What's the first 'dirty' thing you notice in someone else's house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give people a pass when I know they do their own cleaning. If they hire cleaning, it's no accomplishment.

eh, that isn't even your business is it?

[Anonymous]

For me it's a dirty carpet (less noticeable on hard floors I think) and a dirty bathroom. I'm not by any stretch a clean freak so I have a fairly high tolerance overall but those are the two things I notice most.

[Anonymous]

I have a dog, and while I love my dog, I hate all of his fur/hair all over the place. I clean it everyday, but couple of hours all is back. I hate it and would notice it at other people's places. Clothes on the floor, clutter is bad too.

[Anonymous]

Condition of the sofa, dead bugs in the light fixtures, too much clutter, dirty pet cages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a dog, and while I love my dog, I hate all of his fur/hair all over the place. I clean it everyday, but couple of hours all is back. I hate it and would notice it at other people's places. Clothes on the floor, clutter is bad too.

I have 3 dogs and I know what you mean. One thing that helps is to have "dog free" rooms in the house. That way the fur is at least contained to a certain area of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The smell.

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Dirty hand towel in the powder room

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jesus. The first thing I notice is that we are all working our asses off in a high COL place trying to do the best we can with jobs, family, etc. my hous is messier than I would like in an ideal world, and I expect yours will be as well. Truly dirty or messy to the point of hoarding is different, but garden variety 'I didn't have time or energy to clean as I might like' after working all day and dealing with kids, just is a fact of life.

I think all this is fine for day-to-day. But if you can't clean up a bit for guests, then when DO you clean? Don't have guests over.

Absolutely, I should definitely make sure to clean up before a play date with one and four year olds because they won't scatter the toys or mess up the kitchen. I have had plenty of people come over plenty of times so I feel just fine hosting, even if you prima donnas don't approve.

NP. OK, calm down, Defensive Debbie. But it is an iteresting question...can you answer it? If you don't clean up A BIT for guests...when DO you clean?

I will spruce it up before a visit from child protective services.

In the time it took you to comment all over this thread this morning, you could have given your kitchen a once-over, or folded a load of laundry, or de-cluttered a drawer.

[Anonymous]

The smell. Open some windows. I can't stand homes with hermetically sealed windows. Get some fresh air in there. Jesus Christ.

The bathroom. It's gross to have to "go" in a nasty bathroom. I don't care about your tub (just close the curtain), but at least run a Clorox wipe over the sink and swish out the bowl. Come on, it takes five minutes.

Your kitchen if it's really, really gross. My god.

I don't really care about recent clutter or dust on furniture, but if there's no place to sit down that's not covered in pet hair, you've got a problem.

I always clean before guests are coming. The bathroom is always scrupulous and the kitchen counters are wiped down at least. Dishes are washed; there may be a few water glasses in the sink. NBD. There are places to sit down. We don't have pets and that makes it a hell of a lot easier to keep homes clean. Just don't look behind the closed doors, please. That's where I've thrown the clutter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give people a pass when I know they do their own cleaning. If they hire cleaning, it's no accomplishment.

Nope, disgusting, if you must have a cleaning crew or you have over extend yourself

[Anonymous]

Dirty toilet and bathroom sink. Dirty dishes in sink. Dirty kitchen counters. Large dust bunnies. Layers of dust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't look at baseboards and I don't care about dishes in the sink. We don't have a dishwasher so I'm not going to judge others for what we do ourselves (though we try to wash everything before having company). Ditto to stuff on the dining room table. We only have a dining room table, no kitchen table, so it's sort of all-purpose. I notice this stuff but it doesn't bother me.

Stuff on the couch so you can't sit down I would notice more. Or actual dust on shelves or leaves and twigs all over the floor when you walk in. Cat or dog hair everywhere. That sort of thing. But nothing's that big a deal, really. If someone invites me over I'm happy to go. I don't spend my time judging their cleaning standards unless the place is really filthy or looks like a hoarder's house. In fact if it's sparkling clean I may feel jealous!

First comes jealous. Then comes judgement. Then comes bitter. Where are you from, PP? How long have you been here? Not being snarky, just making an observation.

[Anonymous]

Kitchen and bathroom. The rest of it, whatever.

[Anonymous]

Dirty Return vent and grill covers All that dust is being pulled through your HVAC

[Anonymous]

First floors.
Then unorganized stuff laying around w/seemingly no proper home.
Finally dishes in the sink, food laying around and a filthy toilet and sink.

But if the parents work full-time and have young kids, I find it all normal.

Because my house was always a mess when my kids were younger.