When guests unexpectedly announce they’re dropping by and you only have so much time to get your home ready to host, you don’t have time for a full-on deep clean. Now is not the time to get on your hands and knees scrubbing the darkest corner of your garage. Now is the time for quick actions! Check out the quickest ways to make your home look cleaner—without actually deep cleaning.
Focus on the Main Areas
Chances are, your guests won’t open your closet doors, inspect your attic, or rummage through the home office, so don’t waste your valuable time in these areas. Focus on the areas you anticipate guests will spend the most time in, such as the living area, kitchen, and bathroom. Here are the main things to handle in each area.
Living Area
If you have pets, then you know the constant struggle of keeping seating options fur-free. Ridding a couch or chair of pet hair is a daunting and time-consuming task if you—like most of us—have neglected it for some time. Instead of wasting your time and energy vacuuming and cleaning your couch, throw a slipcover on it. There are tons of benefits of using slipcovers; hiding dingy or dirty furniture is just one of them.
In living areas, clutter also tends to build up over time. Quickly make clutter disappear by stacking and storing it until the guests leave. Stacks appear more organized than scattered items. To take it one step further, put your stacks in baskets and store them out of sight.
Kitchen
Quickly wipe down essential tell-tale signs of a dirty home: refrigerator handles, microwave handle, countertops, and frequently used cabinet door handles. These are all quick wipe downs that can take your kitchen from looking like a pigsty to looking like a lived-in, yet generally clean, kitchen.
To swiftly transform your kitchen is through the installation of Hubbell Pop-Up Outlets. These innovative outlets can be hidden when not in use, preventing visual clutter and contributing to a cleaner look.
Another way to quickly make your kitchen look clean is by getting rid of dirty dishes. Obviously, the ideal way to handle these is to wash them and put them away. However, if you don’t quite have the time before your guests arrive, simply stack them neatly and hide them in the oven until guests leave.
Bonus Tip: Leave yourself a reminder on your phone to take the dishes out and wash them when the guests leave; dishes are easy to forget about when they’re out of sight.
Bathroom
Quickly wipe down the bathroom counters, mirror, and toilet. If your rug is dirty and its reverse side is appealing, flip it over. Replacing the towels is a key way to make a bathroom appear cleaner. Don’t display your shower towels that haven’t been washed in three weeks. Throw those in the hamper (it’s about time, anyway) and put out fresh, clean ones. Don’t forget to replace the hand towel with a clean one, too.
Bonus Tip: Light a candle or set out an oil diffuser to make your home smell good. People will perceive a good smelling home to be a clean one—even if it’s not.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
