Cleaning Floors Before Company Arrives
I have a little list of chores in my mind that I like to accomplish before my guests arrive, and one thing I like to check off is to sweep and Swiffer my wood floors.
BUT … honestly, it doesn’t always get done, especially with spur-of-the-moment guests or when I’m pressed for time.
I’ve had to learn to just let it go, to not be stressed over the animal hair and dust, and to just not look down at the floors.
I don’t know what kind of floors you have in your home, by mine sure get dirty … fast!
Here’s my cleaning schedule/pick up schedule for when company’s coming under these time constraints:
30 minute warning guests are coming:
Set the table
Wipe off the kitchen counters & spruce up kitchen
Make sure ONE bathroom is clean1-4 hour warning guests are coming:
Above 3 chores + …
Pick up the house
Sweep and Swiffer the floors
Sometimes vacuum
The beauty of it all is that even if none of this gets done, it’s still okay.
It’s been said many times here on RE: People are coming to see us, not coming to inspect our house or our floors.
I’d love to hear your quick methods for cleaning up, and also if you have wood floors, how do you clean those?
Don’t forget you can buy “31 Days to Clean” by Sarah Mae, now on Amazon for only $4.99!
(This post was not sponsored by Swiffer today, but I do use their products.)
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
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Clean the wood floors? OK not as often as I hope. But when I do I too use Bona cleaner.
I just love it. Now I have a picture of my floors on my mind. Better go do them now. Since I’m not the most organized right before company comes.
Two dogs and one is a yellow Lab (i.e. shedder). I use a Simplicity vacuum and a Bona mop system. Works beautifully.
We have three kids and three dogs so regular floor cleaning is a must! Because I do this on a (nearly) daily basis I don’t freak out about it too much before company comes. Especially if the company has kids that will be tearing through the house with my kids!
I have a huge picnic basket that I carry from room to room to pick up all the bits and pieces lying around (if I’m in a hurry). If there’s time, it’s easy to carry it around and put everything away, if not, I “hide” it until later…hehehe.
If all else fails, I like to give my guests a wine (or two) asap….that way they don’t see ANY mess…hahahaha.
x Marnie
This post made me smile. Our kids and grands from out of town showed up yesterday for a wonderful surprise visit. The kids and grands in town came for supper. The house was clean before they arrived, and today I savoured the sweet memories as I wiped up some spots, lots of crumbs, and cleaned the bathrooms…….I would take the mess any day for these precious visits. Great post!
Bons, Bona, and Bona! I love that stuff and have used it in two houses with hard wood floors. Recently I went up to Home Depot and grabbed the gallon size with a free spray bottle attached to it, and it rang up for 1penny! They were closing out that size and since they hadn’t taken it off the shelf yet, they had to sell it to me for that. I could only buy one, so I sent my husband in later to get another one! Worth a try! Another tip is to spray your bathroom and kitchen counters with Mrs.Meyer’s counter cleaner for the quickie wipe down..it smells so great and clean! Spray a paper towel and wipe things down, then put it in the empty trash can by the potty and the smell hangs around even longer! I’m going to try them all. Unless you are sensitive to fragrance, this really makes the house feel clean , even if it’s just a couple of rooms. The way candles lit make everything look and smell cozy!
I like Cindy in the comments above use the Bona Floor cleaning set and I love it!
I LOVE my Shark Steam Mop…no need to keep extra supplies, dries soooo fast! I love everything about it!
We have wood floors too – I use the basic broom for the dust, crumbs, and hair and then the wet swiffer pads to clean. I love my swiffer-super fast and easy.
I did myself a favor and hired a cleaning lady to come once a month. (I work – I’m alone – Life’s too short.) I pay her a decent wage so no worries there. Her cleaning company is “green.” She uses a string mop thing and Murphy’s Oil Soap on the hardwood floors. When I have people over now, it takes about an hour to “freshen” up. ;-))
We take our shoes off in the house; culturally, it’s a must here and it’s so practical because the streets are nasty. It’s customary to have extra slippers for guests. (We also did that in Alaska minus the extra slippers, and it’s stuck.) As for cleaning, my housekeeper does it twice a week and I’ll sometimes go over quickly myself if I feel it’s bad enough before company. The children also help sweep up under the table after dinners.
When I had wood floors I used Swiffer and loved it. Now I have concrete floors and can still use them, but hubby bought a set of microfiber pads and so I use those…one for dry and one for wet. Usually depending on how bad I think the floors look, I’ll run one of these over the floors quickly (or have my girls do it)…if I don’t have time, I just don’t worry about it.
I have rugs on my laminate wood floors. A friend suggested I use a spray cleaner and use the Swiffer like a mop with the cleaner. She also suggested using Old English every 6 months to make the floors shine. Kind of hard to keep up with dogs in and out.
I love to share how I clean my wood floors. I have the Bona cleaning set. One pad is a microfiber cloth that attaches to a handle much like the swiffer. I don’t usually use this though as I have a small vacuum cleaner handy right behind my sofa. After I get the loose dirt and dog hair from the floor, then I use the Bona cleaner. It is a spray bottle cleaner. You just spray lightly and then go over it with the cleaning cloth attachment. The great thing I like about it is that it dries quickly. ANother wonderful thing is that it leaves no build up or stickiness.