Squeeky clean

I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on.
~Roseanne Barr

I've always associated the dread of cleaning the house with the excitement of guests. Back in the days when my sister and I both lived at home, it seems like we always engaged in a giant scramble to clean the entire house when someone was coming to visit, whether it was a simple day trip or an extended stay. I'll admit, we pretty much slacked on our cleaning responsibilities (sorry, Mom) until that pivotal "now or never" moment. Things would stay clean just long enough for the company to enjoy our tidy home, then we were back to our old ways of swimming through the piles of toys, dirty clothes and lord knows what else. I'm in no way proud of my sloppy ways, and I definitely regret putting my mom through all that stress.

Now that JC and I have a place of our own, we've started adjusting to cleaning up after ourselves on a regular basis. We have divided some of the daily chores and try to keep things looking decent. For me, this is much easier now...not because I'm older and more responsible, but we often have friends drop by unexpectedly. I don't have time to engage in my traditional "scrambled cleaning" like I used to, simply because I never know when someone might pop in. I'm definitely appreciative of this lifestyle, giving me proper motivation to put my shoes away each day instead of piling them up in the living room or putting dishes into the dishwasher instead of lining them along the counters. Granted, I wish I was more prone to cleanliness by nature, but I suppose whatever works!

I still enjoy the preparations for planned guests (much like the one arriving tomorrow...). Now, instead of a complete overhaul, there is simple tidying and deep cleaning that takes place. This is definitely less stressful than a top-to-bottom cleaning, and it still helps me connect with that childhood excitement of visitors.