How to Quickly Clean Before Guests Arrive: 4 Steps

Как быстро убраться перед приходом гостей: 4 шага

"An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar." Our ancestors, who came up with this saying, implied the unwillingness of the hostess to set generous tables, which were in those days an indispensable element of hospitality.

Today, it's easier with : food delivery in half an hour to an hour will help you organize a feast. But what can — quickly clean up the apartment. And a call from friends or relatives with the words «We going!» can lead to complete despair.

But experienced housewives slyly wink at you: calm down — if you have 30 minutes before the guests visit, that will be enough.

Quickly Clean Up in 30 minutes: A Step-by-Step Guide
1.Remove everything from horizontal surfaces
2. Wash the mirror and plumbing
3. Ventilate the apartment
4. Remove dirty dishes
How to make an "emergency" cleaning is no longer needed

Quick Clean Up in 30 minutes: Step by Step Guide

First of all, decide on the status of the guests. If they're random people in your life, or just not very close, and they definitely won't stay longer than a few minutes — enough cleaning along the way from the front door to the living room, and actually in the living room. But if they are friends or relatives and their visit may be delayed, use the following quick cleaning principles.

Follow us on Instagram

1.Remove everything from horizontal surfaces

Countertops, dresser or cabinet surfaces, window sills, floor — areas that first attract attention. Since you don't have time, and sorting books, notebooks, vases and other stationery and decorative supplies you don't have time, use a box or bag, in which put everything unnecessary and put it on the balcony, in pantry or any room that guests definitely won't visit. After the guests leave, you deal with those things, but for now, the room is visually unloaded with the help of clean horizontal planes.

Life hack. Take a few garbage bags, and separate things from one piece of furniture in them. B one package — things from a desk to another — with dresser in hallway and etc. And make appropriate inscriptions on the bags with a marker. It will literally take you 2-3 minutes longer, but if you do not plan the real cleaning after guests leave, this distribution of things will help you quickly find them.

2. Wash the mirror and plumbing

Your guests will most likely want to go to the mirror in the hallway (for example, fix their hair), and also visit the bathroom — wash your hands or go to the toilet.

Don't rush at once to plumbing faience with brushes at the ready — Wet the work surface of the tub, washbasin and toilet, then apply detergent or cleaner to and leave it as it is. You will return to after you have completed the rest of your business, and during then then then then enough time to soften up the surfaces, and it will be enough for you to rinse the surfaces.

Life hack. Sparkling mirrors add dozens of points to the cleanliness of the room at once, so focus on them. If you don’t have a special mirror cleaner on hand, wet the sponge liberally, apply a little toothpaste on it and wipe the surface of the mirror well, rinsing the sponge several times. Then dry the surface of the mirror with paper towels or crumpled newspaper.

Read also: The KonMari Method: 8 Japanese House Cleaning Secrets

3. Ventilate the apartment

Stale air can give the impression of disorder and unsanitary conditions even in a sterile room. While cleaning one room — arrange airing in another. When moving to the next room, open the windows in the previous— a room with clean and fresh air is psychologically perceived as clean.

Life hack. If there is no way to arrange cross-ventilation, or the smell is really unpleasant (for example, if you didn’t have time to clean in the cat tray) — don try to mask this amber with air fresheners. First of all, isolate the source of the smell (pack the garbage hermetically, and the cat litter box, without cleaning it, pack it in several bags). After that, in an ashtray or on a fireproof plate, burn a few pieces of plain paper. And now you can slightly flavor the air: apply 1-2 drops of essential oil or perfume on a regular light bulb and turn it on. As as it heats up,

4. Put away dirty dishes

It is unlikely you will have time to wash the dishes, especially if it has decently accumulated. But don't should panic and put the dishes anywhere. In packages come in handy again in this situation. Put clean dishes out of any cupboard for washing (or drying), and in place dirty plates and cups, neatly folded in a bag (it is needed to eliminate the unpleasant smell from dirty dishes) .

A mountain of dishes in sink will look like it has been recently washed and not yet placed and nobody will guess that this is a little trick.

Life hack.

This part of the cleaning can be safely skipped if your guests don't stay for a long time or if you don't plan to at the table at all. It’s better to use the free time to put yourself in order and greet the guests as if you spent the last half an hour not cleaning, but for pleasant-doing-nothing. How to make an "emergency" cleaning is no longer necessary

The steps described are for situations where unexpected guests take you by surprise. But how how to make the house always clean, and quickly hide things and plates in cupboards no longer ? There are many methods for this. However, the key to achieving consistent results is to make cleaning a daily routine (in the good sense of the word). Set a goal for yourself to develop the habit of cleanliness. Don't think of cleaning as something to do once a week. Give each room or area in a apartment 10-15 minutes a day, but stably and regularly — and your house will always be clean.

But don't set too high goals for yourself and don't turn on perfectionism. No one is required to live in sterile hospital conditions, everyone can be caught by random guests on a small hill of unwashed dishes. If this happens and with you — take advantage of our advice. And don't worry — life is too beautiful to be wasted on maintaining the image of "ideal hostess" in the eyes of other people.