Any clutter that has been obviously sitting for a long time -- it's easy to tell the difference between someone who was going a project on the dining room table and will clean it up soon versus someone who has used it as a storage place for months. Same with counters, corners of the floor, etc. Long term clutter on sofas is always very hoarderish to me, I don't understand people who literally lose seating for people to their junk.

Nasty toilets and/or sinks

Smells

I tend to notice tumbleweeds of pet hair more than anything else. I think that's why I bought a Neato Botvac because it drives me nuts in my own home!

Smell.
I'm sensitive that way. I always air out my house before guests come. It helps to throw out all trash and wipe down the cans or whatever system you have.

Floors.
We have a shoeless house. I don't like seeing dog hair or crumbs on the floor. I always vacuum or sweep before guests come.

Clutter and dust are usually not problems with the people I know. A coating of dust and boxes of stuff or piles on the seats/couch would bother me, of course, but it's never happened.

If it's some type of drop by (as in I am dropping your child back home after a play date, and you ask me in for coffee), I notice nothing. Everyday life is everyday life.

But if you KNOW I'm coming over, and your house is a mess? Then I judge. Because if that is how you keep it when guests are over, then it must be a pig sty all the time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The smell.

+1 and pet hair/dirty floors. And clutter.

Probably these. My house is clean. But it's cluttered like crazy, and I hate that for my own space. I have one friend who lives very dirty. She's got months of dust on the hardwood floors in the corners (not just the little corner, but about 18 inches out from them. She has those plastic milk crates full of junk piled high in the dining room. Stripped down wallpaper that left exposed drywall, that needs to be sanded and painted. For years. Dog hair everywhere. Piled high sink, which in itself wouldn't bug me so much if it was the last meal's dishes. Or even a day's worth. But this is more like a week's worth. Old dogfood congealed in the dog bowl. I saw jelly sitting on a newspaper under a chair once.

Anonymous wrote:The smell.

+1 and pet hair/dirty floors. And clutter.

Overflowing trashcan
Clutter on table, countertops etc.
Lots of unfolded laundry

The smell.

Clutter doesn't bother me. I notice tumbleweeds of pet hair (which don't bother me), dirty sinks and toilets, and kitchen counters. Also, if a glass or silverware is not clean. Other than pet hair, none of this happens at my friend's houses, though.

Pet hair all over, dirty bathrooms, more than a little clutter.

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!

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.

I think clutter is worse and more noticeable. Maybe a dirty sink and toilet in tech bathroom is noticeable.

I work on the clutter in my long room- mail piled up, stuff on the dining room table, kitchen island filled with clutter, etc

Not necessarily dirty but I notice if people use their dining room tables as storage for stuff. Right now we still have a mishmosh of holiday decorations and gifts on the table and it's really irking me. Not enough to do something about it, but I don't like it!

We all do our best to keep up with a clean house, I know, but it's funny how we have different dirt thresholds and different things that make us go ICK!

I'm trying to step up my cleaning/declutterig game. What are the top 1-3 "dirty" things you notice in someone else's house?
Dishes in sink? Dusty baseboards? Cluttered/gross fridge?

Lay it on me! I'm going to pick 5 or so things to tackle today and keep on my weekly/monthly maintenence list.

TIA!