I grew up in a hoarder house, it was always a disaster. I am now 28 and married, living in a small home with my wife. We both like to collect things but we generally keep it clean and tidy and have no problem getting rid of things as needed. 

Recently I’ve been having health issues and my wife started graduate school, so our household upkeep has fallen behind. We’re at a point where the house needs a deep clean and we just don’t have the time/health that it would take to do it ourselves. So we hired a cleaning company. 

My wife grew up in a wealthy family with a very clean and well-organized home. They’ve visited my parents plenty of times and completely understand the way I grew up and how it impacted me, but I just will never be able to fully feel like they get it, you know?

The cleaners are arriving in under 2 hours and I’m panicking so much. The house isn’t that bad I don’t think, and we’re not even having them touch the bedrooms. We have a lot of things on shelves and whatnot but the furniture is accessible and floors are cleared, there’s no garbage laying around or anything, it’s just cluttered and dusty…. but what if the cleaners don’t see it that way? What if my perception is too skewed, that I can’t even see a problem despite there being one? 

I have been dreading this all week. I know I should feel relieved that someone is coming to get the house back to a good baseline for upkeep, and that’s the point. But my mind is convincing me that they’re going to tell me it’s too messy and they can’t do anything about it and then I’d have to tell my wife that I failed when they get home (they’re at work, I’m WFH). 

Pics of our home for context - feel free to roast me or reassure me, whichever you see fit. 

Hiring cleaners is scary