Hosting can cause a lot of anxiety – especially if it involves bringing guests into your own home. Decorating and preparing food can be exciting and fun, but let’s be honest, most of us do not find cleaning for guests exciting and fun. With a busy schedule, finding time to clean before a party can be daunting. Good thing for you, we have tips to help you clean your home for guests in under 15 MINUTES!

Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize!

We cannot stress this enough – you only have 15 minutes, so prioritize which rooms you want to focus on. Start with the main gathering room and main bathroom guests will be using. Will you have people gather in the kitchen and dining room? Will they be primarily in the living room? Will they be outside on the patio for a majority of the party? Once you’ve identified the main room(s) to focus on, shut the doors to the other rooms not in use. This will give your home the appearance of cleanliness, without having to spend valuable time cleaning rooms nobody would even walk in.

Declutter.

Start with decluttering your main space. You won’t have time to truly put things away or organize, so pick up anything that doesn’t belong or makes the room look messy – like dishes or cups, toys, shoes, clothes, etc. One quick way to do this is grab a bin or basket and go around the room placing these items inside, then find a place to hide the bin until you have time later to truly put them away. This will save you LOADS of time!

Spot Clean the Bathroom and Main Room.

Does the main bathroom guests will be using need obvious cleaning? Focus on that first. You can give the bathroom a quick, 2-3 minute once-over. Clean the toilet bowl, wipe down the sink, take out the trash. Just those few steps does wonders! In the main room, does the table need a quick wipe-down? Pull out the Pledge. Fingerprints on the glass table? Do a once-over with Windex. Avoid getting too caught up in the details, as you only have 15 minutes. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to get to the floor, but that’s okay! The foot traffic from the party would likely undo any cleaning you did anyways, so skip the vacuuming or mopping for the sake of time (and your sanity).

Last Minute Touches.

Just a few simple steps can transform a room to give the “appearance” of clean without spending hours deep cleaning. Straighten up any pillows or blankets, put dirty dishes in the sink in the dishwasher, hide that basket of laundry behind a closed door. And possibly our favorite tip – light your favorite candle to automatically transform your space into an inviting, pleasant one.

You can also use this easy, 15-minute flow chart to help you prioritize and stay focused when preparing your home for guests!

Following these easy steps will have your home ready for guests in under 15 minutes, saving you time and energy, and allowing you to enjoy your time with them!

Cheers!

Clink. Cheers. Celebrate.