How To Make Your Home Look Clean Fast | Clean And Tidy Friday

Do you have guests dropping by unexpectedly and your house is a mess?  Here’s how to make your home look clean fast!

Hey friends!  I’m here today to bring you a new post in my Clean and Tidy Friday series, and today I want to share some ideas for how to make your home look clean fast.  We’ve all had those kind of days, right?  A friend calls and asks if she can stop by in an hour or two, and your house looks like a hot mess.  You start to panic because you don’t like having company over when your home is at far less than it’s best.  But you can’t say no to your friend because you really would love to visit with her.  So you have very little time, but want your house to appear clean by the time she arrives.

How To Make Your Home Look Clean Fast

If you have days like this, this post is for you!  I have a friend who lives over an hour from me, but she is in my town every other week, and once in awhile she will give me short notice and say she’s stopping by.  This just happens to be a friend who is a clean freak and her house always looks amazing!  She tells me she doesn’t care what my house looks like, and she really means it, but I still don’t want her to see the mess that is my home on a bad day, so I have learned how to speed clean like a champ before she arrives, and today I am going to share my method with you!  I’ve broken this down into 9 steps, and if you do all of this quickly, you will be able to get your home presentable for any guest quickly.  I do these things in order starting from top to bottom.

Make the beds

There is no quicker way to spruce up a room and make it appear neat and tidy than to make your bed and fluff the pillows.  Even if other things in the room are messy, this gives an instant appearance of tidiness.

Straighten and declutter main living spaces

Use laundry baskets to quickly declutter your main living areas.  I just walk around and place everything that doesn’t belong in that space into the laundry basket.  Later on, those things can be put in their proper homes.  You can start working on this at the very end, if you still have time before your guest arrives.  If not, put the basket where it won’t be seen and get to it afterwards.  While  you’re at it, fluff the pillows on the sofa.  In my case, I would pull the blankets I have covering the sofa off, and place pillows onto the sofa (I live with a puppy).  This step goes a long way towards making your home look neat and tidy.

Put away dirty dishes

Do a quick sweep around the main living spaces and the kitchen, and throw all of the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.  Hopefully you aren’t sitting on a dishwasher full of clean dishes that needs unloaded, because that’s gonna cost you precious time.  If you are, it may save you time to hand wash a few things.  You be the judge.

Please note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which allows me to make a small commission from your purchase, but your purchase price stays the same. 

Wipe kitchen counters and sink

This can quickly be done with Clorox Wipes or a rag with hot water.  No need to try to deep clean here.  Just wipe away the crumbs, and shine the sink and faucet.  If you have time you can wipe any crumbs from the stove as well.

 

Clean toilet and sink

Again, this doesn’t need to be a deep clean, and you only really need to concentrate on the one bathroom that your guest might be using.  Just use a clorox wipe to wipe down the sink, vanity and toilet seat.  If you have time you can use a toilet brush to clean the bowl of the toilet as well.  As long and you have a clean sink, a shiny faucet, and a clean toilet your bathroom will look much more clean and tidy.  also, take a second to hang a clean fresh hand towel for your guest to use.

Dust main living spaces with Swiffer duster

This is a quick dusting, no need to remove anything from surfaces.  The main objective is to do a quick sweep so there is no dust on the large surfaces like tables and consoles.  Trust me when I say that in this instance, a Swiffer duster is a girl’s best friend (other than diamonds, of course).  Dust sticks to these things like a magnet and there is nothing that can beat it for a quick dusting job.

Vacuum main living spaces

My vacuum cleaner is always handy, and it would take me no time to quickly vacuum the main living areas enough so as to diminish the layer of dog hair that is usually visible on a daily basis.  I concentrate on the main living areas first, and if I have time I do a quick run through of the guest bath.  I also quickly use my hand vac to vacuum the stairs and the small landing that is the front entrance.

 

Spot clean floors with steam mop

This step is not absolutely necessary, which is why it’s towards the bottom of the list.  I only do this if I have time, but if I do, will quickly grab my steam mop and wipe down the heavy traffic areas like the kitchen and the hard woods at the top of the stairs and into the living room.  If I don’t have time for this, it’s fine and most people would never notice.  But if I am finished with everything else, and I still have 5-10 minutes I will make the effort to do this because it makes the house look extra clean.  And, if you do not own a steam mop yet, it is WELL worth the investment.  The steam from the water you pour into the basin is all of the cleaner you need, and it warms up to steaming in no time.  You can’t get much more natural or environmentally friendly than that, and it cleans floors better than anything I have ever seen.  This is the steam mop I own.

Light candles

This last step goes a long way towards making your home feel cozy and inviting, and it just takes a second.  Light a few candles in this room or that.  Especially in the guest bathroom or the kitchen.  It really doesn’t matter where you light candles or how many (well, don’t go overboard, it’s not a romantic date), but candles just cozy up an environment, and if they are scented, they can also disguise pet or food smells.

Put some pep in your step and get these things done as quickly as possible, and you will be surprised at home much more clean, neat, and tidy your home will feel, and you will be able to welcome your guest without the anxiety of having them see the disaster that you home can be at times.  Please pin this for future reference, and next time you are in a pinch, you can pull this up on your phone and go to town!  Is there anything you do when your in a pinch that I have not mentioned here today?  I would love to read your ideas in the comments below!