How Many Types of Towels does Monical Geller Have???

And the answer is....11 types of towels!  Three of the 11 types were everyday, guest and fancy guest.  This was one of the questions in the trivia game that ended with Monica and Rachel losing their apartment to Chandler and Joey.  Why this Friends Trivia in today's blog post?  Because every time I clean my house for a guest, I think of Monica's crazy obsession with cleaning and her 11 types of towels :)

I am no Monica Geller when it comes to cleaning but I do like to keep a neat house.  I become really obsessed about this when a guest is coming over, especially a guest that I do not know very well.  Over the last few months as I have prepped the house for various play dates and the holidays, I realized that I have 3 levels of cleaning that I do.  I thought I would share them with you today.


Level 1--They'll Love Me Anyway

This level requires minimal to no cleaning.  These guests are so close to me that I do not mind if they catch me with a sink filled with dishes or a basket of laundry on the couch. When it comes to this group, if I do not have time or energy to clean....I don't!

 Level 2--Time to Tidy Up for Our Guests
 (This Level requires two tiers)

Tier A--This tier is for folks who I am pretty comfortable around and in order to be in this tier they must have been to my house before.  For these people I will vacuum, make sure all clutter is put away, spot clean the downstairs bathroom and make sure the house smells inviting :)

Tier B--This tier is for people who have never been to my house before, friends who have house cleaners that they pay to clean their houses and our friend Joe who runs a housecleaning business.  For this tier, I do everything mentioned above but I will do some light dusting, clean the upstairs bathroom, the kids rooms, bake a yummy goody and make sure that everything looks nice and cozy. 

Level 3--Entertain Yourselves Kids....Mommy's Got to Clean!!!

Here I truly want to impress.  This is the level where I lay down some new flooring and paint the walls ;)  In reality I do all of the things I do in Level 2, Tier B but I go a step further and really deep clean.  I scrub the kitchen floor, dust every surface, clean the microwave (inside/out), clean the outside of all appliances, clean the inside of the fridge and make sure which ever entry way they are coming in is spotless (may include weeding/mowing front yard).  This level usually takes a week for me to complete.  It is not often that I enter this level of cleaning but when it does come around, you can bet my kids have forgotten what I look like by the time the guest arrives ;)

Here is the link to that trivia scene in Friends....it wouldn't let me embed it in for you.