You know what I'm talking about. Your house is plodding along ok, it's not great, but getting there. Things are happening. The house is "lived in". Then you find you have people coming for dinner. 4 to be precise. Grandma & Granddad are fine, they will probably find your home clean in comparison to what it normally is. But it's the other guests you worry about. And you have.... 3 hours!
Yeah, that's what's happening here. So this afternoon I'm engaging in what is affectionately known as an Emergency Clean. It is a combination of other emergency style cleans I've ready on sites from Flylady to Candy's Keeping the Home. Ours goes like this
1. Put disinfectant in the main toilet and spray the bathroom sink
2. Empty the dishwasher, restack, do excess dishes and clean the kitchen as best you can (clear the benches)
3. Clear the dining table and any other flat surfaces
4. Clear the floors, put everything away (if I'm really short of time I chuck everything in a laundry basket in the laundry to be put away tomorrow)
5. Clean the toilet and main bathroom and put out fresh towels
6. Sweep, vacuum or mop the main floor areas (lounge, dining, kitchen and anywhere else guests will go)
7. Check you have all the necessary food and drink for guests, if not duck out while the floors are drying and grab what you need.
Guess what I'm doing this afternoon? I'm up to number 2.
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I hope it went ok and you enjoy your night!
August 31, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Skip to number 7 and ignore the rest. Except for the dining table, you need that cleared to eat off... Polite guests will not say anything, non-polite guests will never get asked back so you never have to see them again anyway.
August 31, 2007 at 9:00 PM
Thanks guys!
As it turned out my house was in better shape than I thought. It took less than an hour of work to get presentable. I normally don't bother that much for friends and family, but international family get special treatment. Especially when they've been living in a van for 3 months. Treats like running water, clean bathrooms and glasses make a lot of difference.
Just to keep the place clean now for the Father's Day roast lunch on Sunday. I promised Hubby's cousin and father apple crumble.
September 1, 2007 at 6:50 AM
Mmmm, apple crumble. one of my favourites. With warm custard in the winter, with vanilla ice-cream in the summer. I always thought I made a pretty good apple crumble until one day I went to visit my daughter and she served her version for dessert. So now I make "her" apple crumble because it's better than mine.
September 1, 2007 at 9:55 PM
I've started reading my way through your older posts, I like the way you tell your stories. I'll probably leave the odd comment then remember that this is old stuff and every one has moved on already.......
September 1, 2007 at 10:08 PM
Thanks River, it's lovely to see you around. I'll keep an eye out for older comments :-)
I'll try and remember to post my apple crumble recipe too this week. It's one of those desserts I always have the ingredients for in the cupboard, and if guests arrive either they or Hubby can pick up some ice-cream on the way and I have dessert.
September 1, 2007 at 10:47 PM