Keep my house clean enough for a visitor ALL the time; not just Saturdays

LOL- just when I thought I had the dust under control… I start sneezing! Locked the dog and cat out of the bedroom so the desk will be easier to clean but I never took into account my muddy husband! LOL! We need a washing machine VERY badly. I almost want to restructure the financial plan to buy a brand new one, but I guess a used one will do just fine. You know what? I think we need a bigger house too…. :-P

Have made good progress with the house this weekend, didn’t reach all of my goals but then they were a little lofty! Got some books to help with all of my goals: 30 days to a simpler life, gorgeously green, 2 comic strip books (gotta laugh!), and been listening to dave ramsey for finances. I hate the Fox network, but this guy does have some good advice and I’m open-minded. ”...Simpler life” is really good for short reads and big help.

Many of our guests seem to dislike our place even though it’s a rental. I guess they have some picture in their mind of where a person like me would live or how she would structure her home and they are dumbfounded when they reach my home. Not because it’s messy though. It’s not. It’s perfectly clean when I invite someone over. But we are living well below our means (see savings, travel aspirations, and the fact that I feed 5 horses and you’ll understand) and I guess the suddenness of the new perspective they have is devastating. I’m being a little melodramatic here, but frankly my feelings are hurt. I don’t consider anyone who responds in this way to be a friend. They instantly project themselves back to the ‘acquaintance’ category just like I evidently get projected off to the ‘unimportant’ or ‘not as great a person as I thought’ categories. Mind you, nothing has changed. I am still the person they knew before I had them over for coffee or dinner. I have evaluated every possibility and the only ones remaining are: my home is sub-standard in other’s view (so I therefore see them as shallow) or I might have said something stupid for lack of conversation (sorry and I’m still no different than before). I just don’t know what to do. I’m not going to run out and rent something that will take up all of our extra money to please a few people I rarely have over. The feed for this post is a particular couple we have been out with and over to their home before, so being appropriate, I invited them to our home. But this also happens with our visiting family and rare other acquaintances. I have only a few people living in the area that I feel free to have over for conversation and coffee. They seem to not have this reaction at all and behave as I would expect: like nothing is different than if we were out to dinner. Ugh! I’m just honestly kind of sad that my husband’s and my home is such a deterrent to people. I planted flowers out front, we have little furniture so I have pretty curtains and rugs with patterns to fill the space and like I said, the place is very clean when someone is over. This item on my list is to help me find a way to keep it that way in between guests! We are very busy and dislike domestic chores.

Other than the endless sweep/vac chore, the house is staying mostly neat. To celebrate, I bought new curtains and lighting. At first I felt guilty for spending money, but it was SO worth it once I see how much more open the living area looks with the stuff I picked out! My husband even picked out some chinese lanterns for a corner. It truly makes a difference in your mood when you walk into a space that makes you feel happy.

REALLY helps to wash dog in de-shed shampoo weekly. Wash cat too – the little nut likes it LOL! Very time consuming though.

Sweep frequently trafficked areas daily and dishes every other night is really helping.

Mental? Yes, when my house is not clean. LOL! Back to the “note” part: ‘leave only footprints’ isn’t that hard when hiking, so we will TRY to practice this at home. Put things back where they belong once done using them and not ‘doing it later’. Not dumping things by the door (me), but putting them away as I walk thru the house on my way in. Harder to get my sweetheart to do the same. He uses things set out to remind himself of tasks needing completion. A list will have to do. I expect this seemingly simple lifestyle adjustment to take some time and cause a few ripples in our day, but the idea is to accomplish it regardless. WE WILL make it work.

The house is a disaster. How discouraging. How much do maids charge? I’ll be at work the next 3 days, but maybe I can get back on track over the weekend. Ugh! How frustrating.

Boxes and baskets helped and my husband helping do dishes more often is certainly keeping the kitchen nicer. Laundry is the biggest problem because we have to go to the laundry mat. I need to get a washer ASAP. Have been fixing the bed every day and sweeping as needed… so i guess i’m closer to achieving this goal. Still not satisfied yet, but definatly made progress!

My home is not a disaster, but it needs sweeping every day, we have a dog and cat, we are busy so we drop stuff by the door, my husband tinkers with all kinds of stuff so his recliner looks like a mini-shop. We do a thorough cleaning on Saturdays and the kitchen once more during the week… Not good enough. How do the people in suburbia do it??!!! I want a clean, stylish interior too! I am trying adding storage space. We’ll see if that helps. Please tell me your ideas!