How to Whip Your House Into Shape Quickly

The telephone rings, and you get the news: Company is on its way! If you’re like many of us, the thought of this makes you panic just a bit inside. You might look around at your neglected or messy house and wonder how you can possibly make it company-ready in under an hour. Luckily, we have the strategies that you need to whip your house into shape quickly:

• 1. Quickly declutter
  Grab a laundry basket and a garbage bag, and scurry from room to room. If you see garbage, toss it in the bag. If you see items that don’t belong to the room in which they’re currently residing, chuck them in the basket. Try to spend a maximum of two minutes doing this in each of the main living areas. Once you’re done, throw the bag in the big garbage can and the basket in your bedroom or office.

• 2. Get out your sprays
  You likely have an all-purpose cleaner as well as glass cleaner in your home. Grab each of them, plus two rags. Wipe all horizontal surfaces in one room with the all-purpose cleaner, and all of the glass (windows with fingerprints and mirrors) with the glass cleaner. Then go back with your two rags, wiping down each surface. (Don’t get the rags mixed up, because you should never mix cleansers.) You could also use paper towels for this task. Continue on to each room that your guests will be visiting. Your goal should be to spend three or four minutes in each room.

• 3. Clean the bathroom
  Your guests may need to use the bathroom, and it’s probably the most important room in the house to have clean. Swipe all of the items off of the bathroom counter into a drawer. Spray down the sink, counters, toilet and the edge of the bathtub with bathroom cleaner. Use toilet gel or cleaners in the toilet. While it’s working, clean the mirror. Wipe everything down, scrub out the toilet, and shut the shower curtain.

• 4. Give dust a lick and a promise
  If you have a feather duster, spend one or two minutes in the living room dusting off the bookcases, entertainment center and coffee table. If you don’t have a feather duster, use a soft rag. Don’t worry about moving everything and dusting behind books or the DVD player; just do your best to remove visible dust.

• 5. Vacuum or sweep the floors
  Run the vacuum or, if you have wood or tile floors, pass over everything with the broom. If you have spots on your kitchen floor, a spritz of all-purpose cleaner and a quick wipe with a rag will suffice for now.

• 6. Close the bedroom doors
  If your bedrooms or office have seen better days, it’s fine to shut the doors to those rooms. Surprise guests should not expect a tour of your home, and they don’t need to go into your bedroom for anything.

• 7. Make it smell good
  A fresh, clean or welcome smell is essential for making your home seem welcoming. Spritz a little bit of air freshener, light a candle, or pop a batch of break-n-bake cookies in the oven.

When your guests arrive, greet them with a smile as well as the offer of a cold or warm drink. If you’ve made cookies, offer them those, too. After they leave, go attend to the basket of clutter that needs to be put away, and do a better job mopping the floor, if necessary. And relax! You made your house company-ready in a short amount of time, so give yourself a pat on the back.