How make your house look clean without much effort

Austin_Allegro

These are some tips from me on how to clean your home very quickly without too much effort. I don't recommend this as your normal cleaning routine, but it's handy for unexpected visitors or between cleans if you just want a quick tidy up:

Only clean the areas that show.
Air the house as much as possible, a fresh smelling room is almost as good as a clean one
Give rugs a shake out of the window rather than get the hoover out
Use a carpet sweeper instead of a hoover – much quicker to get out and put away, and lighter and quicker to use.
Use a feather duster for a quick clean of ornaments etc
For hard floors, don’t mop the whole floor just use a damp rag to wipe any dirty bits.
Turn a tablecloth over if you don't have a clean one handy.
Keep a tin of furniture polish open but out of sight, gives a just cleaned smell to the room
In bathrooms, just give the chrome and mirrors a quick wipe, as hard water stains look much more obvious there than on porcelain.
Put fresh flowers in a room. This will always make it look welcoming.
Use foam non-scrub cleaners for porcelain. These are expensive and don’t work as well as a proper clean but will do in an emergency.
To clean the loo, use a foam cleaner then just squirt bleach round the rim leave for a while and then flush.
Tidy rather than clean – a clean room with heaps of papers, clothes etc around still looks ‘dirty’; a tidy room with a little bit of dust is less obvious.

Eenymeeny

Thanks for that. I'm going to print it out for emergency use, or maybe when being a domestic goddess just gets too much for me. Great post :T
(I see you have it on your list but I was advised to clean glass, mirrors etc as it gives the impression that everything is sparkling!):D

PixieDust

empty the bins is one of my "emergency" clean things, and taking the cups and bowls and stuff out of the living room.

EstherH

I always go for tidying the lounge and cleaning the washbasin and mirrors in the bathroom and putting bleach down the loo.

Esther x

hilstep2000

Empty the bins and put clutter away. That always works, no one notices the dust then!

monnagran

My Mum's tip. Spray the radiators with polish, people will smell it and not bother to look for dust.
My tip for unexpected visitors. Greet them effusively - hugs and smiles - usher them in, put on the kettle, sit down and listen to them and send them off with a warm invitation to come back whenever they like. They will not even notice the state of the house, and if they do they will have a virtuous glow that their house is better than yours. Winners all round.

esmf73

This is all very useful - thank you xx

nonnatus

Yup, some great tips there for the congenitally lazy lasses like me .

I keep baby wipes in the bathrooms and a fast wipe round the sink looks like I've done the whole job. And I have ALWAYS used furniture polish like air freshener when expecting people and am frequently told how "lovely" the house smells.

Hobsons_Choice

I spray light bulbs with a little perfume or polish when people are coming at night.
The warmth from the bulb when you switch the light on makes it smell like you've been busy all day, rather than finishing your library book (mini confession there)!

katieclampet

I clear and wipe all the kitchen tops down, open the windows and plump up my cushions, job done!!

katie

System

I just chuck things in the nearest drawers/cupboards and grab the vacuum praying ive got enough time to get up the dog hairs shed since i did it last.

Actually, that can work (depending on what drawers and cupboards you use) when the other half comes home from work and your a bit behind with the chores.