Did you just remember 20 guests are due in your home tomorrow for a gathering? Omg omg omg. Before you start panicking looking at your messy home and overwhelmed by the daunting task of having to get the place looking spick and span SOMEHOW, we have some good news for you. It doesn’t have to be crazy. Here are some tips for easy clean-up that won’t have you sweating or running around your house like a headless chicken. Follow these tips, and you’ll even have time to enjoy a glass of wine on the couch even before your guests arrive!
Tip #1: Focus on the mingling areas
Where are your guests likely to hang out at? The kitchen? The dining room? The living room? The hallway? Will they be snooping in your bedroom or the storage closet? If that’s unlikely, those make the perfect rooms for you to chuck unnecessary eyesores of junk, thus clearing up the mingling areas and faking a magazine worthy façade. This way, you don’t have to deal with the stress of cleaning out an entire closet or room, just chucking away random clutter into a box, which could be easily done in minutes.
Tip #2: Put out fresh items
Things that you haven’t had time to clean – mats, shower curtains, hand towels, bath towels – instead of tossing them in the wash and crossing your fingers the sun burns bright today so they dry in time, just toss them in another hidden room, or your washing machine, and put out new ones. Fresh linens always feel inviting and make guests feel more comfortable. If you have special toilet rolls, paper towels and napkins that you save for a special occasion, this is it. These little extra touches can add to the atmosphere and make guests feel appreciated that you went to all that effort.
Tip #3: Quick wipe-down
Has it been a while since you’ve dusted the mantle or can you barely make out faces in photos due to the accumulation of dust over the frame? Everything guests are going to spend time looking at or touching needs a quick wipe-down. The easiest way to make everything sparkling clean and bacteria-free, is to grab an eco-friendly household cleaning product that helps cut grease, grime and stubborn stains for you so you don’t have to do the scrubbing. With an array of helpful products available, ensuring non-sticky floors and countertops becomes an effortless task.
Tip #4: Make your home smell good too
Don’t forget creating a nice atmosphere in your home is not just about what guests can see. It also helps if it smells like a lovely place to sit down and chat in. While cleaning, it’s good that you can open a few windows and let in some fresh air. You never know what kind of weird smells have collected in your home in the past week, from cat food to that last time you cooked tikka masala. For a natural touch, you can try simmering orange peels, vanilla and cloves or cinnamon sticks over the stove, it creates a really beautiful citrusy and woody scents that smells a bit like Christmas! Or you can easily light a scented candle or spritz the living room with a room spay, or set up an essential oil burner or use reed diffusers. Pro tip: Baking soda actually absorbs bad smells, so keep a bowl of it in your kitchen if you don’t want those lingering food smells to spread to the other rooms in the house.
Tip #5: Take advantage of deliveries
Say you need some of the items mentioned above but you don’t have time all week to run out to the store. Good news, with so many things being available online now, you can save yourself some trouble and just order everything and have it delivered right to your doorstep and use that time instead to prep your home. Ecover is even having a 25% e-storewide offer for the whole month of December, so stock up and save a trip to the store and even better, having to carry all the bottles up to your apartment! Taking advantage of offers like this means saving money, time and effort while ensuring that you’ll have everything you need to prepare for your parties. Happy holidays and happy hosting!