We’ve all been there. You’ve received a call out of the blue and someone – a friend, neighbour or the in-laws are on their way round. You look round and it looks like a bomb’s hit the place. You can’t let them see it in this state – and so the mad dash to clean as much as you can and as fast as you can begins.
But stop. What if there’s a better way? Wouldn’t it be great if you were always in a position not to panic when you were getting unexpected visitors? Well, there is.
It’s called implementing a weekly cleaning schedule and it has the power to help reduce the marathon cleaning days and the frantic quick pick-ups. If you give yourself just 20 minutes a day to really focus on a room or task, it can make a huge difference.
We teamed up with Fix to create easy-to-follow tips and hacks for getting and keeping your house nice and clean.
And here it is – the hassle-free weekly cleaning schedule…
Source: Fix.com
Sounds doable, right? There will always be the inevitable handful of scattered toys but remember we are busy living our lives and making memories.
And if you haven’t managed to stick to a cleaning regime and you’ve got 5 minutes to spare, here’s what you need to do…
- Shut all the doors of the rooms that you won’t be going in.
- Spray wood polish in the hallway or near the front door. Our sense of smell is one of the strongest and visitors will associate cleaning sprays or wood polish with a clean and tidy environment.
- Pick up any items on the floor of the room you’ll be taking visitors and clear the worktops or desk. If there’s no time, grab a bin bag and stick everything inside it and hide away.
- Do a quick sweep or vacuum of the floor of the room you’ll be sitting in.
- Put on a glove, spray it with polish or surface cleaner and run your hand along any surfaces that you see at eye level when standing and sitting (in the room that you’ll be in)
5. Run a brush through your hair and smile serenely as you open the door!
If you’ve literally got two minutes to spare and no time to do any of the above, then grab everything off the floor and clear the surfaces by putting it all in a bag and out of the way. Then put the TV on if you can; people will be so distracted by the TV they won’t have time to notice any mess!
Do you have any top cleaning tips?
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39 comments
I have a cleaning rota and try to stick to it – with lots of kids in the house it doesn’t stay tidy for long
I think half the effort is just trying to keep on top of it isn’t it?! Us Wonder Woman eh?!
Haha we always shut our bedroom and lug all the stuff we didn’t have time to tidy in there ? x
Ha ha! It’s a good plan!
I really need a housework schedule as my ironing and and bedroom get neglected a bit
I could do with a cleaner if I’m honest….now there’s a good idea as a Christmas present! 😉
Wow! What a guide! Thanks for all the great tips! 🙂 I’m pretty tidy around the house, but when it comes to cooking, my kitchen always looks like a bomb has hit it! (Apparently, my grandmother was exactly the same! lol) I should definitely try harder to clean up as I go! xx
Well, there’s more to life than cleaning – I’m a bit obsessed about it, but only because it offers me sanity! Happiness is of course the most important thing.
Now this is the kind of guide I can use! I’ve been known to shut the odd door when guests arrive 😀
And there you’ve just proved the point why it’s not all good news for open plan living! 😉
Great cleaning schedule! We’re a bit adhoc in our house and clean when we need it (funnily enough when people visit!)
Like most people I expect – completely normal!
I so need this at the moment. I need some clarity and some order. We’re mid way with some major DIY. It has been awful. And I am cross that we aren’t sorted and it is December 1st tomorrow.
It will be worth all the hassle once it’s done I’m sure.
Hehe spraying wood polish near the door is a nifty little trick! I’m moving into my new house soon, so will try and implement this cleaning schedule x
Fools the brain into thinking it’s clean! lol..
This is just brilliant!!! I love the daily chart of what to do when, and I think I will be implementing this in the New Year. Love the globe and polish idea too
Haha, this always happens to me – always have visitors who announce they’re turning up just minutes before. Love this last minute cleaning schedule. definitely going to be using it!
Glad that you found it useful Mellissa!
Most importantly is to share the cleaning….to the husbands,this means YOU,having just one person clean while the spouse sits on his boomie is not acceptable.
Personally,I loved cleaning house and with Lori,it never felt like work. You would be surprised at how much we talked about while folding and putting away laundry.
That’s great to hear Patrick – fancy popping over to mine to help out? 😉 But in all seriousness, you’re right. We all work – we all need to chip in.
Such good tips. Little and often really does make house cleaning more manageable. I get really stressed by surprise visitors and my husband’s sister makes a habit of giving us about an hours notice before she comes around, but I think if I made a schedule and actually stuck to it, I could relax so much more.
And if you’ve got kids Christy – get them to chip in and help too (and your husband!)
AHaha I think it would take 5 hours to clean my house ready for visitors! It’s an utter bombsite at the moment. I will use your tips!
Good luck – little and often remember!
I just feel like I am always cleaning and it’s never ending. I’ve been so tempted to get a cleaner as I just feel like all I do is clean x
Mine is tidying up – I don’t mind the cleaning so much, but you know when the kids have been in a room!
This sounds like a great idea for people who stay at home the entire day and have the time to clean. For the rest of us who leave at 8am and come back at 6 or 7PM, I think Saturday remains the cleaning day 🙂
Saturday is our main cleaning day, but good tips are…even when you’re doing something mundane like brushing your teeth, you have time to wipe round the sink with a wet wipe etc..
Oh my gosh this always happens to me so I will have to use these tips we shove washing up in the cooker ha ha x
Just make sure you don’t turn the cooker on!!
I think a last minute cleaning regime is a very good idea. Especially if you have last minute visitors
Should have made a ‘print out and keep’ checklist shouldn’t I?!
Oh I have had that. What I’m particularly bad at is keeping the spare bedroom where my wardrobe is tidy. Usually I end up dropping some clothes on the bed and it stacks up until I have enough.
Mika | http://www.la-french-connection.com
We all have one room like that though don’t we?!
Haha this is fab…last minute tidy up plans are key when visitors happen to come knocking x
I don’t like the idea of leaving everything until the last minute, but if you have a plan in mind that you can stick to, it makes sense!
Thanks Kayleigh!
Such a good tip… Bin bag! Out of sight out of mind