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

[Anonymous]

First thing I notice is the stench from animals. And that's the last time and go to that particular person's house. I feel that if you got on Pats be responsible keep your pet clean keep and your house clean and stench free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: First thing I notice is the stench from animals. And that's the last time and go to that particular person's house. I feel that if you got on Pats be responsible keep your pet clean keep and your house clean and stench free.

Should be....going to own pets, not got on pats.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above, that "non-obvious dirt" is fine, but clutter everywhere is very noticable. I know many people who moved in YEARS ago and still have entire rooms that are unpacked/not organized. "Guest rooms" where they just keep STUFF.

Here's a hint...if you have boxes and boxes of items you haven't unpacked in years, you don't need that stuff. Throw it away or donate.

1/2 of our guest room is like that. I wish we had the time to go through it. But we tend to prioritize fun weekend activities and vacations over staying home to sort through old stuff. Maybe we will pick a long weekend this year.

You don't have to do it all at once. Pour a glass of wine, put a Netflix movie on your iPad, and clear out one box. It will take you 20 minutes if you are ruthless and efficient, and an hour if you hem and haw. Take the donation items and put them in a bag in your trunk. Put the other items where they belong. Put the storage items (like holiday decor) in proper storage, like garage or basement. You don't have to do it all at once!

What if I have a guest room, but don't have a car, garage, or basement?

If you can't store your stuff properly in the space you have, you have too much stuff. Period. If it has to live in boxes, it's not really part of your home, and it needs to go. There are countless ways you can organize in small spaces--look on Pinterest for ideas. Really, what is in these boxes? High school yearbooks? Old swimming trophies? Pre-baby clothes that you honsetly will never wear again? Aunt Edna's doily collection? GET RID OF IT!

Says you. Maybe when the kids move out and go off to college I'll want to display Aunt Edna's doily collection or convert a room into a library for all of my beloved books. It's my house ya know.

That's fine. But don't call it a guest room. Call it what it is: a dump.

I don't think things neatly folded away in boxes stacked in a guess room closet constitute "a dump." Your draconian rules for the way other people live is something you need to work on, PP.

Wait...I thought it was "HALF our guest room is like that." As in half the room overtaken by boxes. And now it's "boxes stacked in a guess [sic] room closet"? Get your story straight and try again.

[Anonymous]

Definitely clutter as others have mentioned. What's the first thing you must do before actual cleaning? Declutter. A certain family member has so much stuff laying around that they bring new stuff in and lay it on the floor. There's no room on the table or counters, so they put stuff on the floor.

Second thing I notice is if the sinks are clean or not. Dirty sinks gross me out. Dirty sinks with dirty dishes in them make me want to throw up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above, that "non-obvious dirt" is fine, but clutter everywhere is very noticable. I know many people who moved in YEARS ago and still have entire rooms that are unpacked/not organized. "Guest rooms" where they just keep STUFF.

Here's a hint...if you have boxes and boxes of items you haven't unpacked in years, you don't need that stuff. Throw it away or donate.

1/2 of our guest room is like that. I wish we had the time to go through it. But we tend to prioritize fun weekend activities and vacations over staying home to sort through old stuff. Maybe we will pick a long weekend this year.

You don't have to do it all at once. Pour a glass of wine, put a Netflix movie on your iPad, and clear out one box. It will take you 20 minutes if you are ruthless and efficient, and an hour if you hem and haw. Take the donation items and put them in a bag in your trunk. Put the other items where they belong. Put the storage items (like holiday decor) in proper storage, like garage or basement. You don't have to do it all at once!

What if I have a guest room, but don't have a car, garage, or basement?

If you can't store your stuff properly in the space you have, you have too much stuff. Period. If it has to live in boxes, it's not really part of your home, and it needs to go. There are countless ways you can organize in small spaces--look on Pinterest for ideas. Really, what is in these boxes? High school yearbooks? Old swimming trophies? Pre-baby clothes that you honsetly will never wear again? Aunt Edna's doily collection? GET RID OF IT!

