Hosting a large event at your home already comes with enough stress, but with the right cleaning checklist, having a tidy home can be among the least of your worries. Taking the time to clean your house before your next party or holiday event will impress your guests and make your home the perfect place to enjoy time with family and friends.
Key Topics:
- How do I prep my home for guests?
- What kind of checklist do I need?
- What areas of my home do I need to clean?
- How do I find the time to clean?
How Can I Begin Prepping My Home for Guests?
Whether you live in a small-to-moderately sized home or a large one, it’s in your best interest to start thinking about how you’re going to prepare for house guests well before they arrive. Let’s be realistic—your time spent working, running errands, and cooking are likely to take up most of your time already, and by the time the end of the week arrives, the last thing you want is to scramble, frantically cleaning an hour before everyone arrives.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options for preparing a home, and a little bit of planning, strategy, and repetition goes a long way.
Start Drafting a Cleaning Checklist
That guest room you haven’t cleaned—let alone stepped foot in—for over six months might be a little overwhelming to look at if you don’t know where to start. That’s why one of the best ways to prep your home for guests is by creating a cleaning checklist. Seeing what needs to be done in one glance can help you prioritize tasks leading up to your event.
At the very least, it gives an idea of what exactly you need to clean and in which order. And don’t fret—instead of trying to clean everything at once, start by targeting specific problem areas that get a lot of traffic or accumulate the most dust.
Your checklist should be categorized by room, and some essential areas to focus on are:
- Dusting and polishing furniture, including hard-to-reach shelves.
- Wiping down vents, dusting ceiling fans and blinds.
- Washing linens—sheets and towels are known to harbor lots of moisture and dirt.
- Deeply cleaning tubs, toilets, and sinks.
- Sweeping and mopping floors.
- Vacuuming carpeted areas and surfaces that may contain hair and pet fur.
- Emptying waste receptors and stocking up on items like tissue and soap.
- Wiping down common surfaces such as tables, counters, and cabinets.
- Spraying fragrance aerosols, burning essential oils, or using plugins to boost pleasant smells.
Getting an idea of what kind of attention your home needs the most, then moving to what you are likely to overlook can make the difference between being a good host and a great host.
Preparing Your Home Means Anticipating Where Your Guests Will Be
Are your bedrooms off-limits? Your event might not even make use of your entire home. As a host, you can control when, where, and how your guests use different spaces throughout your house. If you know your guests won’t be visiting more private or unfinished areas of your home, such as the master bedroom, children’s playroom, or the basement, don’t waste time making sure those rooms have been prepared to above-average standards.
Instead, prioritize high-traffic areas like:
- Your hallway entrance.
- The living room.
- The dining room and kitchen.
- Any half-bathrooms.
- The guest bedroom and any connecting bathroom.
You should also consider factors like how long your guests are visiting or if they will be staying overnight, especially during the holidays. Devote your time and energy to where the cleaning really matters, and your guests will be none-the-wiser.
Have guests visiting? The best way to guarantee a stress-free experience and, more importantly, a deep clean of your home is to arrange for regular house cleaning services ahead of time. The Purple Maids provides customized cleaning services to your specific needs and fully accommodates your schedule no matter how busy.
How Do I Find the Time to Clean?
The old phrase is still as true as ever: “Time waits for no one.” The same applies to the dust that accumulates on your furniture if you don’t clean it frequently. Regardless of how spic and span you may keep your home, things get dusty, and dirt and grime show up in the strangest of places.
Busy schedules and more pressing responsibilities increase the chance of overlooking your cleaning. It can be tough figuring out how to even find the time to declutter when there are mandatory board meetings and recitals at play. Thankfully, there are creative ways to maximize your time and finish your necessary tasks beforehand:
- Create a schedule clearly detailing your week to identify when you have downtime.
- Devote time on weekend mornings for cleaning.
- Combine your favorite tasks with your cleaning time by listening to a podcast or an audiobook while you sweep and mop.
- Get help from friends and family members.
- Straighten up while watching that television show you’ve seen a hundred times.
Make these tasks as easy on yourself as possible, and keep in mind that in the long run, you are better off knocking these tasks off sooner rather than later. No one enjoys coming home to a filthy house—your guests are no exception.
The Purple Maids Make Sure Your Home Is Prepared for House Guests
Prepping your home for guests is easily achievable with our exceptional residential cleaning services. If you are a Seattle resident and desire an extremely thorough deep clean for your specific needs, our wide variety of services are guaranteed to keep your home in the best state. Your guests won’t stop obsessing over your unbelievably high standards—just be careful, you might become the designated host for every major event each year.
Contact us to schedule an appointment or get a free estimate for the best house cleaning service in Seattle.
