If your house is like mine there are definite periods of the day – okay, let’s be honest – definite weeks of the month when you are in better shape house cleanliness wise for entertaining and drop-in visitors than others.
I truly mean to dust regularly, vacuum often, and organize daily, but this little thing I call “raising my two small children” seems to stand right in my way and laugh uncontrollably at my inner Martha Stewart. That being said, I have found a few cleaning tips that enable my perpetually dusty, dog-haired abode to appear downright tidy to an outsider’s eye.
Many years ago, my sister-in-law shared with me her grandmother’s 3 rules for helping your house look clean even if it is actually a little less than sparkling.
Her clean house tips are as follows:
1. Keep the dishes washed and out of the sink.
2. Be sure your bed is made.
3. Keep the newspapers picked up.
While I am ever so heartened to know that my problem with maintaining a clean house is indeed an age-old one, I still marvel that in Grandmother’s day newspapers were among the biggest clutter problems. Oh, the good old days! So here is my amended list of 5 ideas you can do to fool people, um, I mean make your home appear clean and looking its best when indeed it may be at its worst.
My clean house tips are:
1. Keep the dishes washed (or at least hidden away in the dishwasher.)
2. Be sure your bed is made. Nothing tidies up your bedroom like a well-put -together bed, and don’t you deserve a cozy bed to fall into at the end of an exhausting day? Yes, you do!
3. Keep the bathroom clean. This, to me, is an absolute must out of all the areas to be cleaned. If you are going to be vigilant about the cleanliness of any one room in your home, let the bathroom be that room. Your guests will appreciate it, you will feel more comfortable in it, and mold and mildew won’t have a chance to take hold and multiply in your shiny clean bathroom.
4. Keep clutter under control. Spend 5 -10 minutes everyday picking up loose papers, kid’s artwork, receipts, mail, etc. I’m not talking about the kid’s toys here – although I think a once or twice a day 5 minute clean-up with the help of the kid’s is a good idea. But a few random toys here and there only makes sense when you have children. Anyone visiting your home who is put off by toys scattered about will probably not do too well with the visit once the owners of those toys actually make their presence known (read: food throwing, smelly diapers, and temper tantrums.)
5. And perhaps the most important of all the rules I have for you is never, ever, apologize for or draw attention to those less than clean places in your home. Greet your guests with a smile and an open-arms attitude, and they will focus more on your winsome attitude and less on your furry couch. No one (excluding your mother and mother-in-law) really notices if your shelves are dusted, your carpet is vacuumed, or your laundry is done – that is, unless you are wearing the same sweatshirt that they saw you in at the Mexican restaurant the other night, complete with the large red salsa blob still on the front. Not that this has happened to me. I’m just sayin’.
So try implementing these 5 tips for clean house “deception” into your daily routine at those times when thorough cleaning has fallen to the wayside in lieu of other priorities, say, like having a life, and you may even start referring to yourself as a domestic diva, or at least a great magician
