I think you should be able to find the floor. I think vermin should not be encouraged. When there are big pieces of dirt, they should be removed.  That’s is, for the most part, my requirements about house cleaning.

This translates into dishes in the dishwasher as soon as possible (cooked on food soaking for no longer than one night’s sleep) and clothes going in the hamper as soon as they are taken off.  Old wrappers, tags from new clothes, empty cartons and boxes go into the trash or recycling bin immediately.  This keeps things, for the most part, picked up, making actual cleaning easier when the time finally comes.

My mother is a fan of what I refer to as “cleaning invisible dirt.”  She wants the bathroom cleaned every week.  I am fine with waiting until I see soap scum or whiskers in the sink.  Or when company is coming.  I dust when I see dust, too.  Not on a schedule.

When I was young, I put more effort into living up to my mother’s standards.  But, I was doing laundry at a friends house one day and struggling to fold a fitted sheet.  And bitching because it was something I have never been able to do with any ease.  And he asked me if folding a fitted sheet was something it was important for me to be good at.  Was that a thing I wanted to be known for when I was old?

Wow!  That was surprisingly freeing.

So, cleaning can wait a while.  But, because I don’t want to live in filth, it does eventually come.  And I do have standards of how much is too much.  Fortunately, my husband and I have a similar level of tolerance.  Sadly, my son does not.  I suspect my mother sees my house in the same light as I see my son’s room.