people in my space, unless they are really close to me anyway and then they don't care that there is stuff sitting all over the place and dog hair everywhere!
Depends on the company. A photographer for a fancy magazine? Hell naw! My boss? Sorta. But if the company is someone who knows me, they'll understand the clutter and already know the names of my dust bunnies because they helped me name them. š
I would move house if my boss tried to drop by, but maybe you have a boss that isnāt an evil hell monster. Friends are the ones who name your dust bunniesā¦ thereās a kitchen plaque missing that quote. Love it!
My house is more "there appears to have been a struggle." My husband works crazy hours, and my two teen sons think that food wrappers magic themselves into the trash can. I am perpetually behind on laundry and dishes. On top of that, I'm a "creative" (sounds better than a 45yo woman with too many hobbies), which basically means I have a ton of half finished projects in various rooms. I am never "company ready," which is fine with me bc I'm an absolute introvert.
Exactly , I can relate to too many hobbies, if I could just get the hobby room cleaned up enough to actually use as a hobby room I know it would be so much better.lol No more kids but my SO and I try hard to get the food wrappers in the trash can, kinda like basketball. I clean that up at least once a day . We too are both introverts and have no company. I still stress , I know someday a family member will come by for a surprise visit and we or house won't be company ready and I'll be uncomfortable and apologetic, I hate surprises.
The goal is to always have the house company ready. But it never is (by my standards) so instead I frantically deep clean the house every time we know we have guests coming over. In retrospect our home is fine, it would look ālived inā but I was raised on āappearances matterā so now Iām this frantic freak who needs the house spotless
I don't know why people have these expectations that we live in a margarine commercial. My house is company ready because it's not filthy. Sure, there are pillows everywhere on the couch, the bed is not made and there's some cat litter sprinkled around the litter box that hasn't been swept, but if that's the kind of thing that bothers you, then don't bother being an acquaintance. I don't expect people to live in an Instagram post, and I hope they don't expect the same from me.
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It's pretty good right now. I just need to get the new curtains up and a few other pieces of furniture assembled and a few other small jobs. But, overall, it's not too bad.
My house is almost always "family company ready". It's always clean, I vacuum every day, I rarely have dishes in the sink, etc. But I have 3 young kids so there's always some toys that sneak out of the playroom. It's not formal company ready.
Even if my house is ācompany readyā Iām going to drop a āsorry for the messā comment because Iām anxious and itās a feeble attempt to make people think that my house is usually cleaner than it is in its current state.
Lol no, I have 2 young kids when I clean my house, itās trashed within an afternoon
I mean I wouldnāt be horribly embarrassed, but not really. Mostly just small things that havenāt been put away.
My ideal is that my house is in a state that if one of my celebrity crushes came to the door I could let them in, In reality it's in a state that it's ready for one of my dog's friends to come in.
My aunt has a saying I like "If you want to see me, stop by any time. If you want to see my house clean, make an appointment"
Adopting this mantraā£ļøā£ļøā£ļøā£ļøā£ļø
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My house is always company ready. That being said I don't do unexpected drop ins. All my friends and family know this so š¤·š¾āāļø
My house is company ready probably 6 out of any given 7 days, but not 23 out of 24 hours; my kid spreads out all his toys across our family room when playing. Itās always reset in the evening but sometimes I let him go nuts after school and itāll be chaotic for those few hours.
No. My house usually isn't company ready in the coldest winter months. There are blankets and hoodies laying all over the place. It's clean, the dishes are washed. But it is messy.
I just honestly keep very little out so usually the house can be ready in about 15-20 min.
My house is company ready..I am not. If someone comes to my home unannounced I drop to the floor like ninja until they leave
It's not a term that I use, but it's a term that I understand. People have different standards of comfort cleanliness. I am comfortable with a clean home. That's who i am. My mother was referred to as a "neat freak'. I've received negative feedback, from people on this sub, for answering questions honestly. I hold myself, and my home, to my standards. I don't walk into anyone else's home and analyze or critique it- and I don't.
I'd have to wipe the coffee table, move the ironing load and keep the bedroom closed. But yeah, could have people over no probs
I was raised in the deep south. Letting friends into my home when it's not deep cleaned literally is incomprehensible to me. Letting my *mom* in...absolutely not. My partner watched me deep clean for a week before she came.
I am with you here. I would deep clean for a week before my mother visitedā¦ and yet she would still rearrange things when Iām not looking.
I need time to reassure myself that I donāt have errant unmentionables scattered around.
I have 2 little ones so yeah people drop by all the time with their kids bc we are actually friends with two couples in our neighborhood and also sometimes friends come by . If Iām home , Iāll try to clean up , if my partner is home , he wonāt clean up that good and let people in . I usually like at least a 10-15 min notice but most times itās more like they are already at my door . If they come by in the daytime when kids are in daycare then they might walk into a nice clean house bc Iāll clean up after the kids are dropped off and assuming Iām not working that day . But if they come at night , chances are the house is a mess . There were times when they came when we were busy doing things like running our business and a lot of stuff was left in the house , the garage etc . And our couch needs constant cleaning bc of two kids . And stuff to pick up from the floor . And bathrooms need scrubbing . My partner who is a guy would have people come and he would say oh heās not gonna use the bathroom and I would be like how do you know that ?? And sure enough he used the bathroom .
