The Quick And Clever Way To Tidy Up Your House For Guests In A Pinch

There's nothing like unexpected guests to test your quick thinking and rapid-paced organization skills. When you're minutes from hosting visitors, there's hardly time to attend to every cleaning detail. And while there are household tasks you should be doing weekly to keep things running smoothly, those things aren't always completed. Instead, you're forced to decide which essential cleaning tasks are worth accomplishing. Generally, you can stick to "social" areas guests will likely see, such as the living room, kitchen, entryway, and bathroom. Everywhere else, you just have to close the doors and hope your guests don't get lost. You can then focus on managing the mess.

The simplest way to tidy a room in a hurry to prepare for guests is to put the clutter in a basket and hide it out of sight. Get a large box, bin, or spare laundry basket and start filling it with any clutter that is out of place in the main areas of the house. Don't worry about organizing them in the basket; you can sort them out when your guests leave. This "guest for dinner" bin hack is similar to a DOOM box, which can help you declutter. If it makes it more efficient, you can also use several small containers, one for each room, hiding them in special areas to make them easier to put back. Once filled, tuck your container in a closet, a bedroom, the garage, or anywhere else that people will be unlikely to enter. Just don't forget about your basket and let it hang around too long. When your guests leave, dedicate a few minutes to putting the items where they belong.

With a clutter basket plan in place, you can figure out ways to make it more efficient. Depending on the mess level, you may want to keep a paper or plastic bag in your basket to let you separate trash from items that are just out of place. Declutter starting at the entryway, going from room to room as your guests might while they walk through the house. By knowing how to focus on your most frequented spots, you can quickly fake a clean home for company on short notice. 

Then, you can figure out where to store your clutter bins. Leaving an empty space in a hall closet is an obvious choice, but you can also get creative with your furniture to hide clutter in plain sight. You can always use baskets in your home for stylish storage, allowing you to keep random items tucked away on a bookshelf, TV stand, or console table. Wall-hanging totes also make a fashionable statement while helping you keep small items out of sight. The added advantage of this is that the basket will still be visible so you don't forget to empty it once company leaves. If clutter is a common struggle, for instance if you have kids that like to play with toys in the living room, you can even consider upgrading your furniture to incorporate these bail-out baskets. Added drawer storage or shelving around the room will leave places for your bins and baskets, but extra-functional pieces like storage ottomans add clever hiding places that won't overwhelm the room.