Guest Cleaning the House + Checklist
by
Megan Aubrey
(IC: blogger)
Have you ever said, “I need to guest clean my house”? Or are you not really sure what that means?
Well it’s definitely a thing in our home. Sure, I clean our house: dusting, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming. The norm. But then, someone tells me they are coming to visit.
Enter guest cleaning.
Thank goodness, right? If it weren’t for these wonderful people coming to our home, I think those extra cleaning efforts would be even farther in between. I think I’m paranoid, but I imagine these guests (you know, the people who I trust and love enough to stay in my house) seeing all the extra dirt in the corners, windowsills, and refrigerator. I think it’s all in my head. I’ve never noticed dust bunnies in someone’s else's house when I stay. But maybe they have a case of the guest cleaning paranoid too.
What brings this on is that my dad and his wife visited last week! Hurray! For someone whose family is almost all out of town (and by out of town I mean Dad is in Georgia, Mom is in New Jersey, and sister is in California) we entertain quite a few bouts of visitors (I LOVE entertaining in our home!).
Needless to say, the weekend before they arrived I experienced quite the bout of guest cleaning.
I know everyone has their own routine, products, and style of cleaning, but I also love reading about them because there are so many short cuts or different products that people swear by.
So I thought I would break down my cleaning regime (both regular and guest) and them maybe you can share your tips with me too! Let the cleaning frenzy begin!
cleaners
Well it’s definitely a thing in our home. Sure, I clean our house: dusting, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming. The norm. But then, someone tells me they are coming to visit.
Enter guest cleaning.
Thank goodness, right? If it weren’t for these wonderful people coming to our home, I think those extra cleaning efforts would be even farther in between. I think I’m paranoid, but I imagine these guests (you know, the people who I trust and love enough to stay in my house) seeing all the extra dirt in the corners, windowsills, and refrigerator. I think it’s all in my head. I’ve never noticed dust bunnies in someone’s else's house when I stay. But maybe they have a case of the guest cleaning paranoid too.
What brings this on is that my dad and his wife visited last week! Hurray! For someone whose family is almost all out of town (and by out of town I mean Dad is in Georgia, Mom is in New Jersey, and sister is in California) we entertain quite a few bouts of visitors (I LOVE entertaining in our home!).
Needless to say, the weekend before they arrived I experienced quite the bout of guest cleaning.
I know everyone has their own routine, products, and style of cleaning, but I also love reading about them because there are so many short cuts or different products that people swear by.
So I thought I would break down my cleaning regime (both regular and guest) and them maybe you can share your tips with me too! Let the cleaning frenzy begin!
cleaners
Here is my guest list printable (click on over to the blog for the PDF).
Dust – I don’t think it matters the brand, but don’t just use Swiffer Dusters (except for quick touch-ups) but use a spray/wet solution (like Pledge or my olive oil/lemon juice mixture). I used to be a Swiffer Dusters addict (no liquid solution, just wiping). Then one day I used a product and have never looked back. Using the polish not only removes the dust but repels it. This is probably a no-brainer for the rest of the world, but for me, it is revolutionary. But I definitely stand beside Swiffer wipes as quick touchups.
Vacuum and Swiffer the Floors – I like to vacuum first (both carpet and hardwood) to get up all the dirt and debris. Make sure when vacuuming to use that hose to get the dust hiding in corners. Then I like to grab everything else on the hard wood with a Swiffer. It makes your floors smooth and so clean.
Cabinet polishing- This is what I call my crème-de-la-crème cleaning. It really takes the kitchen over the edge. It goes from cabinets to oh-my-hey-look-at-me glossy cabinets. I feel so darn good when I get these babies polished up. I use the best combo of cleaners to make these decades old cabinets look mighty mighty fine. I first use Thomasville Kitchen Cabinet Cream to get all the dirt, grime, and grease off the cabinets. Then I polish the cabinets into a golden glow using Old English Scratch Cover. These decades old cabinets look brand new!
Refrigerator and microwave cleaning – I don’t mind living with these a little crumby for just Eric and me (yeah I'm gross but let's just chalk it up to different priorities) but I don’t want others to know that I’d rather live with a sort of dirty frig/microwave than have to clean that mess. Yuck. I use my vinegar and water spray to wipe everything down.
Natural Stove Cleaning: Can I say yuck? This is a place where spills cake on with abandon. They definitely mean business. But just a couple of natural ingredients says bye bye grime!
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Published July 6th, 2014 8:00 PM
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