Relatives and their kids spoiling/dirtying your home when they visit.

shrutimanjunath · Aug 31, 2013

Hi,

My hubby and me like our home to be very neat and tidy and also we have purchased a flat nd want to make a very good interior and place handicrafts and make it very beautful. We both worked and have lot of friends visiting us. So we want our homes with very good looks. We place everything very neat and see that once after office,we return home, the house looks very relaxing and calming.

We were earlier stayng in a rented flat. What i observed was, our relatives and their kids used our towels inspite of having their own towels and, dirtied our costly bed sheets , touched some of our show pieces and changed the entire look of the house by dragging chairs here n there and also dirtying the remote with oily hands. The ladies spoiled some of the kitchen utensils by over heating them and that caused stains. uff!! we cant watch them everytime and tell them even for minor things. as we both worked.Some of our costly bottles were missing, they took it home without asking!!

I felt this yuck!!!.

How to manage such situations , we get costly stuff and cant see it dirtying by relatives and their kids. I was thinking to hide the costly stuff like handicraft pillows and chairs until they leave. use old cheap bedsheets for their visit. So that we dont feel bad for their rough usage.

All of our relatives-inlaws r from village, so we cant mention the same to everyone to keep things clean and not touch in showcase.

Did anyone face this? do u have any solution for this? please share.

ragavss77 · Aug 31, 2013

well you have to bear this with a smile. Clean up after they are gone. Its simple.

shrutimanjunath · Aug 31, 2013

They even pluck some mirrors from the handicrafts. thats difficult to manage. If they spoil the costly kitchen utensils, its so difficult to replace one.

ragavss77 said: ↑

well you have to bear this with a smile. Clean up after they are gone. Its simple.
Click to expand...

Subhaganesh · Aug 31, 2013

After all it's a house, not museum. People are more important than money. Solution for your problem is, stay away from people. Don't you have kids to make house messy?

shrutimanjunath · Aug 31, 2013

Hi Subha,
I dont have kids yet. We gets friends kids at home but they r disciplined and they generally have 1-2 hours of visit.
I agree people are important . My maternal relatives maintain it so well. Even the kids dont do most of the things that i mentioned.

Subhaganesh said: ↑

After all it's a house, not museum. People are more important than money. Solution for your problem is, stay away from people. Don't you have kids to make house messy?
Click to expand...

bhuvnidhi · Sep 1, 2013

Dear, There are certain things which we should " not mind" when relatives are visiting.I understand the pain when costly things get messed up.Better keep all the costly things inside and use only not so expensive items.It is not worth spoiling relationship over these things.Yes,some of our relatives(my case) switch on with oily hand,use washing machine mindlessly ,AC will be switched on throughout the day etc..etc....We used to hint them subtly.Once they leave, we used to hire a help to clean up.Not worth spoiling relationship over petty things. Some of our relatives are really really good except that they are not exposed to certain things.So we overlook some stuffs when they visit.

I don' t know what what ti say about missing bottles.Thatz really bad.May be you should hide such stuffs when such people visit.I don't know whether we should encourage such guests to visit our house.

shrutimanjunath · Sep 1, 2013

Bhuvnidhi,
U understood my problem so very correctly..Thanks for ur suggestions. I am really scared in this case whether to stay in our own flat or give it for rent. Becoz I cant see them dirtying the walls and all!!

I thought We are the only one facing this , but as u mentioned u have also faced it. I will see to it that i hide these things once they visit us. Missing bottles is so bad!!! I cant even imagine.
Also I know that if kids r taught discipline and if parents keep them under control, they can be controlled in a early age. But these kids have no one to control. parents and kids behave the same way. Gosh!!

bhuvnidhi said: ↑

Dear, There are certain things which we should " not mind" when relatives are visiting.I understand the pain when costly things get messed up.Better keep all the costly things inside and use only not so expensive items.It is not worth spoiling relationship over these things.Yes,some of our relatives(my case) switch on with oily hand,use washing machine mindlessly ,AC will be switched on throughout the day etc..etc....We used to hint them subtly.Once they leave, we used to hire a help to clean up.Not worth spoiling relationship over petty things. Some of our relatives are really really good except that they are not exposed to certain things.So we overlook some stuffs when they visit.

I don' t know what what ti say about missing bottles.Thatz really bad.May be you should hide such stuffs when such people visit.I don't know whether we should encourage such guests to visit our house.
Click to expand...

yellowmango · Sep 1, 2013

Dear Shrutimanjunath,
You can't avoid the problem altogether but you can reduce it.

1)Get some dark colored easy to wash in the machine ,sheets and towels. You get good ones in dark colors like blues ,browns......use these.The guests will also feel free and so will you.

2) Get a cover for the remote that you can use when they visit.Similarly for sofas.

3)Put up some glass or wooden brackets on the wall and put the decorative items on them.You will have more floor space and the items will stay out of reach of kids.

4)If you are too worried about certain items...find a place where they can be quickly stored.Get a few cartons in which you can store them and put them away .

5)Get a set of regular utensils that your relatives are used to using. keep the nonstick stuff in higher cupboards and keep the regular utensils in clear view.

6)Next time you paint the house,use washable paint on doors and walls at least in areas that are used more often.

7)For the kids...keep some books and board games to keep them busy and out of trouble.

8) Make a check off list of things to do before their visits....

This way both you and your relatives can breath easy.... cheers!

As for the bottles...buy some cheaper plastic ones and fill them up and hand them over to them for the journey. You can also use old juice bottles as they are food grade and can be used for the journey.

shrutimanjunath · Sep 1, 2013

Thankooo Yellowmango for the clear ideas!!
Will follow this for their next visit.

yellowmango said: ↑

Dear Shrutimanjunath,
You can't avoid the problem altogether but you can reduce it.

1)Get some dark colored easy to wash in the machine ,sheets and towels. You get good ones in dark colors like blues ,browns......use these.The guests will also feel free and so will you.

2) Get a cover for the remote that you can use when they visit.Similarly for sofas.

3)Put up some glass or wooden brackets on the wall and put the decorative items on them.You will have more floor space and the items will stay out of reach of kids.

4)If you are too worried about certain items...find a place where they can be quickly stored.Get a few cartons in which you can store them and put them away .

5)Get a set of regular utensils that your relatives are used to using. keep the nonstick stuff in higher cupboards and keep the regular utensils in clear view.

This way both you and your relatives can breath easy.... cheers!
Click to expand...

tashidelek2002 · Sep 1, 2013

You might invest in some display cabinets with locks or have locks fitted on the ones you have. Folks can enjoy looking but hands will be kept off the items.

I agree that you should just put out the stainless steel cookware and utensils for your guests. I have the same problem with guests at my house also.... they sometimes are ignorant of proper care of specialty cookware.

Microfiber cloths are great cleaning tools that you can quickly wipe away all the handmarks on switchs, knobs, etc.