Tidy up with big results

This month is filled with get-to-gethers: 4th of July with our American friends, birthday party yesterday and those last minute “Are you home for a cuppa?” meetings. We love seeing friends. Yet, no everyone loves those spontaneous visits, especially if the house isn’t perfectly tidy. Guess what, you don’t need a super clean house to welcome your friends. We got some quick tidy up tips for you. All you need is a few minutes and tada!

Entrance hall

• Pick up everything from the floor as your immediate start to making a good first impression.
• Put shoes on the shoe wrack or inside the shoe cabinet. Remove excess shoes and put out of season shoes away.
• Place jackets on a hanger or hang them on the coat stand. Remove jackets worn infrequently.
• Use hooks to simply hang jackets, handbags, umbrellas and so on.

Guest bath

• Hang up towels or even better, bring out new towels. Put old and used towel in the laundry basket or directly in the laundry room.
• Clean the sink.
• Light a candle or some incense sticks.
• Ensure there’s enough toilet paper for your guests.

Bathroom

• Hang up towels.
• Throw out old shower gels and other empty bottles.
• Remove all toiletries not used on a daily basis. Put them in a shower box, container or other baskets and place it underneath the sink for easy access.
• Clean the mirror and remove water splashes.

Living room

• Fluff up cushions and place them neatly on the couch and chairs.
• Clean the coffee table. Remove old glasses. Can’t decide which magazines to quickly throw out? Align them on a tidy and elegant pile.
• Place remote controls and game equipment near the TV.
• Dust the main surfaces.

Kitchen

• Put used dishes in the dishwasher. Clean anything that’s left in the sink. Wipe the sink once you’re done.
• Clean the counter tops. Put groceries in the cupboards. Put bulky and not used appliances (e.g. your bread maker) inside the cupboards or the pantry.
• Hang up new kitchen towels.
• Empty the rubbish bin.

Kid’s room

• Pick up the toys from the floor. Put them in their boxes, baskets or bags where they belong.
• Collect all the trash, e.g. candy wrappers, ripped up drawings, and throw it out.
• Put your kids’ clothes away.
• Involve your kids in a “Who can collect the most” speed game. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and race against each others. Who picked up most toys from the floor?

Bedroom

• Make your bed. You’ve heard it gazillion times. Now do it!
• Put dirty clothes in the laundry baskets.
• Put fresh clothes in the closet. Fold, hang, roll them, however, it suits you.
• Remove the 19 books laying at your bedside table, not touched once in the last 5 months. Keep the things on your beside table to a minimum.

If you’re short on time, focus on what’s on the floor first. A tidy floor makes a much better impression, even if the rest of the room is still a bit messy.

What’s your top tip for a quick tidy up?

I personally love to work with the timer on my phone. I love getting as much done as possible during these short challenges. Setting a time is also a great way to get younger children hyped about helping you.

Looking forward to hearing about your tidying up games!

Until next time,
Agni