How Clean is Clean Enough?

How clean is "clean enough"?

I realize this question is loaded and the answers are very individual, so for a moment, think about yourself and your home and consider, for you, how clean is "clean enough"? What is the difference between a "quick clean", a "daily clean" and a "deep clean"? At what point do you consider your home "clean enough"?

Does "clean enough" mean having a clear path from the front door to the other rooms in the house? Is it having the clutter picked up and the floors vacuumed? Must it be dusted every week, every month, or at all? Is it a quick swipe on the surface to remove the dust or crumbs? Is it a scrub with disinfectant? Is it clearing tables and desks, or delving into cupboards and drawers, purging and organizing? 
 

Does it depend on the day of the week? Is "clean enough" on a weekday the same as "clean enough" on a weekend? If not, is it more clean, or less?

Is there a difference between "clean enough" when there's just you or your family at home, versus when company is expected? Is "clean enough" different depending on who the company is - whether it is a sister, a friend, a stranger, a mother-in-law, a boss, etc.? Does it depend on whether the visitor is staying for 10 minutes, an hour, overnight, or for a week? 

Do you worry what others will think of you if they move the toaster or open a drawer and discover a week or 10 years worth of neglect? 

How often (if ever) do you dust your ceiling fan or clean the baseboards? 

Do you wash your dining chairs as often as you wash the table? Do you wash them on a regular basis, as needed, or at all?

Do you make your bed and/or change your sheets on a regular basis? 

How closely does the floor of your car resemble the bottom of your purse/backpack? Is one cleaner than the other? (If so, why is that?)

Is there as much laundry in your drawers as there is on your floor, or in the laundry hamper, washer or dryer? Do you wash laundry on a regular basis or just when you run out of other options?

Does "clean enough" depend on who you feel is responsible for doing the cleaning - whether it is you or a spouse, a child or a parent?

Right now, at this moment as you read this, do you feel like your home is "clean enough"?

When you consider whether or not your home is "clean enough" do you factor in available resources such as time, energy, or the means to hire a cleaning service?

What does "enough" mean to you in this context? Enough for what? Health? Peace of mind? Something else?

__________________________

Today's "BeReal" post

I spent over an hour this morning cleaning my kitchen - and by cleaning, I mean cleaning the sink, wiping down the backsplash and countertops, and sweeping and mopping the floor. For some of you, (especially if you know the size of my kitchen) you may be thinking, "I do that every day or after every meal! Why did it take you over an hour?" 

Let me just say, it needed it. There were cobwebs behind the toaster, stains on the counters, and grease hardened on the backsplash. And yet there is so much more that needs to be done. There is gunk around the edges of the floor and under the fridge and oven, dark stains from too many fingerprints on the cupboard doors, spills on the cupboard and refrigerator shelves, a splash of who knows what on the ceiling... but I ran out of energy. The only reason I did as much as I did today is because I had the day off work. 

And now it is lunch time, and later there will be dinner, and dishes will be piled in the sink, food will be spilled, the counters will be dirtied, the floor will be stepped on. By the end of the day, how much of my hard work will still be visible?

And so I ponder the question, it it "clean enough"? Is it clean enough that we aren't likely to get sick or hurt? I believe so. 

Is it clean enough for my peace of mind? For just the family? Yes. For company? Are they likely to see the kitch-- You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm not expecting anyone today. And honestly, for me, as long as the counters and floor are clean, it is clean enough for casual visitors. 

Is it as clean as I could get it with the resources I had available? Yes, it is. And so it is "clean enough."