Don’t panic! Yes, you thought you had plenty of time (and when you invited them over, you did), but suddenly, the date is looming, the food needs preparing, if they’re staying over then sleeping arrangements need to be organised, there’s still that work deadline to be met so all of a sudden, the pressure is on.
But, despite all that, you want your place to look great, so make sure you focus on the following commonly forgotten areas. It’s easy to do and it will have a really positive impact on the appearance of your home.
As they’ll arrive with larger bags for an overnight stay or at least with smaller bags, wallets, keys and coats, have some dedicated storage to put their small items so they don’t get lost.
If they are going to take their shoes off, have somewhere to put them so the shoes aren’t strewn all over the floor. A coat stand or hooks on the wall gives the coats somewhere to go which stops them piling up on the stairs or bannisters where everyone will traipse past them.
No doubt you will have cleaned the bathroom or cloakroom but pay special attention to the taps. Sparkling metal gives plenty of bang for your buck as far as appearances go and its an easy, quick fix. Just remember to use soft, not abrasive products and cloths, and don’t leave any watermarks.
Make sure that floors are clean, and carpets hoovered. Because they have a large surface area, it would be difficult for guests not to notice dirty floors and messy carpets covered in bits (and toys or empty mugs, etc.). Include wiping down the skirting boards to remove scuffs and marks too.
A quick wipe of the inside of your windows can make a huge difference. People don’t tend to notice that the windows are clean, but they do notice streaks, smears and fingerprints. As with metal taps, microfibre cloths are your friend for sprucing up glass and mirrors quickly.
Nobody likes drying their hands on someone else’s grubby towels so give guests clean towels if they’re staying over and always put a clean one in the cloakroom. That way you can give them all a wash when everyone has gone.
Finally, if your guests are staying overnight, at the very least make sure they have clean bedding. If you’ve got time, you could even freshen the mattress by shaking bicarbonate of soda over it to absorb any odours for 24 hours then hoovering the mattress before making the bed up.
Now all that’s left is to enjoy yourselves.
