Unexpected Guests? How to Speed Clean Your House.

Don’t you love it when unexpected guests show up at your door step? Or when you forget they were coming and they call to remind you? It always happens at the worst time too. Right after a busy morning getting your kids ready for school and the house looks like a tornado hit it. Well, after being married 16 years and 5 kids later, I’ve perfected the “Speed Clean” and I’ll share my tips with you on how to make your home appear clean for unexpected guests.

The other day I heard a knock on the door. When I went to the door, the most awesome package was there. The perfect gift for a clean freak like me. The #BigGreenBox was on my doorstep! I was so excited to open it up and start using the products inside. I taught my kids how to assemble the mop and showed them how to attach the disposable duster, broom and mop rags. We immediately got to cleaning, and everyone was all smiles. I know that sounds a little too good to be true, but it was! My kids like new stuff too, and anything that makes cleaning more fun, is my best friend. I’m going to show you how the #SwifferEffect has made my life easier when I have to get my house clean in a flash!

Here are the steps I take when speed cleaning my house. One thing I have to FORCE myself to do is stay in the room I’m cleaning until I’m done. Women are natural Mulit-Taskers. We tend to wander from room to room, cleaning until we find something that needs to go elsewhere, then when we get to that room to put it away, we start cleaning that room. You want to know what my secret weapon is? A laundry basket. Read below to see why.

Start in the room your guests will be in. Usually the front room or living room. Things to bring with you: Laundry Basket, Vacuum, Swiffer Duster & Air Freshener.

1. I always take a laundry basket with me and start throwing stuff in it. You know, all the crap the kids have left all over the floor, perfectly spaced out?
2. Quickly vacuum up all the noticeable crumbs, unless your carpet shows vacuum marks really well, then you have to vacuum the whole floor or it just looks really silly.
3. Use an air freshener (very lightly) just in case your son’s stinky soccer cleats were in that room and you’ve gotten used to the smell.
4. Dust if needed. Sometimes with dark colored furniture dust shows up really well. Like my TV stand. I love the Swiffer Duster. It really traps the dust. I’ve tried all other kinds of dusters, and I’m serious, none of them worked as well as this one. My kids really like using them too, which is a bonus when they enjoy cleaning.

Now move on to the Entry and Hallways. Things to bring with you: Laundry Basket, Vacuum, Broom or Swiffer Sweeper & Swiffer Duster.

1. Using the same laundry basket, pick up all the junk your kids have left behind.
2. Vacuum or sweep if needed. If you have a hardwood floor, you might have noticeable dust. My favorite thing to use for this? The Swiffer Sweeper with a dry cloth. It traps dust in a split second.
3. If you have tables, dust them quickly with the Swiffer Duster.

Kitchen, because everyone seems to gather there. Things to bring with you: Laundry Basket, Broom, Swiffer Sweeper with wet cloth, Disinfecting Wipes & Air Freshener.

1. The kitchen is a room where everyone knows you have a large family. They know because of the amount of dirty dishes that are in the sink. I take care of the dishes last, because if you have a visitor that isn’t OK with a sink full of dishes, they probably shouldn’t be your friend. EVERYONE has a sink full of dirty dishes. No one should be judging here.
2. Pick up the floor, tables and counter tops throwing everything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen into the laundry basket. Put everything else away where it belongs.
3. Put all the dirty dishes in the sink or the dishwasher if it’s empty. Mine is always full of clean dishes because the kids do their “dishes job” after school is out. I should probably change that to the morning so I can have an empty sink all day long. That would be awesome!
4. Wipe down the counters with the Disinfecting Wipe.
5. Sweep the floor.
6. Use the Swiffer Sweeper with the wet cloth to “spot mop” the floor. You know what I mean. My floor is usually generally clean, except for the orange juice, milk, pop and ice cream that has spilled and dried. You know, those little treasures you find as you walk bare foot across your floor. Then they get really noticeable because your kids have walked all over them with dirty feet and they start to turn brown. The Swiffer Mop to the rescue! This little thing is a treasure in my house. Just pop on the wet rag and get those spots cleaned up. Not only are they clean, they are disinfected too.

Bathroom, because you know someone will have to use it while they are there and you don’t want them to see the disgusting dried pee on the back of the toilet from your 9 year old son. (Was that a run on sentence?) Things to bring with you: Laundry Basket, Broom, Swiffer Sweeper, Disinfecting Wipes, Paper Towels & Window Cleaner.

1. Pick up all the junk and add it to the now overflowing laundry basket. I’m sure you probably have had to go and grab another one by now.
2. If it needs to be swept, do it. I like using a dry cloth on the Swiffer Sweeper because it really traps the hair from the bathroom floor.
3. Clean the toilet. This is the most important part. No one want’s to sit down on a dirty toilet.
4. Wipe down the counters, sink and faucet.
5. Clean all the toothpaste spittle from the mirror. (When is my son going to learn how to spit is toothpaste in the sink?)
6. Close the shower curtain, who cares what it looks like in there? And again, if you have a friend that looks in there and judges you, you probably shouldn’t be their friend anymore ;).

Close all the doors to the kids SUPER messy rooms and you’re done! 

Swiffer actually makes it fun and easy for others to help out with cleaning. This leaves people with more time to enjoy what matters most to them, and less time worrying about or dealing with the mess at home. That’s why Swiffer wanted me to pay it forward with a second Big Green Box by surprising and delighting someone else with a box of their own.

This is my friend Kim. She has 2 kids and leads a very busy life. She is a hair stylist and I thought the Swiffer Sweeper would be perfect for her to use in her salon to pick up all the tiny little hairs on the floor. I knew this #BigGreenBox would help make her life a little bit easier. She is excited about getting her kids to work using the fun new “toys” in the box.

Now to make your day a little happier, here is a funny video about when Eric Stonestreen’s mom comes to visit:

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.