A Clean House?

I've come to the realization that I clean the rooms in my house in order of the likelihood that they will be seen by other people.

The first areas of the house that are cleaned and tidied are the front porch and living room. These are cleaned and organized several times a day and vacuumed probably every other day. The reason they are first on the list is obvious: these are the first spaces company will see/occupy in our house. Even a door-to-door salesman doesn't even have to step foot in my house to see my front entrance and, depending on how far I open the front door, may even be able to see into the living room. If we have any sort of visitor in the house the main floor is usually where all the action happens, most of it in the living room. Then, sometimes, I have company who come to visit and keep to the couches of the living room, where we chat and watch the kids play. So, the living room is most seen/used therefore it is cleaned the most.

Like I mentioned above, the main floor gets all the action, so the kitchen/dining room are the runners up on the to-do list. Firstly, because both rooms can be seen from the living room and therefore by casual visitors. Secondly, because we have guests who are meant to end up in those spaces (especially if they are over for a meal). Thirdly, because we don't have curtains on either of the windows on that side of the house and our kitchen/dining room can easily be seen by neighbors in our complex. I know. I'm crazy.

The next room is obvious: the downstairs bathroom. When said guests need to wash their hands or use the loo, this is the room of choice.

The next room on the list is Gwen's room, followed closely by Lily's. If we have guests with children, the children will inevitably make their way upstairs to play with the toys in Gwen's room. Sooner or later, a heavy thud will be heard, followed by crying, and us parents will end up in Gwen's room to survey the damage. The guest has now made it upstairs and may want to look around; Lily's room is then seen out of curiosity.

The other two rooms upstairs are the main bathroom and master bedroom. Because these rooms are next to last on my cleaning list, they are not very clean on the average weekday. Thus, when company is over, I try to make sure that these room doors are shut (just in case a guest happens to make it upstairs). If they need a bathroom, they can use the one downstairs. And I don't know very many people who likes to peek into another couples bedroom, it's like an unwritten rule (unless you're family and then there are no boundaries).

The very last room on the cleaning list is the basement. Virtually no one goes downstairs; we rarely do. It is a place for laundry and storage, and is rarely clean and organized.

So that's it. My secret is revealed. However, I hope that if and when you come over to visit you will have forgotten this post and will imagine that the entire house is as clean as the living room.

Sometimes I try to do that.