Do you really care how clean your house is or do you keep it a certain way because it’s expected or because of what other people will think?
Don’t get me wrong, I like a clean house, but it doesn’t break my heart if it’s not perfect. Bookshelves are dusty, so is the mantle. There are a few dishes in the sink, the carpet needs to be vacuumed and the kitchen table is my dumping ground.
Let someone say they are stopping by and I fly around the house. I dust, vacuum, clean the kitchen table, wash the dishes, hang fresh towels in the bathroom and make my bed. Why? I don’t want people to think I’m lazy. I’m not lazy, just busy and there a million things I’d rather do than vacuum.
I’m sure more people are like this than care to admit it. Most of us clean for other people. If no one ever came to visit me you would be able to write your name in the dust. Dirty bathrooms I care about, dusty bookshelves, not so much.
Why are we so hard on each other? Or are we really? If you don’t vacuum before someone stops by do you think that is all they can think about while they are there? Now if you have three long haired dogs who shed like other people breath, then someone may notice you haven’t vacuumed, otherwise, who notices?
When I go to someone else’s house I don’t notice if they have recently dusted and vacuumed and if I see dishes in the sink, I don’t think twice, everyone has to eat. So why do I think everyone notices when they come to my house.
I think from now on I’m not going to worry about it. Call or stop by unannounced, either way the house will look the same. If the fact that I didn’t vacuum this week, ok, this month, changes your opinion of me, then we really shouldn’t be friends anyway.