Fire Drill

I grew up in a home that was eat-off-the-floor clean ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously, my Mom is a very impressive lady. But everyone likes to step it up a notch when they are entertaining. For example, I will never for get my Mom telling me to clean the hair out of my hairbrush before my grandparents (her in-laws) came for a visit. Seriously. The hair out of my hairbrush. !!!!!

I can't keep up with the standards my Mom set for me, though heaven knows i try very hard. Our home devolves into squalor (by Mom's standards) whenever I get busy and stays that way until I shame myself into dedicating a Saturday morning to cleaning. As a result, I live in terror that friends will drop by unannounced, or that Chad will bring someone home to work on a project, only to find my gross gym clothes strewn about our only bathroom.

So what do I do when guests come over on short notice (besides yell at Chad for inviting them)?

1. Tidy Bathroom - If I only have 30 seconds warning before someone comes over, I head straight to the bathroom to run a clean, damp cloth over everything to remove any hair or dirt. I make sure there is plenty of TP and a clean hand towel. I also usually light a candle. I do not clean my hairbrushes. Even if they are gross.

2. Tidy living room/dining room - If I have a few more minutes, I try to scoop all the miscellaneous crap in the living room and chuck it into the bedroom and shut the doors. No one expects to see your bedroom during a visit unless it's a large party and the space is needed for coats.

3. Clean looking garbage can - Our main garbage is in the kitchen closet, and that shit gets gross if you aren't careful. I always give it a spray and scrub with Mrs. Meyers cleaning solution on both the inside and outside lid.

4. If I still have time, I try to make the kitchen look sanitary. We're terrible about leaving dishes in the sink, and I do them quickly if I have time. It's actually a great motivator, sometimes I think we should do false alarms just so they would get done more often!

I think the best entertaining advice I ever received was to pick-up before guests arrive and clean after they leave. In other words, guests do not normally give your baseboards the white glove test, but they do often track things in on their shoes. Also, cleaning is easier when you have first picked up.

So if I lived in a prefect world, I would organize our house so that it's always picked up, and then the rest would just be cake! I'll let you know if it ever happens, but don't hold your breath.