How Tidy Is Your Home at Interview Time?

[daycarediva]

Good idea! I'm off to buy cookie dough.

I put vanilla or orange extract in a coffee cup in the oven on the lowest setting.

I do not bake, and I'm lazy.

My house looks like it would at the end of every day.I spend a good 30m in my classroom and dc bathroom alone every evening. I am a neat freak, can't help it.

[Boymom]

Immaculate. But I have a small home so if it is cluttered in any way it looks like a junk pile. But, unfortunately, my bedroom suffers, the unlicensed part of my home, so sometimes before an interview, lots of things get stuffed in there!

Mine too! In fact, the whole back part of my house is a mess since I don't use it for the daycare. But the rest of my house is sparkling clean ha!

[Nurse Jackie]

I'm a neat freak so my house it spotless. I also try to schedule interviews on the weekends because after closing I'm tired even though I have the house clean by the time my last kid leaves the floors aren't freshly mopped or vacuumed. I personally have soapy water in my kitchen sink with a splash of bleach which gives a clean scent. I was told not to have my house too clean because it turns parents away but every interview I've given parents always comment on how clean my house is and sign on the spot.

[permanentvacation]

My home/daycare is pretty clean and tidy on a typical basis... except for my desk in the dining room. I used to pick up all of the piles of paper and junk off of my desk and hide it in my bedroom for interviews, but then all of the junk would be back on my desk, in plain sight from the daycare room, on the child's first day of daycare. So I stopped hiding it for the interviews and just tell people that is the way my desk will always look. No one seems to care.

[ColorfulSunburst]

do nothing special before an interview, but I do not allow children leave without cleaning up after themselves.

[KiddieCahoots]

Everything is the same at all times.
For parents...for licensing....for the business as I see fit.
Why would it be any other way?

[KristinsHomeCC]

I like my house to be nice, clean and tidy with some toys out. Then, during my interviews, my son loves to rip off his diaper, run around and climb every possible thing in my house he knows he isn't allowed to climb. I hate interviews ::::::::::

I am so surprised anyone has ever signed up with me! I probably seem crazy!

[NillaWafers]

I like my house to be nice, clean and tidy with some toys out. Then, during my interviews, my son loves to rip off his diaper, run around and climb every possible thing in my house he knows he isn't allowed to climb. I hate interviews ::::::::::

I am so surprised anyone has ever signed up with me! I probably seem crazy!

OMgosh. That's why I started doing tours when DH was home because if I'm by myself my eldest is NUTS. Last time I did a tour without DH home he ran around turning off all the lights in every room we went in. Then when I showed her the back he tried to run her over with his bike. This woman had a non mobile infant - she probably had visions of squished babies. No wonder I never heard back from her

My other son dropped a rock on a girls toe during another tour. They aren't that bad during normal daycare though!

[Baby Beluga]

I'm a bit OCD, so my house is always clean. Except during lunch. I'm a messy cook ::

I did an interview once where a mother said my backyard was too clean and organized. :confused:

[sharlan]

I was HORRIFIED at my last interview.

I had been in and out all day running errands and grocery shopping (Sam's and grocery). My dh was in charge. He is of the philosophy that as long as nobody is screaming and there is no blood, all is well. It doesn't matter if every single toy is out or all manipulatives are scattered all over.

There was not a single square inch of clean in my house. Every counter top was covered in groceries. Both sides of the sink was full of dishes. Every square inch of floor was covered in toys. Maybe the bathroom was fairly clean. Actually, the house was clean, just totally cluttered to the max. Needless to say, I was beyond ticked at my dh and couldn't wait for the kids to leave so I could tell him what I thought about the mess.

I had just come back from the grocery store and was trying to get snack going when the doorbell rang. A lady was standing there with a toddler in her arms. She had gone across the street and they referred her to me as they have closed down already.

I told her that I didn't have time to do an interview right then as my house was a mess. She asked please as she needed to start right away.

I guess she didn't mind the mess as she filled out the paperwork and paid me a full week for two days. We have a language barrier, but otherwise, they've been good.

Had it been me, I would have turned around and left. I couldn't imagine leaving my kids somewhere that looked as bad as my house did.

[sahm1225]

I was HORRIFIED at my last interview.

I had been in and out all day running errands and grocery shopping (Sam's and grocery). My dh was in charge. He is of the philosophy that as long as nobody is screaming and there is no blood, all is well. It doesn't matter if every single toy is out or all manipulatives are scattered all over.

There was not a single square inch of clean in my house. Every counter top was covered in groceries. Both sides of the sink was full of dishes. Every square inch of floor was covered in toys. Maybe the bathroom was fairly clean. Actually, the house was clean, just totally cluttered to the max. Needless to say, I was beyond ticked at my dh and couldn't wait for the kids to leave so I could tell him what I thought about the mess.

I had just come back from the grocery store and was trying to get snack going when the doorbell rang. A lady was standing there with a toddler in her arms. She had gone across the street and they referred her to me as they have closed down already.

I told her that I didn't have time to do an interview right then as my house was a mess. She asked please as she needed to start right away.

I guess she didn't mind the mess as she filled out the paperwork and paid me a full week for two days. We have a language barrier, but otherwise, they've been good.

Had it been me, I would have turned around and left. I couldn't imagine leaving my kids somewhere that looked as bad as my house did.

I would've signed up with you because your house was messy BUT it was clean. Groceries on the counter and toys around mean the kids are able to play. one of my dcm went on an interview at a home daycare and the house was immaculate. She asked the provider how does she keep it so clean when the kids are there and the provider tells her 'oh, I put the tv on and they can play with just ONE toy at a time'. She said she couldn't get out of there fart enough! The provider kept picking things up after the crawling toddler picked them up and put them away.

[sahm1225]

My daycare is the lower level of the home so separate from my living area. I don't do deep cleanings in preparation but I do make sure the place looks good. I do interviews at 5:30 (right when I close) and everything is for the most part cleaned and ready to go.

If it's an interview that I really want to sign up (like perfect hours and age), then I make sure we have something in the oven upstairs cooking for dinner.