Surprise visit? How to clean the house in 5 minutes!

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Nobody likes the hell that is a surprise visit and whether it's your mother-in-law popping in to inspect your cleanliness standards or some good friends just dropping by to see how you are, a last minute visit is enough to send you into a cleaning frenzy. 

Put down the rubber gloves and stop trying to polish the dog, as we have some handy tips that will allow you to freshen up your home in a matter of minutes, even leaving you enough time to pop the kettle on! 

It's not about cleaning frantically. The secret is cleaning cleverly, so let us take away the stress of a last minute visit…

1. Dust your TV screen

Reflective surfaces are a nightmare to keep clean. We all know that yet it always seems certain people have more time to focus on cleaning them than others. If you're looking to do a super quick clean up before people arrive, try to give your screens and mirrors a wipe as they will show up any smudges or streaks.

We love this room (from the talented interior designers at Dröm Living) and, while we know it's spotless, if the TV screen looked dusty or greasy, we would assume the rest of the space could do with a once over too. It makes sense, doesn't it?

2. Wipe down large surfaces

If you only have time for a quick clean up before your uninvited and unexpected guests appear, we suggest that you give large surface a super quick dust. This is only because the size of the furniture will naturally draw the eye so if large items look spotless, it's a natural assumption the rest of the house is too.

Dining tables and kitchen worktops will both benefit from a quick spruce up but if you're going to run a hoover round, you could even just put your flat fabric attachment on and use that to remove any crumbs or dirt. Now that's smart thinking!

3. Give bathroom suite items a wipe

Have you ever noticed that people who pop in unexpectedly always seem to ask to use your bathroom? It's the one room that can really show your cleanliness up but when you only have time for a quick clean up, you need to pick and choose your battles.

Wipe your sink and toilet, being sure to lift the lid. Throw some bleach into the pan and give your bath and/or shower a quick rinse. Hang your towels straight, make sure there is a fresh toilet roll and then get out of there. If you don't you'll obsess and forget the rest of your house!

4. Hide away dirty dishes

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If you can't spare the time to wash the dishes in your kitchen, hide them! Short notice visits don't usually last too long so you'll be fine, as long as you can make your guests a cup of tea and offer them some biscuits without giving away your dirty little secret.

Either load your dishes into a dishwasher (if you have one) or choose a cupboard and get hiding. A perfunctory wipe of the surfaces will make sure that everything looks good and nobody will ever guess you've slacked off a bit. 

What a great quick clean up tip!

5. Turn on the lights

Making sure your main lights are all on to their fullest will make your home seem a little brighter, more sparkly and cleaner so, put your concerns about energy usage to one side for an hour. What you lose in energy-efficiency, you'll more than make up for in compliments.

In addition to turning on your lights, make sure all your curtains and blinds are open, which will help draw in as much sunlight as possible. Who knew that a quick clean up could be as easy as flicking on a few switches? We would have thrown the mop away years ago if we did!

6. Make it smell good

Senses work together to make an appraisal of a location so, if you want your home to appear fresh, tidy and welcoming, make sure you tackle how it smells during your ultra-quick clean up.

It's wonderfully easy to do this as a scented candle, incense sticks or a plug-in diffuser will do all the work for you. All you have to do is light them up or plug them… et voila! A beautiful smelling home that couldn't possibly be in need of a spring clean and that will impress any last minute guests.

For more home cleanliness tips, take a look at this Ideabook: Want a really clean house? Throw away these 6 things!

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