How to fake a clean house to get your house back in order, and fast!
Whether you have company coming over, need to clean up quickly after a long day, or have simply skipped a week’s worth of cleaning (like me), focus on these housekeeping tasks and your house will whipped into shape in mere minutes. Save the deep cleaning for another day – this is all about returning your house to a working order and making your cleaning count!
The Bare Basics to Fake a Clean House
Clear the Kitchen Counters
The heart of your home is often the messiest. Start here in your quest for a fake clean house by doing the following:
- put food items away in pantry/fridge
- throw away any collecting trash
- load dishes in dishwasher or put a little pile neatly in the sink
- do a quick wipe down, if needed
10 Minute Tidy
Clutter can easily make a fairly clean house look like a disaster!
- Grab some baskets or bags
- Collect items that look cluttered or items that are out of place
- Put items back where they belong, or stack the baskets nicely in a room or closet that is out of sight.
Light a Candle
A pleasant smelling house can hide a multitude of sins and is often the first thing my guests mention when they come over!
Make Beds
- straighten the sheets
- fluff the throw pillows
…ahhh, much better right?
Wipe Down the Bathroom
Whenever I do this it looks like I cleaned the whole bathroom…only I didn’t {wink}.
- Grab a Clorox wipe (or a baby wipe!) and quickly wipe the counters.
- Check the toilet. Give is a good swish with the toilet brush
… That’s it!
Even though every surface may not be scrubbed down, the end result is a clean looking house and plenty of time to enjoy it. Win-Win!
If you’re a “cleaning wanderer” and get distracted like me, here’s a handy checklist to help keep you focused on the tasks:
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS FREE CLEANING CHECKLIST
Now go get your house in order… or at least make it appear to be so!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Amy was a monthly cleaning and organization contributor on Somewhat Simple in 2012. She was the author of the blog 20 Minute Mom, where she shared time-saving & home management tips.
This post was originally published on Somewhat Simple in August 2012
Hi Amy B-thank you,thank you, thank you.
Have to go check out your blog now, plenty of time because I won’t be spending it cleaning!
Thanks, Di{CookTheTV}
Great post Amy!! I love your list 🙂
xo,
Laurie
Thanks Laurie!! xoxo
Love this list. It’s very similar to what I do. I bought a couple storage ottomans for toys, so I can quickly toss them all in when company comes over. Just getting all the toys out of sight cleans up the living area so much!
Perfect timing– i have 20 minutes until company arrives and am going to take your advice and get to work…now if only I could pull myself away from the computer and stop reading great blog posts I might have more time to clean. Ha ha!
Holly- maybe I should have added Step 1: turn off the computer… 🙂 Easier said than done, right? I’ll go on to turn motivational music on and then get distracted…
Thanks for the post! Awesome tips — something my (frequently) messy house could use!
Ahhhh! I love this post! just what I need today- seriously!!!!
yay!!
I love you.
Seriously. i’m printing this out and putting it on my fridge!