Just in case you might be up for some emergency house cleaning, with the kids home on summer holidays and the chance of company and drop in visitors higher than usual, I had to include this article by Carole Pagan, author of Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak in our July line up.

If you haven’t been keeping to your house cleaning routine, or have fallen behind with all the comings and goings of summer, here are some quick tips to get your house cleaned up fast.

EMERGENCY HOUSE CLEANING

by Carole Pagan

Yikes! Company’s coming – and the house is a disaster!

OK, calm down. Take a deep breath.

Key secret #1 – don’t worry about perfection. Ain’t gonna  happen.

Key secret #2 – keep moving. No stalling around, no admiring your work – just move.

Ready? Let’s Go!

Get all of the dishes soaking in hot soapy water, or into the dishwasher (turn it on) 5 min.

Do you have help? If so – have a race- who can clear the most clutter? Toys put away. Dirty clothes in the laundry room. Beds made. 10 min.

Now – give one a feather duster, and another one the vacuum.

While they’re doing that, take a bankers box, or a laundry basket and throw all the paper clutter in. Stash it under the desk or in a closet. No sorting – just get rid of it for now. 5 min.

Spray down the shower walls with cleaner. An old bath puff works great to clean quickly. Rinse and dry off to make it shine.

Clean mirror.

Clean sink.

Clean toliet.

Do a quick wipe on the floor.

10 min.

Now go back and wash those dishes. They should go quickly now. Wipe up counters and stove. Get the garbage out. 10-15 min.

If you have more time, you can go back and fix things up a little more, if you’re so inclined. At least at this point, the house should be presentable.

OK, now you can admire your work 😉

You can get more tips from Carole  as well as her complete housework system in her ebook – Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak.

Never worry about the stress and mess and emergency cleaning again!