"motivated moms" when company comes?

[wholewheatchick]

My MIL and FIL are coming to visit for a few days. Like, 5. Which is great: we get along really well, and it has been a long time since we saw them last.

My question to you is: how much do you keep up with the chore lists when company comes to visit? Just do the usual daily chores, or do you do the extra tasks, too? Just pick which ones you want to do that day? Throw it all out the window?

[SaoirseC]

it depends on what would make the company feel comfortable. My FIL and MIL are people who do not sit still, so I generally do all my chores and then some. They feel uncomfortable with leisure, so I try to make sure there is little for me, and invite them in on the work. My mother is really about leisure, so we watch tv sometimes (back when we had a TV), go out to eat, hang out on the patio, etc. and I would do the bare minimum chores. What would you feel most comfortable doing while they're around?

[accountclosed3]

i haven't been in this situation before, and i've only ever had company for 3-4 days straight, so ti's never been an issue. i just do the heavy chores before/after they come. it usually fits in with my weekend--i typically don't do chores on Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon. so, it works out no problem.

but, if a person was staying more than that time, i would keep to the rhythm and do my chores accordingly. my "heavy" chores take under half an hour, so it's never really an issue. and, i can do it--usually--while most people are cleaning up.

so, i would do breakfast, do the breakfast dishes, then do my chore, as per usual.

[clutterwarrior]

Well it depends on who the visitors are...if it is my own visitor, like my mother staying, I would just do the very basic daily chores but no major tasks.

When she last stayed, she loved to sit on the couch and watch TV, like a PP's mum...so I wouldn't want to rush around her lifting up cushions and vacuuming lol... Actually I find it hard to be in my normal routine with guests in the house, I am inclined to vegetate a bit....so much so that my mother got the impression that I don't do enough housework! However as soon as she left I was running around doing things again of course.

We are having a friend of my teenage daughter stay in January, a teenager who is coming out from the States to stay with us for two weeks. As she is not here to see ME specifically, I expect I will just keep cleaning as normally as possible, although I will have less time as we will be taking her out to see all the Sydney sights while she is here.

[wholewheatchick]

Thanks those are some really good ways of looking at it! I guess I'll have to play it by ear... I do know which chores are really important to me to get done everyday, and which ones I don't care quite as much about, so I'll just try to balance my need for a clean house with their need for time with me and DH

[Ygle]

I don't do motivated moms, however whenever I have guests over I always look over whatever things I would be doing during that time and get them all done before the guests arrive and try to do more as well... like I will make double batches of food the week before so I can freeze the extra and have emergency quick meals on hand, I pay all the bills in advance, I make sure there is no dirty laundry even if it means running less than a full load, etc... I like having the option not to have to do anything as well as not feeling like I have so much catching up to do after the guests are gone. Often I still find time to do daily chores even though I don't need to, so that by the time the guests have left I almost end up with a sort of mini vacation from chores since I got so far ahead which is nice to have since I always feel a bit melancholic after everyone is gone and since I'm more a loner I can always use the veg time to destress from too much social stimulation if need be. I had been doing this for years before I realized this was a great plan of action whenever somebody got sick as well... now if I hear a sniffle or feel the slightest bit off I ramp up and pretend guests are coming and get all those chores and then some done so that when the sickness hits I don't end up just coming out of the flu coma to discover a disaster zone almost enough to send me right back into it (it used to take me a month or more before the house was fully recovered after an illness before I started doing that, I kid not, ack!)