How To Clean The Whole House In 5 Minutes

You get a call from a friend saying their will pop over in 15 minutes for a surprise visit.

Try not to panic (if possible)!!!

You look around and wonder how to get the mess clean in a matter of minutes.

Some tips to help you are to start at the beginning and do as much as you have time for until your guests arrive.

Are there funny smells in your house?

Spray your favorite air freshener to remove any unpleasant odors. Pay special attention to the trash areas. Turn up the air conditioner, a fan, or open the windows to get stale air moving.

Fill a basket

Grab a laundry basket or a box and begin gathering up items. Don’t worry about putting them away. Just stow the basket or the sack out of sight until after the guests leave. I usually stash the basket in my bedroom!

Look presentable

How do you look for your guests? I’m sure your guests will be far more focused on speaking and looking at you rather than your house. If necessary, I will change my outfit, run a brush through my hair and put on some yummy perfume!

Where will you be entertaining your guest?

Focus on the area you will be having your drinks and chatting, this is where needs the most attention. Now that the clutter is gone, just ensure the room looks up to scratch and smells nice. I have a habit of working efficiently by moving from one end to another (instead of running in circles!). If you can time, you could also sweep the floor or run the vacuum over the entry or hallways.

Bathroom

I love baby wipes! They are so effective in that all-purpose cleaning of surfaces and even picking up hair and dirt from the bathroom floor. Remove any clutter from the tabletop and take a quick look in the trash to ensure nothing too embarrassing! (probably best to just change the trash. Make sure the hand towel is nice and dry or you could just replace a fresh one for your guests.

Entryway

The first thing that your guests will see is your entryway. Remove any clutter and do a quick vacuum.

Get to those dirty dishes

If you have a few spare minutes, load those dishes into the dishwasher, this clears up space in your kitchen to make tea cup of tea later on for your guests. Wipe down bench top.

Other quick tidies

If you’ve finished all this and your guests still haven’t arrived, just keep picking up items lying around and keep wiping down those surfaces!

Hot Tips:

Disposable cleaning wipes or babywipes make a good quick helper.
Be grateful that you have lovely guests who want your company, don’t worry too much about them inspecting your home and its cleanliness.
Get kids to help you as much as possible.

Originally posted 2013-10-30 08:39:02.