If I have unexpected company come to my door

[jewellsmommy]

I welcome them in, and I'm usually a little embarrassed by the mess but not devastated. I just apologize for the mess, scoop the toys out of the walkway with my foot, clear off the couch, and straighten the books and papers on the coffee table while we talk. Sometimes my house is actually clean, but not if it's been a nice productive school day. ;)

 

 

Yea, that about sums it up.:D

[Lisbeth]

Seeing how most of our unexpected company is dh's side of the family I have to let them in. :rolleyes:

The other ones that usually show up are friends we have had for a long time. In fact they have showed up in their pj pants several times. :lol:

Sometimes the shape of the house bothers me, sometimes I just don't care.

 

Most of our unexpected company is dh's family too. I had to train them not to, by not welcoming such visits. They now call first. I think it is exceptionally rude to just show up, family or not.

[Rebecca VA]

I'm so thrilled when I get company that I wouldn't dream of treating them like anything less than royalty. I might be cringing inside if a floor's unvacuumed or something, but I'll keep that a secret and smile twice as brightly at my guest.

[KungFuPanda]

I'm a go-with-the-flow girl, so I'm usually delightfully surprised when people pop in. Anyone who stops here will be asked to choose from an overwhelming variety of teas and will have a plate of snacks set before them. I (mostly) like people :001_smile:

 

My house is generally OK (downstairs) because I teach here 3 days a week. I will excuse myself to the bathroom and quickly spruce it up with wipes under the guise of powdering my nose. :D

 

I did grow up in WV, so maybe it was the home training that prepared me for unexpected guests?

 

 

 

When I lived in WV my family, the in laws, a neighbor, and my best friend would always just pop in. Most of the time they all would knock as they were opening the door to let themselves in. I never thought much about it because that's the same way it was as I was growing up. They each have seen my house clean enough times that if they walked in to a pile of laundry and a messy kitchen once in a while I didn't care.

[QuirkyKapers]

If it's a friend, invite in even if a mess. If not, pretend I am not home.

[SpecialClassical]

It depends on who it is. It also depends on how I am dressed. Due to family circumstances I have to workout mid-morning and I won't answer the door until after my shower. Luckily we live in the country and our neighbors are not the kind to stop by very often.

[MamaT]

My house is usually pretty picked up because my kids are older, but even when they were little and things were usually messy, I would invite them in. I figure they know we actually live there, and sometimes things get messy. No big deal!

[Denise in IN]

Welcome them in. We have six people living in our house, and it looks like it! I might apologize for our "lived in" look, but I will assume that they're interested in seeing our family and not our house. Our home is not dirty and nasty, but it's not a showcase, either. It's just where we live.

 

As for getting unexpected visitors in general, I'm not really happy to have huge portions of the day interrupted. A short unexpected visit is usually no problem, and that's more often what happens here.

[Mommyof4ks]

I'd be very happy. I love having company, and my house is always reasonably in shape and never an embarrassment. And I have no problem making up a simple meal on the spot from whatever I have at hand.

 

:iagree: We do not mind drop ins. Our house is never spotless, but it is never an embarrassment either.

[Heidi]

Unexpected company is always welcome to come in, even when the house is a disaster. I like to keep it real. Im not hiding anything.

[Dustybug]

I get severe anxiety when anyone comes over unexpected or not. I have a complex from when I was younger. My mom is a chain smoker and she smoked indoors. Our house always reeked of cigarette smoke and we always lived in tiny spaces where even when it was clean, still looked cluttered. I rarely invited anyone over.

 

We live in a teeny tiny house that isn't in bad shape, but is old and could REALLY use a paint job on the exterior, but we rent, and the landlords don't want to paint right now. I know I shouldn't worry about it, but from conversations I have had when people comment in on certain things in a disdain filled voice when speaking of their own big brand new houses, it makes me feel like I'm being judged the entire time someone is in my house.

 

I don't really have close friends, but the few people that I do spend time with never drop by unexpectedly. They all live 35 minutes to an hour away anyhow(we live in the country).

 

No one else stops by on whim except my MIL or my SILs, and that is rare.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Dustybug

[Melissa in Australia]

I have a long driveway, I have at least 1 minute to chuck stuff into bedrooms and close doors.

[Ellie]

Don't hate me when I tell you that my house is always presentable to guests. :D

[Gingerbread Mama]

Open the door, say hello, ask how they are doing, and then tell them it's not a good time for visiting.

 

I don't do well with unexpected anything (especially if it involves company). I actually think it's quite rude unless I know the person very well (like my dad).

 

:iagree: whether or not my house is clean, I don't really like drop ins.

[Shamzanne]

"If I have unexpected company come to my door I.....welcome them in, because I assume my house is clean enough, but then I see it with their eyes and try to convince myself that I don't care if they see how I really live, but deep down inside there is a sense of not-quite-devastation that they are seeing how I really live, so I promptly start throwing piles of things in to nearby closets or non-public rooms, pretending they just caught me in the middle of diligently doing legitimate tasks involving those piles."

 

this is me exactly... except now I live in a communal household so I help keep the rest of the house in fair shape, and this is how I feel when someone comes to my room:001_smile:

[Mama2Many4]

I'm really picky when it comes to my home. I clean throughout the day, so it's never really messy at all. Except for my boys room. But that easily blamed on them. ;)