Last updated on October 28th, 2021
Have guests coming over and no time to clean up?
Take a look at 6 quick things you can do – all in under 5 minutes to leave a great impression on your guests.
1. Make a good first impression
Target areas that you know your guests will use and see. This can be the living room or the dining and entertaining areas where you will receive the guests, not to mention the bathroom the guests are most likely to use.
Also, don’t forget the foyer and the entryway. Check for fingerprints on the doorknobs and glass in these areas and wipe them down.
2. Let there be the right light
If it is daytime, try and let as much natural light in as possible. No, it’ll not highlight the dirt or flaws in the house but the light flooding in will ensure that everything in the house appears nicer and brighter. If it’s nighttime when the guests are arriving, don’t use the overhead lights. Just use focus lights and create dimly lit areas all across the rooms with lamps. Candles anyone?
3. Use the junk drawer
It isn’t always a good idea to have junk accumulating anywhere, but consider this an exception to the rule. Designate a chest of drawers as your junk drawer and when you have guests coming at a short notice, just toss the clutter that you see in the living and dining areas into your junk drawer and hide it all away. But make sure you clear and sort out the junk drawer when you have more than 5 minutes to spare.
4. Straighten any visible messes
Bring back order into your home by rearranging chairs that are askew, or ottomans that aren’t in their usual places. Adjust the magazines in the magazine rack and realign the coffee table or side tables that seem to have moved from their usual places. These are all tiny steps to bring order and pleasantness back into your home, especially when you have guests coming in at a short notice.
5. Clear out the clutter-magnets
You are the best judge of this. You know the areas in your home that accumulate dirt fast and the ones that are most visible. It might be rings on the coffee table or a few stray pieces of paper clinging to the rug or dust on the shiny surfaces that catch the light. Give all of them a quick cleaning-up and you have your home ready to entertain guests in no time.
6. Make sure the house is up to sniff
Studies have it that homes that smell fresh and nice will also look cleaner and fresher than otherwise. Create the illusion of freshness by plugging in air fresheners or by using reed diffusers in the room. A great way of spreading the fresh, baking aroma throughout the house naturally, is to let a few cinnamon sticks simmer in a pot of water on the gas stove, right when you are expecting the guests to arrive. Nothing can beat a fresh baking aroma!
