Can you believe the holidays are almost here??? If you are like me sometimes deep cleaning just doesn’t happen when it should or when it needs to! Thankfully there are a couple ways you can make sure that you look like you have done the cleaning without too much effort! (I have included affiliate links to products I love. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. )
It’s no surprise that busy moms and kids sometimes equals a messy house. While most people understand that, there is always that chosen few that don’t. Surprise visitors might be from that group of people. Fortunately, it’s very easy to fake a “clean” house if you have company coming over and don’t have time to do a deep clean.
Here’s How To Fake A Clean House:
First, human brains process things in strange ways sometimes and generally? As long as your house smells clean? People will think it probably is.
- Be sure all trash bags are taken out so that last night’s dinner doesn’t come back to haunt you
- Be sure that all litter boxes are scooped and fresh and that your sinks are clean
- Clean your garbage disposal quickly drop some orange or lemon rinds down it and pulverize them
- Spray down the furniture and curtains with Febreze and straighten the throw pillows.
- Hide a few bowls of baking soda in each room to help absorb any odors that might be lingering.
Febreze Extra Strength Fabric Refresher, 16.9-Ounce (Pack of 2)
ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda, 13.5 PoundGlad OdorShield Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags – Febreze Fresh Clean – 13 Gallon – 110 Count
Pick Up Clutter Next, you’ll need to pick up any major clutter that is on the floor, tables or counter. With kids, they can easily pick up a habit of tossing things wherever so make sure that you pick it up really quickly. To get the kids involved, play the 10 minute tidy game to see who can pick up the most stuff in 10 minutes.
Spot sweep and mop – While you don’t need to go through your entire house with a vacuum and broom, you should do a spot sweep. Quickly scan each room for any noticeable problem areas and sweep them. Do the same with the mop and your non-carpeted floors. Getting the messes that stand up and scream “NOTICE ME!” will go a long way to faking it. This is where a sniffer with the wet pads come in handy since the have a scent to them as well!
Swiffer Sweeper Wet Mopping Cloth Refill – Open Window Fresh – 24 ct – 2 pkSwiffer Sweeper Starter Kit
Finally, make sure that your kitchen counters and sinks are clean. People can often “think” that an entire house is dirty just because there are dirty dishes in the sink. If time is super short before company arrives, you can shove them into an oven to hide them, then wipe the counters down and the sinks out. You can (and should) always go back to the dishes after your company leaves and they will be out of the way while company is visiting.
Faking a clean house isn’t something you should need to do every time someone shows up, but it is something most of us have do to at least once or twice. Follow the tips above and your house will appear to be clean and tidy!
Do you have any other tips for faking a clean house? I’d love to hear them!
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Melinda says
Love faking it! I need to go get some oranges, ASAP!
Kathy says
i don’t have an additional suggestion, but I do have a funny story. One night I cooked supper, and there was a tv show my husband and I wanted to watch. During the show, our pastor and his wife (we were new in town) called…were in the neighborhood and could they drop by? Well, I stuffed everything in the oven. Plates, glasses, meat platter, cornbread, bowl of peas…then started the coffee pot. They arrived, greetings were shared and the pastor’s wife followed me into the kitchen to fix coffee. There, running out onto the floor, was the pea juice. Evidently the bowl tilted! So I bit the bullet, confessed my “sin” and opened the oven door! She was such a good sport! She told the pastor we had homemade cornbread (is there another kind?) for supper…they ended up fixing a plate while I washed up the pea juice and put the dishes in the dishwasher! We ended being really good friends!
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says
Smell is super important. I used to clean houses. Even if you clean the whole house, just with vinegar to remove bad smells, people will think you haven’t cleaned. I had to add essential oils to my natural cleaners to get that happy smell.
Ros Emely@stressfreemommies says
Hi! I love your tips because it’s very accurate to any busy mom! You are right about the house smelling clean and people do automatically think the house is clean if it smells like it!
Christine says
My trick is to stop fretting about the people who judge us on the appearance of our house. it took me a LONG time to get there but I realized if they’re going to judge me on that, they will find something ELSE to judge me on if it’s not my house. That’s their problem, not mine!
Joanna says
Those are things we do when we know company is coming over and it’s 4 days past house cleaning day. 🙂 I never would have known about the baking soda thing, which I plan on using in my teenagers room asap.
Sinea Pies says
I laughed when I read the title! We all need to do this once in a while…and seldom admit it! LOL.
Jenny says
LOL I am really good at fake cleaning my house!! The real cleaning takes a lot more work!! Thanks for stopping by!
Lisa says
Hi Jenny. These are such a great tips, and I’m a super busy mom so I loved some of these simple yet great ideas.
Deb says
These are great tips for any age! I have struggled all my life with clutter and when my kids were at home….unexpected guests happened to often for my comfort! Even now with my kids grown and Grandkids coming over….it’s a challenge to keep my house clean! My Grandkids are getting big enough to help! I don’t think I will ever grow out of the fear of u expected guests! Thanks for the tips!
Jenny says
Aren’t unexpected guests the worst sometimes!! Put the grand kids to work its great to teach them hard work.
Kelly says
Laundry baskets or any other large vessel are great for a quick run through stash and dash. We all have some room in our homes that guests will never see.
Mother of 3 says
I love this! I find simmering pots of cinnamon and orange slices makes the house smell heavenly! We try to just keep the house clean as we go but it’s not always so easy to do!
Melinda Mitchell says
Since I’m lazy, I’m all about faking the clean!
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Jenna says
With a 3 month old, I definitely need to fake a clean house right now! You are right — sweeping the floors and picking up clutter makes a huge difference! It only takes about 10 minutes to do both right before guests arrive. Thanks for sharing your ideas with the Wednesday Showcase.
Angela D. Boone says
Thanks so much for these tips. You had some awesome ideas.
gigi says
Yes! I have a fake (well, its not really a fake,…but I try to do it before people come over). Spray your favorite bathroom/kitchen cleaner (like Fantastic,…or whatever you prefer) into your toilet bowls and just leave it there. I also use wipes with cleaner on them to quickly wipe down all the bathroom surfaces. So easy.
Sandra Garth says
I’m a firm believer in, “fake it until you make it”! I’ve also stashed dirty pots and pans in the oven a couple of times. These tips are invaluable,especially this time of year.
Kris says
Here are two things to make it seem like you’ve been cleaning and cooking all day: put some Mr. Clean and water in the kitchen sink and swirl it around a bit. Then just sautee some onions and garlic. Quick stuff for when you want it to seem like you’ve been productive. 🙂
Lillian Stevens says
My house can be in okay condition but if everything is put away and orderly, I can still function. It’s amazing how when something is orderly it makes it look clean! Thank you for sharing!
Gaye says
Hi Jenny – These are great tips. I think I have done all of them at some point, but I’m happy to be reminded that they really do work!
Audrey says
My Mom used to call it “a lick and a promise” – you lick it clean and promise to do better next time, ha ha!
J. P. says
I’ve done this with my husband, too. Mine was a military man and everything was cleaned with Pine Sol. So, if it smelled like that, you had been cleaning .