There’s nothing I like more than a tidy house, especially when I’m expecting visitors because no matter how much they might say that they’re visiting me and not my house, I still like it to be looking it’s best.
The problem is that I have a husband, two (messy) teenagers and two dogs so it’s not unusual to come home from work at the end of the day to find the house looking as though we’ve been burgled! 😉
I have plenty of ways that I keep on top of the housework including making sure that the kids have their own jobs to do on a daily and weekly basis and having a regular super fast house clean but they don’t help me when I get a phone call from a friend who’s going to be passing by my house in the next twenty minutes and wants to pop in for a cuppa. You can all but guarantee that on the day this happens, the kids will have forgotten to do their daily jobs and I’ll have been at work all day so the house is not looking it’s best with pots in the sink, dog toys all over the floor and trails of paper, books and other crap that the kids have left in their wake!
So, here’s what I do if I only have 15 minutes to make my house look as lovely as I can…
- Light a lovely smelling candle first so that by the time your guests arrive the house is smelling lovely.
- Grab some carrier bags and quickly go around each room downstairs putting everyone’s things that are laid about into separate bags. Then take it upstairs and put the bag on the owner’s bed for them to deal with.
- If you have piles of shoes by the front door then whack them in a bag too and take that upstairs to your bedroom. They can come back out when your visitors have left – or you could drop them off in their owner’s bedrooms rather than putting them back downstairs.
- Fluff your sofa cushions – it takes 10 seconds and makes a big difference!
- If you don’t have time to wash the pots and you don’t have a dishwasher, put them all in the washing up bowl and hide it way in the oven. Just make sure you cover the oven front with oven gloves and a tea towel so they can’t be seen through the oven door.
- Throw your dirty tea towel in the washing machine and replace it with a fresh, clean one.
- Make sure the sink is clean and there are fresh towels and nice soap in the bathroom that your visitors will use.
- Grab a cloth and quickly wipe the TV and any surfaces in the rooms your visitors will see.
- Make sure your blinds are open in such a way that you don’t see any dirty windows.
- Hoover downstairs.
Ultimately though, your visitors are coming to see you so they’re unlikely to be bothered about what your house looks like but if you’re like me and still want your house to look at it’s best then hopefully these tips will help you!
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