I may write about “home” stuff — but hospitality is not one of my natural strong suits. It is certainly not my intention to come across as being rude or unwelcoming. I just really struggle with hosting – especially when it’s a last minute visit. (Truth be told though, you could tell me you’re going to be in town for a visit three months from now, and I’m already stressing.) My brain races with all the preparations that need to be done in order to make my home look perfect, smell perfect, and feel perfect for that person’s arrival. So badly do I want the memory of my home to be made up of all positive things: not that the kitchen smelled weird or that the bathroom looked long neglected.
So those midday knocks on the door? Make me want to hide. Last-minute visits? Stress me right out. That text saying you’re in the neighbourhood and wanted to pop in and say hello! Woof. But every now and then, they happen. So how do you deal? How get your house together quickly so that it’s – maybe not perfect – but presentable? If you’re anything like me and also have severe hosting anxiety, then this is post is for you.
1. Put it in a drawer
You have 30 minutes before your friend shows up – time for the literal quickest pick up. This is not the time for deep cleaning or thorough organization. (I know, it kills me too, but time is of the essence here.) This is a last-minute tidy. So that clutter on your counters? Shove it in a drawer. Clothes on the floor? Shove ’em in a hamper. Receipts? Drawer. Chargers? Drawer. That thing that’s too big to fit in a drawer and you just don’t know how to deal with it right now? Closet. Heck, we only have one tiny closet and it holds so little that it’s perpetually full – so we’ve even resorted to storing larger items like boxes, baskets, our unused A.C. unit – in the actual trunk of our car. Desperate times? Haha. Take five to ten minutes and get the clutter out of sight. Put it in a drawer.
2. Spend five minutes wiping down the bathroom
If you have five minutes to allot to actually “clean” any room in your whole house in these last minutes before your guest arrives, make it the bathroom. There’s nothing more unpleasant (or memorable…) than walking into a bathroom that’s covered in filth. Five minutes are all you need to spray some all-purpose cleaner all over your bathroom and quickly wipe it down. You’re not here for a full disinfecting deep clean; so don’t make it too complicated for yourself. Your aim is simply to remove dust, hair, watermarks, grime, debris, etc. from your bathroom surfaces. Focus on wiping down these five areas:
*Tip: work from top to bottom for boosted efficiency.
1. The mirror – to remove speckles and smudges.
2. The counter – to remove watermarks.
3. The sink – to remove the soap scum and those dried-on toothpaste globs…
4. The toilet – all of its exterior components and give the bowl a quick suds-up while you’re here.
5. The floors – give them a quick vacuum or wipe up with a cloth.
Done. Five surfaces: one minute allotted per surface. Five minutes to a welcoming bathroom.
3. Close your shower curtain
Notice the above wipe-down did not include the shower. This tip requires zero cleaning, just one single second of drawing a curtain shut and it will instantly make your space look more clean. You don’t have time to clean the grime off your shower, but all the same, no one needs to see your used razors or your gooey, dripping shampoo bottles. Just pull the curtain closed and no one will be the wiser.
4. Change out the hand towel in the bathroom
This has its own header because it’s that important. Don’t make your guests wipe their hands on a clearly used, questionable hand towel. Quickly swap out your current semi-soiled hand towel for a fresh one. It makes such a hospitable difference, and it takes you all of thirty seconds to do.
4. Do the dirty dishes in the sink
No one needs to see everything you ate today, all caked onto your plates and cutlery when you bring them into your kitchen to offer them a drink. Plus, we all know the smell of dishes that have been sitting in the sink too long… not cute. Take 5 minutes to wash your dishes and give your sink a quick rinse-down. You don’t even have to put your dishes away! Leave them to drip dry on a drying rack; that part doesn’t matter right now. All that matters here is eliminating off-putting odours and washing all that old, dried-on food gunk down the drain. Your guest will appreciate it.
5. Make your bed
If you live in a studio or a tiny apartment like we do, then your bed takes up a quarter of the physical and visual space in your apartment. An unmade bed can negate all the work you’ve done so far and make the entire space look like a disaster. So if you don’t have the luxury of shutting the door to your room: take two minutes to make your bed.
6. Fluff your pillows
Flat pillows shoved into the corners of your couch doesn’t exactly say, “Come, have a seat and make yourself comfortable!” Take 30 seconds to fluff up your pillows and it’ll instantly make your living room look more fresh and inviting. A low-effort task, but a big pay off.
7. Light a candle
The way a home smells might arguably be more memorable than how it looks. So if you don’t have time to do a deep clean, a clean scented candle (or an essential oil diffuser if that’s more up your alley) really is the cherry on top to the quick tidy you just accomplished. You can light one in your living room, in your kitchen, in your bathroom – anywhere! There’s nothing more pleasant upon entering someone’s house than a glowing candle emitting a warm, homey scent. (And guaranteed, they’ll always remember how nice your home smelled!)
These are my tried and true focus points for last-minute company. I even did the math on all the chunks of time I sprinkled throughout this post, and this quick tidy should only take about 26 minutes – so you even have four minutes to sit down and take some deep breaths. 😉 I might not to be able to fully remove the stress of an impending visit, but my hope is that this list helps to relieve some amount of it. I hope it serves you as well as it does me!
What do you think is the most important last-minute home preparation before company arrives?