Says you. Maybe when the kids move out and go off to college I'll want to display Aunt Edna's doily collection or convert a room into a library for all of my beloved books. It's my house ya know.

That's fine. But don't call it a guest room. Call it what it is: a dump.

I don't think things neatly folded away in boxes stacked in a guess room closet constitute "a dump." Your draconian rules for the way other people live is something you need to work on, PP.

Wait...I thought it was "HALF our guest room is like that." As in half the room overtaken by boxes. And now it's "boxes stacked in a guess [sic] room closet"? Get your story straight and try again.

I'm a different poster than the one who has half her guest room filled with boxes. I'm the one with no garage. And if I have boxes in the closet, what's it to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above, that "non-obvious dirt" is fine, but clutter everywhere is very noticable. I know many people who moved in YEARS ago and still have entire rooms that are unpacked/not organized. "Guest rooms" where they just keep STUFF.

Here's a hint...if you have boxes and boxes of items you haven't unpacked in years, you don't need that stuff. Throw it away or donate.

1/2 of our guest room is like that. I wish we had the time to go through it. But we tend to prioritize fun weekend activities and vacations over staying home to sort through old stuff. Maybe we will pick a long weekend this year.

You don't have to do it all at once. Pour a glass of wine, put a Netflix movie on your iPad, and clear out one box. It will take you 20 minutes if you are ruthless and efficient, and an hour if you hem and haw. Take the donation items and put them in a bag in your trunk. Put the other items where they belong. Put the storage items (like holiday decor) in proper storage, like garage or basement. You don't have to do it all at once!

What if I have a guest room, but don't have a car, garage, or basement?

If you can't store your stuff properly in the space you have, you have too much stuff. Period. If it has to live in boxes, it's not really part of your home, and it needs to go. There are countless ways you can organize in small spaces--look on Pinterest for ideas. Really, what is in these boxes? High school yearbooks? Old swimming trophies? Pre-baby clothes that you honsetly will never wear again? Aunt Edna's doily collection? GET RID OF IT!

Says you. Maybe when the kids move out and go off to college I'll want to display Aunt Edna's doily collection or convert a room into a library for all of my beloved books. It's my house ya know.

That's fine. But don't call it a guest room. Call it what it is: a dump.

First off, I would never leave a guest room cluttered up with boxes and my stuff and expect a guest to sleep there overnight. When we have guests, anything in that room gets moved out and stored in other bedrooms, the room/bath gets a thorough cleaning, the sheets and towels get freshly laundered and it becomes our guest's personal space. But when the guests leave, the stuff goes right back in the guest room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above, that "non-obvious dirt" is fine, but clutter everywhere is very noticable. I know many people who moved in YEARS ago and still have entire rooms that are unpacked/not organized. "Guest rooms" where they just keep STUFF.

Here's a hint...if you have boxes and boxes of items you haven't unpacked in years, you don't need that stuff. Throw it away or donate.

1/2 of our guest room is like that. I wish we had the time to go through it. But we tend to prioritize fun weekend activities and vacations over staying home to sort through old stuff. Maybe we will pick a long weekend this year.

You don't have to do it all at once. Pour a glass of wine, put a Netflix movie on your iPad, and clear out one box. It will take you 20 minutes if you are ruthless and efficient, and an hour if you hem and haw. Take the donation items and put them in a bag in your trunk. Put the other items where they belong. Put the storage items (like holiday decor) in proper storage, like garage or basement. You don't have to do it all at once!

What if I have a guest room, but don't have a car, garage, or basement?

If you can't store your stuff properly in the space you have, you have too much stuff. Period. If it has to live in boxes, it's not really part of your home, and it needs to go. There are countless ways you can organize in small spaces--look on Pinterest for ideas. Really, what is in these boxes? High school yearbooks? Old swimming trophies? Pre-baby clothes that you honsetly will never wear again? Aunt Edna's doily collection? GET RID OF IT!

