So you’ve got a girl coming over in 10 minutes and your place looks like a scene from the Hangover. If it’s the bros coming over for the weekly poker night, the state of your abode probably isn’t going to worry them too much, however, if your company is female, and your perfectly executed pick up lines have worked a charm, you’re going to want to make sure you don’t scare her off the moment she steps through the door. Having said that, a true classy bro will always want to give others the best impression of him, no matter who it is, friend, mother, brother, hot date etc. Here are a few things you can do to make your apartment/house/Man Cave look tidy with only a few minutes notice:
First impressions count. Walk outside your entryway and walk back in. What do you see? Empty plates on the coffee table? Dirty socks on the floor? Squashed, misplaced pillows on the couch? Take note of the areas that you are first drawn to that look untidy, these are the spots you want to clean first and will therefore give your place an overall cleaner feel (even if you haven’t had time to vacuum).
If you have one, you might want to light a nice smelling candle to get the scent spreading throughout the place for a few minutes, and, depending on your company, you can leave the candle burning or blow it out a few minutes before the guests arrive.
Next you need to think about the areas that your guests/lady friend will spend the most time in, usually the living room and if you’re lucky, your bedroom. These are the main areas you want to focus on, as well as your BATHROOM. This isn’t an option.
Guests will need to use your bathroom, especially women. You don’t have hours to scrub every inch of it, but make sure your toilet bowl is clean and any stray tissues/hair/empty toilet rolls are in the trash and your toilet roll supply is stocked up so your guest isn’t left having to search through your cupboards to find some.
Make sure there is soap (you don’t want your guests thinking you don’t wash your hands) and replace the hand towel (no one wants to use an old dirty hand towel that looks like it hasn’t been changed for months). Close your shower curtain. If your sink is exceptionally dirty or moldy, it’d be a good idea to give it a quick wipe over. You can buy disposable wipes that are pre-loaded with cleaning product or disinfectant that you can simply pull out, use and throw away. These are perfect for last minute cleans. Give your faucets a quick go over if they’re metal to make them shiny, this gives an instant clean feel. If your mirror is terribly dirty, give it a quick wipe over too. You can get glass wipes for this, but make sure they are for glass and mirrored surfaces otherwise if you use the wrong product, it can end up looking worse with residue smeared all over it.
Make sure there is soap (you don’t want your guests thinking you don’t wash your hands) and replace the hand towel (no one wants to use an old dirty hand towel that looks like it hasn’t been changed for months). Close your shower curtain. If your sink is exceptionally dirty or moldy, it’d be a good idea to give it a quick wipe over. You can buy disposable wipes that are pre-loaded with cleaning product or disinfectant that you can simply pull out, use and throw away. These are perfect for last minute cleans. Give your faucets a quick go over if they’re metal to make them shiny, this gives an instant clean feel. If your mirror is terribly dirty, give it a quick wipe over too. You can get glass wipes for this, but make sure they are for glass and mirrored surfaces otherwise if you use the wrong product, it can end up looking worse with residue smeared all over it.
Now back to the other main areas. Let’s tackle the LIVING ROOM. A simple thing you can do to give your lounge/living area a cleaner look is to fluff up your couch cushions and pillows and arrange them in an orderly manner. Put any dirty plates, coffee cups, cutlery etc in the kitchen sink, if you don’t get time to wash these up and your guest comes into your kitchen at some point, you can at least apologize and say you haven’t had a chance to do the washing up yet, but at least if they’re in the sink (and not strewn all over the bench) it looks like you were actually going to wash them up. If you’re sneaky you could fill it with some soap and water and say you were just about to start washing but got distracted… or something along those lines. Even better if you have a dishwasher, chuck everything in there and shut the door!
Do a quick little walk around your lounge room (with a plastic bag if there’s going to be too much to hold) and collect any rubbish you see lying around. Empty chip packets, tissues, old receipts, paperwork, stray sunflower seed shells that have fallen on the floor, anything you can throw in the trash that’s making your place look like a dump. Put it all in the plastic bag and throw it in the rubbish.
