CLEANING FOR GUESTS: TIPS FOR THE ASPIRING CLEANING LOVER

With the holidays approaching, it is time to get ready for our GUESTS! There are so many things to prepare for. Traveling arrangements, food, sleeping arrangements, festive activities, sweet treats, and gift sharing. Although, there’s one topic I don’t believe is talked about enough and has a great impact on how successful your guest’s stay will be – and that, my friends, is CLEANING. I have met a few people who actually love cleaning and don’t find it an overwhelming list of daunting chores. Out of that group of people, I have even heard some say, “It’s relaxing and provides me- time”. MIND = BLOWN. It’s hard for me to understand how scrubbing toilets is relaxing but boy, am I extremely interested to know how I can feel the same way.  So, I started doing my own research over the past year or so on how I can love to clean.

I clean because I have to and no one else is going to do it for me. A cluttered, messy home also fogs my mind and makes me feel down.  Currently, I am an aspiring cleaning lover that has some tips to share with you today on how to present a clean home for guests to enjoy when they visit, without pulling your hair out in the process.  The results of cleaning are so satisfying and I feel great once it’s over, but getting through the list takes some preparation for success.

TIPS:

• Stay focused on the goal and keep envisioning the end result in your head to keep you motivated.
• Start by making your bed. There are studies that show if your first task is making your bed, it creates a sensation in your brain of accomplishment. The sense of accomplishment catalyzes the motivation to then do other tasks with ease.
• Use your favorite smelling cleaning products to bring a pleasant atmosphere around you. When I have my favorite cleaning scents with me, I can’t wait to spray them and get to work. Here are some of my favorite brands of natural/plant-based cleaning supplies that really help lighten my mood and make cleaning a little more enjoyable.
  • Meyers –Radish, Mum, Apple Cider, Iowa Pine, and Basil are my favorite scents
  • Method – Grapefruit, Eucalyptus & Mint, and Lime & Sea Salt are my favorite scents
  • Young Living “THIEVES” cleaning concentrate
  • Caldrea – Pear Agave Blossom and Rose Water Driftwood are my favorite scents
• Have a roaming basket that you take room- to-room with you and put all items that don’t belong in that area inside the basket. After you’ve cleaned all the surfaces in your home, you can take the roaming basket from room-to-room and put the misplaced items back where they belong.
• Now this one might seem a little odd but, humor me. Watch a cleaning video on YouTube. Nothing gets me more motivated than watching someone else knock out cleaning jobs and I get to learn their tips at the same time. Here are some of my favorite YouTube cleaning channels.
  • LoveMeg
  • MissLizHeart
  • BelindaSelene
  • TillVacuumDoUsPart
  • Kristen Kasper
  • Beauty & the Beastons
• Time yourself. Something about trying to beat the clock really lights a fire under me. I like to make a game out of it by writing down my completion times and seeing if I can beat it the next time cleaning needs to be done.
• Give yourself a break. If you prepare in advance, deep cleaning jobs can be done at separate times on separate days. Just tasks like surface cleaning and fresh linens need to be done directly prior to your guests arriving. I have found when I spend 8-9 hours cleaning at one time, I am exhausted for even a few days after. You don’t want to be experiencing exhaustion when your guests arrive and miss out on the good times. Instead plan a couple weeks in advance. All the deep cleaning jobs you want to get done can be planned out per day leading up to your guest’s arrival. By the end of the couple weeks, you will just have surface cleaning to do saving all that energy to enjoy your company.
• If you live with others, do not hesitate to assign them tasks to lighten your load. Even the kiddos can help and you are teaching them life skills at the same time.

If all else fails, throw everything into the nearest closet, spray some room refresher and enjoy your guests. Cleaning isn’t the most important part about guests arriving but, it can be the most nerve-racking part for some of us. I hope this gives you some motivation to get those tasks done. Just keep imaging on how satisfying the end result is!

DON’T BE THIS PERSON 🙂 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBwELzvnrQg

Before I go, here is my last “cleaning for guests” tip: Put 1-2 drops of your favorite essential oil on the inside of the cardboard on your toilet paper roll. It smells so great and no one will guess where it is coming from!

-Mary Moftah, FSS Assistant Provider Relations Coordinator