Well at least that has made me tidy up!

What galvanises you into action? When the sun shining through the window makes everything look furry

Having family to stay would make me clean and tidy the house until it looked like a show home that nobody lived in.

What I liked most is when they cancelled at the last minute, then I got to appreciate it without them being here to mess it up within a day.

That doesn't happen now as I moved to a one-bedroomed cottage, so like toscalily it is when the sun shines through highlighting the dust or I wear my reading glasses upstairs.

I think I would need a rocket where the sun doesn’t shine to galvanise me into action

Oh gawd Maw
Nothing, absolutely nothing!
I am resolutely ungalvanisable, I’m afraid

Keeper1

I think I would need a rocket where the sun doesn’t shine to galvanise me into action

Ah Keeper! A kindred soul! ?

Visitors always galvanise me. I just keep my fingers crossed that I don’t get unexpected ones!

I aim for organised rather than tidy. We don't really do tidy – too busy doing interesting stuff. What needs to be actually clean is clean. The rest can go hang. DD2 calls my method organised chaos. She's wrong ?. Nothing chaotic about it.

Well the cleaner obviously, I’m exhausted when I get to work on cleaner days.

I consider myself to be reasonably clean and tidy, but when she’s been she always sends me a long email listing everything she’s had to do, and why it was so necessary.

She makes me feel filthy!

You've just about summed me up there Baggs.
One day my children came home from school to find me giving my kitchen a good deep clean. This was usually finished by the time they got home. They asked "who's coming."
My house is tidy and fairly dust free most of the time.

I'm a neat freak as I have said here before. I cannot rest if there is a job to be done and there is always a job to be done!

My mother had the same “daily” for over 25 years. For the first half hour after her arrival they would sit down and chat. Then they split up and got about their business, She was an excellent cleaner and the house was immaculate.

I am the same as Maw- I clean up before my weekly cleaner and before visitors and only the rooms they are likely to visit.

I do not like unexpected visitors.

We tidy and clean daily, dogs are messy. The weekly cleaner does the things nobody wants to do, in our already tidy home.

Silly, really. Should stop the cleaner

I’d love to have a cleaner as I loathe housework more with every passing year, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask someone else to do what I don’t like doing, even for money. Obviously it would be different if I were disabled. I have always felt this way, doubtless because Mum didn’t have a cleaner. I know it provides someone else with money, but …

I am well and fit for my age (8th decade) and regard cleaning as essential exercise, every bit of going up and down stairs, carrying things, bending and stretching is important to my health. I do empathise with those who need/want a cleaner, I had a cleaner at times when I was working. Out of four different cleaners, only one was very good so I decided to just bite the bullet

I cannot look at cleaning as loathesome, I flip it around as important, however I do save much of it for bad weather days

Dust rats in the hall and under the sofa. They galvanise me……sometimes

I haven't stopped cleaning since my cataract op 3 weeks ago. Am shocked at what I haven't seen before!

Nothing galvanises me, although I try to leave the place tidy when my cleaner visits, roughly fortnightly. Usually, I’m out so she can get on without stopping to gossip!

If visitors are due, I clean the bathroom and close doors on any messy areas!

Elspeth45

I haven't stopped cleaning since my cataract op 3 weeks ago. Am shocked at what I haven't seen before!

Oh, I experienced that last year!! The place suddenly looked shocking!

The furniture in my lounge is Old Charm - so when I can write my name in the dust, I take a cloth to it. Likewise, when the odd dust bunny turns into a dust badger.
I had a cleaner many years ago and would remind my girls that she was a cleaner, not a tidy upper and she wouldn’t ‘Hoover’ the carpet in their rooms, if she couldn’t see it!

I guess having people to stay would galvanize me, I thought my cousin was coming to stay this month, so I bestirred myself and cleaned the guest suite and the living room and hallway only to find she wasn't coming after all..... have to say it took me a week to get over the cleaning.

I did have a really good clean everywhere after I had both my cataracts done last year. Seeing how grubby things were was quite a shock...hahaha. Now I would rather sit and read or so than tidy and clean. Just me and my cats here and nobody visits. If someone was going to visit I would make an effort...

So many people who visit for the first time, try to take their shoes off. I beg them not to, 'we have dogs and aren't precious, please don't ' we have never been, never will be tidy freaks. I try to keep my OH's hoarding to a minimum, but stuff is so put away I can't find it. Presently looking for scarlet curtains for a patio window for FinL...one day they'll appear?!

When the Dd's were little and I didn't work my MIL visiting would motivate me ,out would come the Red cardinal for the steps. My neighbour used to ask if it was Kit inspection, it nearly was when she ran her hands along the top of the doors.
These days I try to tidy and dust once a week but would do a thorough clean if someone was visiting. The house is quite neat and tidy I'm not adding cobwebs to that or DH room he uses as a study that would take at least three days to tidy and then only if it was going to be used as a bedroom.