Do you ever feel like the best cleaning motivation that you can get is someone calling or texting you and letting you know they’re heading over to your house?
In this post, I’m going to share with you some quick cleaning tips to get your house ready before your guests arrive.
2 TYPES OF GUESTS
I’m going to give you two scenarios because there are really two types of guests that would be coming over.
- There’s guests that are just going to hang out for dinner or for a few hours.
- There’s guests that actually going to stay over and spend the night or a few nights.
WHAT DO YOU CLEAN FOR GUESTS THAT ARE COMING TO HANG OUT
So for the first type of guest, the ones that are just coming to hang out at your house for a little while, there are certain things that I do to prepare my house so it’s not looking like a hot mess (most of the time 😜).
This week, we’ll go over guests that are coming over to hang out for a few hours and next week we’ll go over guests that are spending the night!
Step 1: contain all the junk
I will usually start by the front door and move around the first floor and in a circle and grab all the papers and the clutter and the junk that’s laying on all the horizontal surfaces.
- Entryway: console table and shoes
- Living room: the ottoman and side tables
- Dining room: dining table
- Kitchen: kitchen counters.
It’s helpful to have a bag or container to house everything in one place.
Step 2: Fix Up the Living Room
Next, I will fix the pillows in our living room so that they are presentable with a karate chop!
We usually have Max’s toys around the room so I will pick up all the toys that are out and put them away.
Step 3: Fix Up the Playroom
At this point, I will also ask the girls to pick up their playroom as much as they can. And then,
Step 4: Clean the Powder Room
Another area that is really important for me to be clean before guests arrive is the powder room. For this quick clean, I only use the vinegar and water mixture spray bottle.
I will use the squirt bottle of vinegar and water spray for:
- the mirror
- the sink and faucet
- the toilet and bowl
When I do a quick clean like this, I take a few paper towels to get the job done. If I need to really disinfect the toilet (meaning it’s on the dirtier side), I will use a Clorox wipe instead of just water and vinegar.
the cleaning process
Just like with any other room, to get the quickest and most efficient clean, you find your starting place and work in a circle
For the powder room, I start with our mirror and vanity. First I remove the soap and decorations on the sink. Then, I will spritz the mirror, the faucet, and sink liberally. Starting with the mirror and wipe down, I use the paper towels and wipe everything down.
Once the paper towel gets too damp, you will start getting streaks. This is when you’ll want to use a dry towel to buff to get that streak free shine!
Once the paper towel gets too damp, you will start getting streaks. This is when you’ll want to use a dry towel to buff to get that streak free shine! After the mirror, the faucet, and the vanity, I will finally move onto the toilet.
You might need to re-spray the toilet and bowl one more time. Scrub the toilet bowl first then wipe the toilet down from top to bottom.
Step 5: the kitchen
When we have guests over, it’s usually because we’re having dinner or a party of some sort that always includes (or should I say “features”) food!
So I always try to make sure that our counters, especially the island counter is clean and cleared off so there is as much space as possible to lay out the food.
I use this Method Daily Granite Cleaner and it does such a great job for a quick and easy clean. Plus it’s made for stone products, so I know that it won’t damage the countertops.
Step 6: The Dining Room
This area is usually the quickest area because the table is cleared off from Step 1.
The only thing left to do at this point is to fix the centerpiece on the table and wipe the table down so it’s clean to eat on!
If we’re going to have a fancy dinner, then we’ll set the table with mats, silverware, and napkins.
If we’re having a party with a buffet then I’ll set out paper plates and silverware. That way it’s easier to clean up after the party!
Step 7: Vacuum the floors
This is my favorite step! I didn’t know how to add this in between the other steps. But this step happens in the background while I do the rest of the cleaning, so simultaneously as I clean. I will turn on Fred (our Roomba) so he can do some quick vacuuming while I do the rest.
Although, during Christmas, when we have our Christmas tree up, Fred can’t vacuum around the tree. He will get stuck and suck up our Christmas tree skirt. I’ve tried this before and it doesn’t work!
This is one task that I could delegate and know that it’ll get done. “He” usually cleans our first floor within 30 minutes. If he’s unable to vacuum, like during Christmas, I will grab our Dyson and do a quick vacuum of our hallway, the carpet, bathroom, the dining area, and the kitchen area.
Conclusion
I hope this gives you some ideas for how to get your house ready for when guests arrive. Now there have been times when I just leave my house is a complete mess but for the most part, I try to have it picked up so they can feel right at home and not worry about stepping on toys or having to make room for
One more thing, remember that container of all the stuff that you picked up? Don’t forget to put that stuff away before you lose track of it and I’m not talking from personal experience!
Next week, we’ll go over all the things that I do for guests that are spending the night! Tell me, what do you do to prepare for guests at your house?
