Company is Coming! 5 Quick Ways to Clean the House

During the holiday season, many of us have company expected. Hosting family and friends is a wonderful way to show hospitality to others. But it’s remarkable how quickly the house can get dirty from one day to the next … even if you have people over regularly! If you find yourself exclaiming, “Company is coming, and this house is a mess!” then here are 5 Quick Ways to Clean the House.

clean the house

Make sure that you let your children participate in the cleaning. Each of them, as long as they’re toddler age or above, is old enough to help with something. So, you can include them in your activities and work together to clean the house.

If you have a few days to prepare, you should be in great shape. If you have just a few hours, that happens sometimes, too. But it’s fine: scale back some of your expectations or kick it into double-time mode!

Company is Coming!! 5 Quick Ways to Clean the House

1. Dusting

Take 30 minutes and do a quick dusting of obvious furniture and shelves. It is amazing how a small bucket of Murphy’s Oil soap and water can quickly clean many things AND make the house smell clean and fresh. Your younger kids can wipe down things like the coffee table, bookshelves, or even hardwood floors with it.

2. Picking Up Clutter

You can easily include children of many ages in this one. Either have each child take a room (for older children), or move from room to room together. Put things back in toy boxes and bins, and stash loose items away in closets or drawers.  

This can take anywhere from a few minutes per room to a couple of hours across the house. Picking up the loose clutter on the floor, tables, shelves, etc. can make the house feel cleaner without too much effort. If you’re short on time, don’t worry about trying to figure out what things to keep and what to throw away. Save that for a spring or fall cleaning.

3. Cleaning Bathrooms

Messy bathrooms can be a horror story! But there’s a quick and easy way to keep the bathrooms in reasonable shape. Just store a container of Clorox Clean-Up wipes, a bottle of Windex, and a bottle of bleach cleaner with paper towels under each sink. As you go in and out of the bathroom during the day, use one wipe to clean. That might mean wiping down the baseboards and floor, or wiping off the outside of the toilet.

This can be done in five minutes or less, and it makes a world of difference in keeping up with bathroom cleaning. You can also spray bleach cleaner inside the toilet bowl to remove any discoloration and odor. It makes the bathroom smell nice and clean!

You can give one of your kids the chore of cleaning the bathroom counters and mirrors weekly. When rushing to clean the house, this is something you can easily send a child to do. Dirty bathrooms can be kind of a turn-off to holiday guests, but keeping them clean is easier than you think with a few extra minutes here and there and a once-over with hands-on cleaners!

A minimalist setting with a lit candle on a wooden tray, casting warm shadows and creating a soothing ambiance.

4. Cleaning the Kitchen

My husband and I work together to do the cooking when company is coming. It works this way: he cooks; I clean … and I have no complaints because he’s such a great cook. But it’s remarkable how quickly the dishes can start stacking up, just on a normal day. And when company is over, you typically have folks in and out of your kitchen space while you’re making food to serve, so it is an important room to focus on when you clean the house for company.

Cleaning the kitchen is an important life skill, so you might try a two- or three-person clean-up in the kitchen. Get your younger ones involved in wiping down surfaces with a sponge while someone else washes dishes and another person dries and puts them away. Even with your biggest pile-up, you can be in and out of the kitchen in about 30 minutes.

5. Vacuuming

Person vacuuming a living room with wooden floors and houseplants, enhancing a neat space.

I usually do a seasonal steam vacuuming, in the fall and spring, in order to keep the carpets in decent shape. But there’s rarely time to do that when company is coming.

Vacuuming is usually a job to save for last (or close to last) because the floor and carpets seem to be a magnet for fuzzies and such. Assign one of your kids to vacuum on a normal basis during the week.

And if you need to clean the house for company coming, have that kid (or teen) run the vacuum through the main rooms of the house on your company’s arrival day.

A once-over vacuuming is a quick and easy way to make the house feel cleaner. You might sprinkle baking soda on the carpet first to help eliminate any odors.

6. Bonus Tip

Another quick and easy way to give the house a homey atmosphere is to light a candle or two in a mild scent like linen. For the holidays, you may want to try pumpkin spice, cinnamon, or pine scents.

Keep in mind that you are probably much more critical of your home than your company will be! So if you find yourself exclaiming, “Company is coming!” doing a quick bulk clean-up and wipe-down of the main areas of the house will make it feel clean and fresh. Then you can enjoy your company and not worry about whether or not your house is presentable.

Check out these 21 Cleaning Hacks for Busy Moms!

What’s your best quick clean the house tip? Please share it in the comments! 

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4 Comments

  1. Grace, I love this list! It’s simple and to the point. Question for you: what kind of sink cleaner do you use for your kitchen sink? I’m thinking I’ll wash mine more if I change to a better, less abrasive product for daily use.

    1. I honestly just use a spray cleaner that contains bleach. It kills the germs and makes the sink all clean looking and smelling! 🙂

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