Don’t you hate it when you get a call from a friend or relative and they ask if they can pop over to see you in the next half an hour. You are of course happy about the visit, but someone arriving unexpectedly can often catch us with an untidy house. It’s a horrible feeling to invite someone in then have to excuse the washing up or move items of chairs in order for them to sit down. Having an action plan as to how to spruce up your home in 30 minutes or less is always a good idea, here is a quick guide to help you through the process.
First you need to have a quick look around all the rooms you expect these people to enter whilst on their visit. This is usually the kitchen, living room and commonly used, the toilet. Different guests may be going into different rooms so bear this in mind.
· If you smoke or have been cooking recently, your house may be filled with bad odours or stale air. Open as many windows as you can to create a through draft which will empty your house of any bad smells. If you have any spray air freshener, give every rooms a good spray.
· If you have a special place where people usually keep their coats, make sure there is enough room to accommodate your guest. Even if you need to move other coats to another room, it’s much nicer for a guest to hang their coat instead of throw it over the arm of their chair.
· The kitchen is often a place where you may congregate with visitors whilst making drinks or preparing food etc. Check to make sure you do not have dirty dishes piles up in the sink or half eaten food on any surfaces. If the guest is expected very soon, put the kettle on so you’re prepared to welcome them with a hot drink. If the draining board if full of clean dishes, put them back into the cupboards.
· Every surface in your home will have a layer of dust on it, that is fact, even just-cleaned surfaces will already have a tiny layer, even if invisible to the naked eye. So give all the surfaces that your guest will either touch or see, a once over with a duster cloth.
· If you have lots of general clutter lying around your home, like magazines, games, DVDs etc, put these items back in their home or into another room out of site. If you have children’s toys this is a different story, if your children are playing, it is pointless to put them away just to appear tidy. People expect children’s toys to be strewn across your entire house, it’s inevitable.
· Your toilet or bathroom is key to showing people how clean you are as a person. It is very off putting to a guest to be confronted by a dirty toilet or sink when using the toilet. Make sure you clean the bowl, seat and lit of the toilet, preferably with a germ killing cleaning solution. The sink can often become clogged with dirt and hair, check to make sure yours is free of any debris.
· It can be very distracting having a washing machine or tumble dryer spinning away in the background when talking to a guest. If possible turn off these appliances and restart the cycle once the guest has left.
· It is an unpleasant experience for your guest if they go to the toilet only to find the light bulb has gone and they can’t see. Check to see if your bulbs are all working correctly.
Grace is a passionate writer working on a behalf of Westminster cleaning company. She enjoys sharing tips and trick on house cleaning for the first timers.