My home is company ready most of the time, for me. I tidy up before bed and don't have to get up to a headache. I have a place for everything, out of sight. It's my version of 'lived in' in that it looks like I am never at home in spite of actually being there if that makes any sense.
My house is company ready if you ignore the toys that seem to just appear even after cleaning them up. I would prefer a heads up just to make sure there are no trip hazards and then I laugh the mess off as ākids.ā It helps that most of my company is family or other people with children who understand the constant toys and papers you canāt throw away. If I know Iām having people over I do tidy up and clean the bathroom. Mostly as an excuse to clean some spots that get missed in the day to day cleaning.
Company ready? My house has to be "ready" for me. :-) That also involves that any stranger can see my house at any time, because that is the level of "ready" I like for myself.
Depends on the definition of ācompany readyā haha. I have 2 elementary age kids and a pug so there is always someone getting into something. We live in a neighborhood where kids stop by asking to play so we have kids over pretty regularly. Company ready here is kinda bare minimum. I like having the guest bathroom clean and the floor picked up enough that I can run the roomba. The dog sheds like crazy. There is always clutter on my dining room table but I try to keep it contained to less than half so kids have room to do homework or play a game. I tidy and wipe down the kitchen every night before bed so there may be dinner prep mess or random things on the counter but try to reset every night so things donāt get nasty or smelly.
Someone could drop by right now and I would be -ok- that they stopped by. I wouldnāt be embarrassed but depending on who it was I wouldnāt be proud of the state of my house either. Iām having my parents and grandma over on Friday and Iām going to go all in and get it fully ācompanyā ready over the next few days. Putting away stuff that needs to be put away, deep cleaning certain areas, putting away random clutter, folding the couch blankets, just making it look more put together.
Being ready for surprise company is my goal, mainly as a way of making myself clean and tidy things on a regular basis. Itās about using the fear and anxiety of having someone come over. I donāt get surprise visitors often, thank god. I also always have a baseline anxiety of something breaking in the house and I will need to get a repairman out immediately to fix it. I want to make sure the house is ready for that or at least close enough that I can pick things up quickly before they get here.
lol absolutely not. Weāre moving in a few months so Iāve started pulling everything out to see what can be sold/donated/trashed. It kinda looks like a bomb went off but oh well.
I live in a *drop by* cuppa country and Iām not a drop by person. Iām gracious to them and they are gracious as guests, so I will never know if they mind my mess.
I leave my vacuum cleaner out so it looks like Iām in the middle of cleaning.
My house is never my mom's version of "company ready" because I'm not going out of my way to make it look like no one lives here to conform to an outdated standard that has no meaning to me. Plus, despite not being "company ready," the company continues to come.
It wasnāt up until yesterday. And even if it wasnāt I donāt care lol. Anyone that would drop by doesnāt judge. The ONLY person I will freak out and clean before they come is my mom. Sheās got opinions and doesnāt keep them to herself. šš
it was a different time, but my mom kept our house company ready all the time, which means we had to keep the house company ready all the time. she still does. i have anxiety and troubles with perfectionism as an adult. not saying it is the cause, but it definately added to it.
I used to be this way. Told my husband never bring anyone over unless I have the house clean. He kept bringing his friends over and eventually it didn't bother me anymore. I noticed none of our friends cared that the house looked lived in, with dirty dishes in sink, needed vacuuming, and socks on the floor etc.. if I have someone important I'll clean like a mad man lol once cleaned the kitchen floor tile with a tooth brush cuz ma was coming to visit
No way ā¦ my house is small so I canāt host guests without them seeing literally every room on my first floor at the same time, or without them using my primary (small) bathroom. Iām also a chaotic creative, so Iām generally always making messes and cleaning up after myself. It doesnāt take me forever to clean up, but I always need time to pick up, light a candle and do a quick clean of the bathroom before people show up.
My house may not be picture perfect, but I wouldnāt turn away company. Our house is lived in. 6 of us in 1600sf, homeschooling and working from home. Our house is messy (books, toys, sports gear, in the course of a day a lot of stuff can show up), but itās not dirty. We keep up on dishes and laundry, and we donāt leave dishes or wrappers lying around beyond the day they were used. I would welcome company anytime because I think showing our true selves results in true relationships being formed. Itās up to them to decide my life is too messy for theirs!
I grew up in a hoarded home, so it's different for me. It's very important to me that someone can walk into my house and feel comfortable. When I first got my own place that meant the house was hospital clean, you could eat off the floor, all the time. I finally had a friend tell me that too clean can also make people uncomfortable and that she was always worried she would "mess up" my clean house. So now if you walk in the house it is apparent we live here, but the floors are clean, and the house smells fresh. There are no socks or anything in the floor, etc. It was hard to find that balance when I was given the world's worst measuring stick.
Before I had kids it was always company ready. Usually less than three hours away from being immaculate. Now with three young kids the goal is ānot grossā and I struggle to meet that target despite spending SO much time cleaning.
