How to Clean the House for Guests +Free Checklist 

1. Start with the Big Tasks

My number one thing always when cleaning a home is the assess and prioritize.

Do a quick walkthrough of your home, make a brain dump list of all that needs to get done and then prioritize.

You’ll want to get the big things done first. Just get them out of the way and the rest will go down smoother. 

Remember to clearly define what makes you feel happy.

A “clean” home is a very personal concept. We all have our own definitions of what makes us feel like our home is clean.

Maybe you have 6 kids! That’ll definitely be different than a home with only one kid.

So…

• Assess
• Prioritize
• Define

2. Tackle high traffic areas

Cleaning your home for guests should be tackled a little differently.

You’re going to want to put yourself in their shoes and clean up those high traffic areas! It may sound silly, but I will often walk into my home as if I was a guest and see what catches my eyes.

Try this: walk into a room (that your guests will be going into ex. bathroom), close the door, is there a stain in the back of your door? Is there something nasty in the trash bin?

You’ll want to eliminate those bad experiences your guests might go through.

Places and things to keep in mind:

• stove/oven
• fridge
• trash bins
• toilet paper
• smell/aroma

Guest often help themselves to drinks!

Does your fridge have a funky stain?

Does your stove a have an old burnt on stain?

Is the toilet paper in your guest bathroom filled?

These are all things to consider when tackling the hight traffic areas of your home.

3. Clean the right way

Nothing in the world will make you a slower cleaner than just seamlessly walking around your home picking up stuff here and there.

All you’ll be left with is a bunch of unfinished tasks around your home!

So follow this three step system to cleaning your home.

Step 1: Map your Home

To begin, you’ll want to mentally map your home. To do this, you just need to think about the structure of your home and all the rooms you plan to clean.

Make an entry and exit point. Usually this will be from the back of the house to the front (so you don’t drag dirt back into your clean space).

You can do this both in the large picture which will be your entire home and per each room you are cleaning.

So which room will you start with and which will you end with?

Then in each room, where is your entry and exit point?

Step 2: 2 Phase Cleaning

To quickly clean your home you’re going to want to clean your home in phases.

The first phase is to declutter. Don’t worry about cleaning, sanitizing, sorting – NONE OF THAT!

Just getting the “top” layer clean. Get the stuff off the counters, put the dirty clothes in the hamper, take all the dishes to the sink, etc

A quick and easy way to do this is to get yourself a moving basket. I explain this concept on my post: How to Clean Your Home When You Don’t Know Where to Start.

But basically this is exactly what it sounds like. A floating basket to get things from one room to another.

My kids love to bring their toys from their room to the living room and a quick way to get them back is to fill my moving basket and take it to their room.

I will often not empty them just move them to where they gotta go.

Once you are deep cleaning that particular room, you can empty the moving basket.

The second phase is to actually start cleaning!

So like I said above, this is where you can empty your baskets, start washing the dishes, wiping counters, etc.

Bonus Tip!

You know what 100% sucks? When you’ve just swept your floors and then you see you forgot to wipe your counters 🤦🏻‍♀️

Please tell me this doesn’t only happen to me!

Skip doing twice the work and REMEMBER to always cleaning from top to bottom.

Counters, chairs THEN floor.

4. Be Prepared

Now that your home is clean, it’s time to prep for the party!

The best way to get started is by knowing placement. Where is everything going to go?

Will you have a food area? Buffet style? Where is that going?

Are you going to have large decor like balloons?

Will kids be coming? Where is the kids corner going?

Also plan for guests helping themselves.

Maybe get a couple of buckets filled with ice and fill it up with drinks. Or have a cocktail table so your guest don’t feel uncomfortable asking for seconds.

Let your guests help themselves for more!

My last tip is to get your regular chores done ahead of time. Planning a party is such a big job. To make it easier on yourself, get your regular chores done the day before.

If your near laundry day, just get it done before. If its one of your project days – move it or double up the day before your party.

This will save you loads of time and give you some extra time for the unplanned disasters that come with hosting guests.

Additional Resources:

• How to Clean your Home when You Don’t Know Where to Start
• How to Create Simple but Effective Cleaning Checklists +12 month Guide
• Simple Systems to Get Rid of Clutter and Clean Your Home Quickly