How to Quick Clean Your Home

How to Make Your Home Look Clean Fast

Have you ever received this phone call?  “I’m on my way….surprise!”  Um, yep, I am surprised. And excited. And I’m looking around my house thinking you might be surprised at how messy it is. Sadly, we don’t always keep our home “guest ready.”  However, I’m  always excited to have guests and there are certainly ways to quick clean.  Here are the tips I use to quick clean my home to impress my guests.  Well, really, I doubt that they’re impressed but at least I won’t be embarrassed.

Focus

I focus only areas that we’re likely to be in – kitchen, living area, and second bathroom. I’m not worried about any other spaces because why would they want to check out my bathroom or closet?  It’s perfectly acceptable to close the doors on certain rooms, especially kids rooms (because that’s never a quick clean).

Tools for a Quick Clean

A laundry basket

A large laundry basket or tote bag is perfect for me to make a quick pass through the house and pick up lots of loose ends. This usually consists of folded laundry, mail, change, and coupons and lists. I will just move these things out of sight for now.  I usually hide them in my closet but the key is to deal with them immediately after the company leaves.  That’s the trick, otherwise I wind up with multiple baskets full of loose ends and no baskets for laundry.

A feather duster

I like to do a quick dust and I prefer a  feather duster. On a real cleaning day we use glass cleaner and furniture polish but for a quick clean nothing beats a feather duster.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but in our house dog hair is a constant, so it’s quick way to clear it out of sight.

Vacuum if there’s time

If I have an extra few minutes I will run the vacuum.  It can be run over bare floors and rugs and it’s quick.  I have to remind myself that we’re focusing on a quick clean, so making it appear clean is the goal, not necessarily getting into all the corners and under the furniture.

Cleaning by Room

I start with lighting a candle, or multiple candles. I generally like to have one in the family room (the main area of our house) and another in the guest bath.  The quickest way to make your home smell fresh is to get a good scent going.

Kitchen

In the kitchen I start by putting all those dishes in the dishwasher. Except when the dishwasher is already full of clean dishes.  This never happens to you right?  Your dishwasher is full of clean dishes? I will pile my dirty dishes on a cookie sheet or in a dish tub and put them in the oven. I won’t be baking while I’ve got guests.

Wipe down the counters and put out fresh towels.

Bathroom

In the bathroom I do a quick wipe down of the counter, faucet and toilet seat. Things that are on the counter get dropped into drawers or stashed in the cabinet.  I double check to be sure the toilet paper is full, pull the shower curtain closed and skip cleaning the mirror (unless it really needs it).  I always put out a fresh hand towel and empty the trash if it needs it.

Family Room

I’ve already run through with the laundry basket (to pick up loose ends) and the feather duster. Now I straighten the pillows and items on the coffee table and side tables.  I refold all the blankets and poof!  It magically looks better.

The Quick List

Focus

Stash

Straighten

And remember

Your guests are here to see you, not necessarily your home. They will remember if you were tense or relaxed so shake out those shoulders and put on a smile. Breath in that welcome scent and enjoy your company!