Here is my
Top 10 Quick Pick-Up Tips
1.) Designate a corner in your living/family room for toys. - Once you get that call, just start chucking toys toward that corner and if you have an extra spare moment you can organize the chaos. Otherwise, just moving the toys to the one corner does a major turn around for the living space. At least they won't be tripping over a ball or blocks while they visit.
2.) Focus on the main areas. - Living Room, Bathroom, and Kitchen. These are the rooms that your guest will most likely be in if they stop by. Don't worry about your bed not being made. Shut your door.
3.) Shut lights off in areas that you don't want guests to visit. - Most of the time my dining room is not needed for a quick visit. While my dining room is open to my kitchen, it is not as noticeable if the light is off. Making it unnecessary to scrub down the table or sweep the dining room floor.
4.) Keep up with major items on a regular basis. - I am mainly talking about dishes. Dishes seem to be everywhere if you let them go. And it is the first thing your guest will notice when entering your home. Especially if you offer them something to drink. It is best to make dishes a top priority. Put clean ones away and keep dirty ones out of sight by putting them in the dish washer or washing them. That way when the guest calls, you have the minimum amount of dishes to put away. Maybe a breakfast bowl and cup, but nothing major like scrubbing the pots from last night's dinner.
This can also apply to the bathroom. Keep your shower curtain shut and your counter cleaned off regularly. That way the most you have to do when a friend stops by is maybe empty the trash and make sure there is toilet paper on the roll.
5.) Let the sunshine in. - If it is daytime, open the curtains and blinds in the main areas. If it is night, turn on the lights. Lights and sunshine give your home a clean homey feel and makes the space feel bigger.
6.) Do light cleaning when you have a free moment. - For me, this is when I pick up Kaylee's toys. As soon as she goes down for a nap, I pick up the toys that she has played with all morning. Sure, I know she will be getting them out again later, but I have found that if I leave out the first round of toys then her second round of playtime makes the room worse. There are double the amount of toys to clean up then when that friend drops by. If I just pick up the few things that she played with during the morning, they are out of the way and then I don't have to worry about a huge mess to clean up later.
7.) Move the "junk" to the closed bedroom. - If you have a lot of clutter that has accumulated in your main living area, just toss it into your closed bedroom. This includes the 3 baskets of laundry you have been folding for the past few days. Again, the door will be shut so they won't see it. No need to "find a place" for it right now. Your friend will be here any minute and you still have a few things to do.
8.) Fluff the couches/ Rearrange pillows. - Our couch pillows tend to be in disarray. So, a quick pillow move around really makes our living room look clean. It is amazing how even that quick of a fix makes a huge difference in our front room.
9.) Wipe the counters. - You don't want to offer them a drink and have them put their hands in a sticky mess if they lean on your counter. This takes no time at all, makes you more comfortable with having them in your kitchen, and makes your kitchen look clean.
10.) Make sure you look presentable. - If you are still wandering around the house in your pj's, your guest will feel like they imposed. It's important that you take a few minutes to brush your hair, put some clothes on, and brush your teeth.
This works not only for those drop- by guests, but also for the guests you planned on coming, but ran out of time to clean up for because you worked late or had a long day and forgot that they were coming.
I like the toy corner idea...I will need to implement this soon!
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