Next you need to pick up any items that obviously don’t belong in there, like dirty socks and underwear or shoes. Take it all and put it somewhere out of sight, whether it’s in your bedroom cupboard or under your bed to deal with later. Just get it out of sight. A great idea is to keep a spare box or laundry basket so you can throw everything into it and put it in a cupboard to be properly sorted through later.
Do a quick little walk around your lounge room (with a plastic bag if there’s going to be too much to hold) and collect any rubbish you see lying around. Empty chip packets, tissues, old receipts, paperwork, stray sunflower seed shells that have fallen on the floor, anything you can throw in the trash that’s making your place look like a dump. Put it all in the plastic bag and throw it in the rubbish.
Next you need to pick up any items that obviously don’t belong in there, like dirty socks and underwear or shoes. Take it all and put it somewhere out of sight, whether it’s in your bedroom cupboard or under your bed to deal with later. Just get it out of sight. A great idea is to keep a spare box or laundry basket so you can throw everything into it and put it in a cupboard to be properly sorted through later.
Now for the BEDROOM. The same basic rules apply as in the living room. Put dirty plates/cups in the kitchen, throw out any old food packets and pick up all your clothes off the floor, even if you have to throw it all in a bag and into your cupboard, the idea here is to make your room look less cluttered and disorganized.
Now you need to sort out your bed. If it’s already made, kudos to you. If not, make it. If you don’t have time to fully make it, at the very least pull all your covers up and straighten up your pillows.
Now you need to sort out your bed. If it’s already made, kudos to you. If not, make it. If you don’t have time to fully make it, at the very least pull all your covers up and straighten up your pillows.
Turn off the lights in any rooms that you haven’t cleaned. Keep your lighting warm and inviting by using lamps to light your spaces, this also helps to cover up your cleaning imperfections. Use hallway lighting and patio lights to help provide extra light if you don’t have any lamps or they’re not quite enough.
Finally, put some music on and relax! Take a minute to chill out and catch your breath so your guests don’t think you’ve been rushing all over the place, after all, they’re there to see you! If you try to keep a generally clean bathroom and living room, unexpected guests won’t be such a stress and you can do a quick general pick up and tidy, pour a drink and wait!
This probably all sounds like a lot to do in a few minutes, but it’s really not! Just do as much as you can in the time that you have. Here’s a quick recap to go through should you ever find yourself (and I’m sure you will) in this kind of situation:
1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS –walk outside and walk back in. What do you see?
2. Light a candle -make the place smell nice.
3. What areas will your guests spend the most time in? Living room? Bedroom? Kitchen?
4. CLEAN BATHROOM –toilet bowl, sink, make sure there’s soap and fresh hand towel.
5. LIVING ROOM –fluff and straighten couch cushions. Remove rubbish and dirty plates, cups etc.
6. BEDROOM –pick up dirty socks, underwear and clothes. Remove dirty plates, food scraps and empty packets.
7. Pull covers up on bed.
8. LIGHTING –choose appropriate lighting to set desired mood.
9. Put some background music on and relax!
1. FIRST IMPRESSIONS –walk outside and walk back in. What do you see?
2. Light a candle -make the place smell nice.
3. What areas will your guests spend the most time in? Living room? Bedroom? Kitchen?
4. CLEAN BATHROOM –toilet bowl, sink, make sure there’s soap and fresh hand towel.
5. LIVING ROOM –fluff and straighten couch cushions. Remove rubbish and dirty plates, cups etc.
6. BEDROOM –pick up dirty socks, underwear and clothes. Remove dirty plates, food scraps and empty packets.
7. Pull covers up on bed.
8. LIGHTING –choose appropriate lighting to set desired mood.
9. Put some background music on and relax!