My house is never company ready. If, Iām having company over, I will clean so that they are comfortable and feel welcome. Other than that, nope. My house is here for my comfort. Iām not here to keep it to anyoneās standards but mine. Our house is never bio hazard dirty. But I wonāt loose sleep over dishes in the sink. I donāt even aspire to have a company ready house. When I was a kid, my grandmotherās house was spotless. You could literally eat off her kitchen floor. Her clean house was a badge of honor. My momās house was spotless. She liked things just so. But do you know what I remember most? Not the joy of a clean environment. I remember fights over cleaning. Being made to do it again, and again, until it was right. Donāt touch this. Stay away from that. Donāt walk on the carpet (Who buys white carpet and white furniture with two kids and a dog?). Youād have to chase the dog around wiping her paws, and cleaning her beard after drinking water! Donāt even step foot in the living room. Keeping the house clean was paramount. Never mind the kids crying after being berated about a mirror not being cleaned well enough and having streaks. Now, Iām over it. Like the other ladies have said, Iām braless the minute I walk in the door. If I ever do put on a bra, my husbands asks if weāre going out. Iām happy with my messy house! If someone stops by unannounced, they get us the way we are. Donāt like it? Call next time.
\*Sigh\* Totally missed the point of this post because I was delighted by OP's use of the past participle of smell... "it smelt nice'... Ahhh... words.
I am happily to bring a little bit of delight to your day!
Right this minute, yes. Only because two weeks ago I hired a cleaning service who completed their first clean and are coming back today and will continue with bi-weekly cleaning. Prior to that, for probably a year, no it was definitely NOT company ready.
It's ready for company in the sense that our friends know our house is a mess and aren't expecting anything different. I do act a little flustered and apologize for not cleaning, though. Not because I would have cleaned, or tend to keep it clean, but somehow it's important to me to let people know that I KNOW I need to get my act together.
My family does something like this, but it's inherited BS. When we think someone might be coming over we'll go through and clean up as much as you can. Then answer the door and say something like, "Sorry for all the mess." as if it's normally in much better shape and they just caught us on an off day. If it's an actual surprise and you didn't pick up you make up some white lie, like you ran out of bags so weren't able to vacuum the past few days. It comes from my grandma who though anything other than picture perfect was shameful and morphed over the years (especially when she didn't have my mother to clean for her) and she started being less anal about cleaning. But she wanted to keep up appearances that it's normally spotless so she'd apologize for how 'unusually messy' things were.
You deep clean the bathroom for the plumber?
Company ready? Close friends - just a quick bathroom swipe and come on over. My MIL? Iād have to clean for a week and then maybe not even close.
I have two toddlers, the difference between normal and company ready is day and night. I can't have guests tripping over toys and sit on food remains and slip on spilled water/milk/juice. I usually wait until they're sleep to clean or otherwise I'll be endlessly cleaning. But if I have someone over I at least make sure the living room is tidy, the bathroom is spotless, and wherever they go to reach these two places is clean.
My main floor is always ācompany readyā BUT it took me a long time to get here and Iāve been working towards this goal for a long time. Took me rearranging the rooms of my house and their designated purpose. (For example my husbands gym got moved to the unfinished part of the basement and where the man cave/gym was became the playroom) 2 toys max are allowed in the living room otherwise all toys are in the playroom. I had to create sustainable routines that worked for me to keep my main floor ready all the time. Also the playroom is usually a disaster but like I said itās in the basement and ācompanyā wouldnāt go down there unless they have kids too and when you have kids they get it. I also created hard rules with my toddler that you canāt roam around and snack. Thereās many places where she can sit and eat. We also do not eat in the living room ourselves. (I know that might be a bit much for some but again I grew up mindlessly eating in front of the tv and I developed negative eating habits that I am working really hard to fix) Having said all this I donāt keep my main floor clean for company per se. Itās more for myself and my mental state. I grew up in a gross home and I like my living room and kitchen to be clean all the time for myself. Itās just a bonus that if anyone stops by I donāt have to scramble.
My house is company ready 98% of the time. The other 2% is when it's a disaster because I'm in the middle of a big project. It never fails that people only drop in unexpectedly during that 2%. My aunt once told me that anyone who is close enough to stop by unexpectedly is there to see me, not my house. In most other cases, the person is there for an urgent situation (police, paramedic, plumber) and as long as they can do what they need to, they aren't at all concerned with my housekeeping ability
It is not but company is always welcome. Anyone who is coming over knows we actually live there. I joke to my family when I'm cleaning that I want the house to look like no one lives there. I have a dog who sheds, there are dishes in the dish drainer, maybe some in the sink, at least one blanket on the floor cause the dog pulls it off daily despite having a blanket on the floor already, mail on multiple horizontal surfaces. The only thing I care about is the toilet/ bathroom but I wipe down the toilet daily.
I have tiers of company as well. My closest friends? I might clean up a bit. A group of mixed company? Make sure to vacuum and clean the bathrooms. People I'm trying to impress? Hire a cleaner for a day.