What if someone calls in the morning and very spontaneously, you invite them over~and they will arrive in about 20 minutes or so?
Add to that~a migraine the night before so a full sink of dirty dishes, the last day before grocery day so pantry is bare, you-still in your bathrobe because hubby just left for a business trip and you wanted to see him off, and the day after a mighty full weekend (is it just me or does the house always get TRASHED on the weekend?!?).
What would you do?
This is my lightning quick, hastily done fix to ensure that the house is welcoming when they arrive. (Even if it is in a state of disrepair when they were invited.)
In order of priority.
1) Light smelly candle and put it on the table by the door. When they walk in, if nothing else, it will smell nice.
2) Clean up the first room the guests walk into; in our case, the dining room. First impressions are always important. Clear the table and tidy floor. Push in chairs.
3) Glance in the fridge to evaluate groceries and what you might offer for lunch. Put tea kettle on.
4) Head to the bathroom, picking up toys and hurling them to the toybox as you pass them. Wipe down sink and clean toilet.
5) Shower and while doing so, figure out what food you can offer. English Muffin pizzas for children and chicken quesadillas for adults. CHECK.
6) After you dry off, put load of dirty clothes in the washing machine to wait there until you can wash them. (That's what stinks about having your laundry in your bathroom. There just ain't no hiding it!)
7th) Make peppermint tea and in lieu of the cookies you DON'T have, make individual pudding cups with whipped cream and garnished with leftover pineapple from fridge.
8th) Pick up toys and tidy rooms that you'll be using.
9th) Handwash DISHES (if ONLY I had a dishwasher!!!)
With toilets fresh, sinks empty, the house smelling nice, and the floor relatively free from clutter you can convince people you are a phenomenal housekeeper, even if you haven't swept in days or dusted in weeks.
And remember: food doesn't have to be fancy to be welcoming.
Ask me how I know!!! ;-)
4 comments:
Good for you! I am just not brave enough to invite people over if the house isn't already clean. If someone invites themselves, I tend to clean the rooms we'll be using first and deal with myself later. So the house will be clean even if I'm stinky. :-)
Wow this sounds familiar but no drops by since we moved here.. :( I miss those days but know things will change once we move. No news yet...
I never thought to light a candle by the door. What a great idea, and we have so many of them. Some people collect plates/spoons, I collect candles or rather they collect me!
Hope you had a nice visit and you are feeling better!
Rebecca, your amazing,I have a hard time inviting people over at the last minute unless things are tidy. With homeschooling two and a 4yr old and a 15mo old things are rarely tidy in our house.
Have a Blessed Night!
And what, pray tell, should one do if ten seconds isn't nearly long enough for a tidy?! :)
Beck has a similar last-minute cleaning routine. If I walk in and see her lighting the candles in the entryway, I know someone's on their way!
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