Says you. Maybe when the kids move out and go off to college I'll want to display Aunt Edna's doily collection or convert a room into a library for all of my beloved books. It's my house ya know.

That's fine. But don't call it a guest room. Call it what it is: a dump.

I don't think things neatly folded away in boxes stacked in a guess room closet constitute "a dump." Your draconian rules for the way other people live is something you need to work on, PP.

Wait...I thought it was "HALF our guest room is like that." As in half the room overtaken by boxes. And now it's "boxes stacked in a guess [sic] room closet"? Get your story straight and try again.

I'm a different poster than the one who has half her guest room filled with boxes. I'm the one with no garage. And if I have boxes in the closet, what's it to you?

Seriously. It's a home not a hotel. People actually do live in our house and we do have stuff, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Perhaps you responded to the "how often do you vacuum" thread? I was appalled and disgusted by how dirty some people are. You sound like one of them.

Nope. I am just not a judgmental harpie.

Maybe not but come across as hyper-defensive over your slovenly way of living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above, that "non-obvious dirt" is fine, but clutter everywhere is very noticable. I know many people who moved in YEARS ago and still have entire rooms that are unpacked/not organized. "Guest rooms" where they just keep STUFF.

Here's a hint...if you have boxes and boxes of items you haven't unpacked in years, you don't need that stuff. Throw it away or donate.

1/2 of our guest room is like that. I wish we had the time to go through it. But we tend to prioritize fun weekend activities and vacations over staying home to sort through old stuff. Maybe we will pick a long weekend this year.

You don't have to do it all at once. Pour a glass of wine, put a Netflix movie on your iPad, and clear out one box. It will take you 20 minutes if you are ruthless and efficient, and an hour if you hem and haw. Take the donation items and put them in a bag in your trunk. Put the other items where they belong. Put the storage items (like holiday decor) in proper storage, like garage or basement. You don't have to do it all at once!

What if I have a guest room, but don't have a car, garage, or basement?

If you can't store your stuff properly in the space you have, you have too much stuff. Period. If it has to live in boxes, it's not really part of your home, and it needs to go. There are countless ways you can organize in small spaces--look on Pinterest for ideas. Really, what is in these boxes? High school yearbooks? Old swimming trophies? Pre-baby clothes that you honsetly will never wear again? Aunt Edna's doily collection? GET RID OF IT!

Says you. Maybe when the kids move out and go off to college I'll want to display Aunt Edna's doily collection or convert a room into a library for all of my beloved books. It's my house ya know.

That's fine. But don't call it a guest room. Call it what it is: a dump.

First off, I would never leave a guest room cluttered up with boxes and my stuff and expect a guest to sleep there overnight. When we have guests, anything in that room gets moved out and stored in other bedrooms, the room/bath gets a thorough cleaning, the sheets and towels get freshly laundered and it becomes our guest's personal space. But when the guests leave, the stuff goes right back in the guest room.

NP. That is SO much extra time and energy wasted, every time you have guests. If you just DEALT with the stuff, one box at a time, over the next few weeks, you'd be done with it. And then all you'd have to do for guests is clean that room/make the bed, etc. Instead, you are playing musical chairs with crap you don't need.

[Anonymous]

Visible, and often odorous, piddle pads or pee pads or whatever they are called so animals can do their business inside the house.

[Anonymous]

If I'm an overnight guest, splatters in the microwave.

[Anonymous]

Air out your house when you can!

[Anonymous]

Dirty bathroom (hair on floor etc), pet hair or smell, clutter, unclean kitchen counter or floor (e.g. spills)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no soap near a sick. Creeps me out every single time.

+1. This a million times over. Only encountered it a couple of times, but both times it was a bathroom in regular use by the people who lived there. So gross!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Air out your house when you can!

Yes, it's gonna be in the 60s later this week (Thursday and Friday). Open those windows wide.