One Small Thing You Need to Do Before Any Guests Come Over
When it comes to keeping my house clean and having people over, I try to do my best and then have an upbeat, que sera attitude about whatever’s left undone. We can never please everyone, and trying to leaves us drained and disappointed in ourselves. (Never a good thing.) Besides, I figure that if anyone I invite into my home is displeased by its condition, well, that person may not be a good relationship investment.
I admit, however, that there was one moment when a guest noticed something about my homekeeping and I let it get to me. And to save you the same embarrassment, I’ll share my story and tell you why you should always do this one simple thing when you’re cleaning before guests come over:
Look up.
More than once, I had a certain visitor over who had an uncanny and nerve-wracking ability to notice the dust and perceived cat hair that clung to my light fixtures. She’d look up as if bracing for a meteor shower and she’d fan her hand over the glasses on the table as if to dislodge the offensive dust in my oh-so-dirty house.
One time someone else who was over at the same time asked me if I cleaned my own house and when I said yes, this special visitor looked up at an another light fixture and said, jokingly (but still), “Can’t you tell?”
Yeah, I’m traumatized.
So now before anyone comes over, I look up. I grab my duster and circle it around my light fixtures and light bulbs. And having this habit/paranoia also made me notice the up-high dust bunnies that cling to the corners of walls and corners. It’s less about pleasing picky guests and more about making sure that I don’t mistakenly overlook (well, underlook, as it may be) something that wouldn’t normally pass my personal standard for confidence in my cleanliness. Hyper-aware visitor or not, I would be embarrassed to have those cobwebby dust bunnies noticed.
What are you nervous about guests noticing?