The Only 3 Things You Need to Clean Before Having People Over

published Feb 10, 2017
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(Image credit: LK Griffin Photography)

We’ve all been there. It’s Friday night and after a long work week, you make it home just in time to remember that you’ve invited your friends over—gasp!—in an hour. Your sink is full of dirty dishes and you haven’t swept in days, so naturally, panic ensues. But before you pick up your phone to cancel or postpone, perhaps consider a new a plan of action.

The truth is, your place is probably already a lot cleaner than you think it is, and if not, you’ve still got this. As long as you cover these major guest grounds — the toilet, the sofa, and the glassware — everything else will undoubtedly fall into place. So read ahead about these three quick (but impactful) places to clean before having people over this weekend.

1. The Toilet

Make no mistake about it: every one of your guests will be using your bathroom at some point in the evening, so you better make sure it’s presentable. Obviously you don’t have the time for a formal scrub down, so it’s best to stick with the essentials, mainly: the toilet. A quick, but thorough wipe down of the lid, base, and toilet seat will instantly make your entire bathroom feel cleaner, and put you—and your visitors—at ease.

2. The Sofa

Now that your bathroom’s been handled, it’s time to clear off any sofa clutter to ensure that there’s comfortable seating for everyone. If you have pets, take a minute to remove pet hair with a lint brush or the pet attachment of your vacuum. Clean off surrounding coffee and end tables, and, if you have them, have ottomans, armchairs, or other makeshift seating on hand in case it gets crowded. Comfy seating won’t require much effort on your part, but will make a world of difference for your visitors.

3. Your Glassware

Last but certainly not least, remember this one thing: As long as you have a few clean glasses ready to pour everyone a drink, everything else will be just fine. If you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher, run a quick load of glassware (while cleaning up elsewhere) and you’ll be set. However, if you have to hand wash, just make sure you have enough drinkware for each of your guests (i.e. two glasses per person) so you don’t have to do any work once they get there.

Re-edited from a post originally published 2.10.2017 – TW