Speed Cleaning..Company's Coming!

I adore Pinterest. It is my escape from reality, which in reality, is probably very sad. However, it really helps when you are like me and have 90 million things to do and it helps me to have neat ideas for organizing my life.

Speaking of which- because I have so much to do, I often let

my home clean

ing sit on the back burner. If you can relate, then you find yourself living in a post-Hurricane Katrina living zone and can become very stressed when unexpected (or expected !) company pops up.

Here are some speed-cleaning tips I learned from several blogs and Pinterest that is starting to make my life (and hopefully yours!) easier:

1. Start with the area you usually entertain in..(ex. livingroom). Allocate bins or even a laundry basket to make a wide sweep of the area and toss mail, toys and any other unwanted items into and store in a closet or room that will not be visited until you can sort through later.

To further this- I have a large basket on the coffee table and bins on my shelves to throw things in for better organizing. Run a quick vacuum, dust buster, broom, swiffer or put down a large rug over dirty areas.

2. Hit the bathrooms. Spritz a shower cleaner/bleach (go easy!) on your tub/shower and let sit. Pour some toilet cleaner in your toilet, swish, clean toilet seat and let sit, wipe all counter surfaces, cover dirty laundry or hampers with a towel or pretty pillow/quilt.

After this, go back and rinse your tub/shower and flush your toilet.

3. Put dirty dishes in dishwasher or fill up sink with soapy water and put in dishes. If you can't do this, find a large cutting board and cover up compartment of sink with dirty dishes until company leaves. Wipe down surfaces and tables.

4. Light candles, spray a fabric/room spray or even if you have time, fill a pot with water, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon slices and as it warms will leave a welcoming scent for visitors

5. Close doors to any places you don't want visitors going- simple enough.

6. If you like to entertain, try to use your remainder time to scrounge for a

hor dourve (keep crackers, olives, tomato past, olive oil and cheese in handy)

Follow these tips and you will have a presentable house for unexpected visitors. Usually this takes about 10 min or less!