Panic-visitors coming tuesday need your advice of what to clean.

pukkamum

I too say do not have an air freshener I have a friend who uses loads of plugins and within ten mins of being there I have a migraine, also air fresheners have a very real link to childhood asthma and depression in women! Open the windows a bit of homemade lemon polish and the house smells lovely x
As for the cleaning if in doubt do a bin bag tidy go round with a binbag and throw evrrything out of place in it, you can always deal with it later, I have been known to put dirty pots in the oven and washer when an unexpected visitor arrives!

Tish_P

If you don't mind a few swearywords, this site might help:
http://un!!!!yourhabitat.tumblr.com/post/45507772768/emergency-cleaning-un!!!!-your-whole-house-in-the

edited: Oh dear, the web address has been censored - you have to replace the !!!! with a different word.

OllysMum_2

The_Magnificent_Spoon wrote: »

I always start by plugging in a new air freshener, into the plug socket by the entrance door.

I'm another one who says don't do this - I can tolerate smelly animals, but plug in air fresheners make me feel quite nauseous..

I usually have to ask people to unplug while I'm in their house, which is horrible to have to do.

blossomhill_2

Two little tricks I have, for indoor pet-owners if applicable

Have a clean spare filled tray of cat litter ready, if cat poops when visitor there, just put soiled tray outside back door and put down the clean one. If you can't have a spare, cat can use a cut down cardbord box lined with newspaper + litter beforehand

Feed cat in disposable plastic food trays leading up to the visit, throw them out dirty and put down clean cat bowl for visit - no dirty cat bowls in the washing up (or in my case, becasue I keep a separate bowl for pet things, no manky pet washing up bowl in the house)

I am not a great one for visitors these days ...

If someone is coming I set up a tray beforehand, polish up a spoon, extra attention to that mug and make sure no-one uses it between times, clean tea towel - oh and polish the kettle, in case they offer to put the kettle on for the second cuppa

Empty kitchen bin on the morning so no stray whiffs waft out if they bin something

Once I have done all this the pressure is off and I tend to clean everywhere anyway

Torry_Quine

blossomhill wrote: »

Two little tricks I have, for indoor pet-owners if applicable

Have a clean spare filled tray of cat litter ready, if cat poops when visitor there, just put soiled tray outside back door and put down the clean one. If you can't have a spare, cat can use a cut down cardbord box lined with newspaper + litter beforehand

Feed cat in disposable plastic food trays leading up to the visit, throw them out dirty and put down clean cat bowl for visit - no dirty cat bowls in the washing up (or in my case, becasue I keep a separate bowl for pet things, no manky pet washing up bowl in the house)

I am not a great one for visitors these days ...

If someone is coming I set up a tray beforehand, polish up a spoon, extra attention to that mug and make sure no-one uses it between times, clean tea towel - oh and polish the kettle, in case they offer to put the kettle on for the second cuppa

Empty kitchen bin on the morning so no stray whiffs waft out if they bin something

Once I have done all this the pressure is off and I tend to clean everywhere anyway

I have a cat but would never go to all that bother for a visitor. :eek: Anyone coming knows we have a cat and it just seems silly to go to the expense you would.

As for polishing a spoon and paying particular attention to one mug, never mind polising the kettle.

fawd1

A really good tip I got when discussing how to make the house smell nice without the air fresheners (I can't stand any sweet smells, which they almost all are vanilla, lavender etc etc) was to soak a baby wipe in fabric conditioner, wring it out and then lay it to dry on the radiator. Leaves the house smelling just clean like freshly washed laundry, which is a smell I like a lot.

Blackpool_Saver

another tip is a tumble dryer sheet over the radiator, or just a drop of vanilla essence, I have put fragrance on light bulbs too

minimoneysaver

Another one who uses tumble drier sheets on the radiators! Works a treat.

Bogof_Babe

Don't forget to put a new loo roll in the holder, and/or have a spare one available and visible. I always think a bathroom with just the empty cardboard tube or last milimetre of loo paper looks rather unwelcoming.

No soggy bar of soap in the basin, just a bottle of decent quality liquid soap. Also more than one towel, if you have somewhere to hang a couple. Makes the place look luxurious.

Enjoy your visitors. Remember to get extra milk too, if they are coming for a while!

CupOfChai

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Don't forget to put a new loo roll in the holder, and/or have a spare one available and visible. I always think a bathroom with just the empty cardboard tube or last milimetre of loo paper looks rather unwelcoming.

That and I worry there might turn out to not be enough there when I go to use it!

On the subject of air fresheners - When I first got the keys to where I live, I walked in and there was a really weird smell in the place. I was sure it hadn't been there when we viewed else it would have put me right off, and I was getting quite worried we'd have to live in a horrible stinky flat. Then I tracked its source to a couple of block air fresheners that someone had left about the place. Binned them sharpish!