During the pandemic, sacrifices must be always be made. Days of historical pride such as San Jacinto Day can shift from crowded public celebrations to more intimate visitations between immediate friends or family.
If you are expecting company and your house is messy, this article is for you.
The truth is that many people working full-time jobs can be stressed and busy, leaving them craving some much-needed rest when they get home. While there is no excuse for the lack of proper cleaning, we do tend to postpone some tasks that are not immediate. Washing windows or cleaning out the attic may be important, but it is rarely urgent.
Let’s be honest; you do not have enough time at your disposal to thoroughly clean your home if you didn’t do it already. Yet, you can do a good job and keep things presentable.
Assuming that you are expecting company and want to clean as much as possible in as little time as possible, what can you do?
1. First Impressions Matter
Grease stains on my door? From where?
Well, similar to your fridge, some metallic doors can get smeared or stained by sebum, the oily substance that coats each of our skins to varying degrees. Also, it can have chipped paint, spiderwebs on the edge of the frame, and many other issues.
While you do not have time to repaint your door, at least clean it and give it a shine.
This point heavily depends on the type of door and what material was used in constructing it. In general, metallic doors are sturdier, yet they show dirt and grease smears more than their wooden counterparts.
The same goes for your doormat: just get most of the dirt off. If first impressions matter, then the doorway contributes to that opinion. It will be the first thing seen by visitors.
2. Clean Your Oven with Non-Toxic Alternatives
Washing dishes used to be the king of chores. Many people, including yours truly, would prefer to scrub the toilet rather than wash dishes. Yet, that problem is not as common as it used to be. Dishwashers have become fairly cheap, while career-focused people tend not to cook much anyway.
You will not have a hard time preparing for company if your only worry is cleaning some pots, pans, and plates. Your oven represents a whole other side of the story. Few things are as ugly and offputting as a dirty oven, and self-cleaning functions are not always dependable.
Persistent burn residue and stains can be extremely hard to remove, especially if you want to avoid using toxic solutions. This is a problem that you can fix overnight, but no sooner than that.
Simply get some baking soda, and mix it with water to a degree of ⅓. It should form a thick-ish paste. Then, smear that paste all over the problem areas in your oven. Leave it overnight to soak and break the strong chemical bonds of all the burnt material.
When morning comes, fill a spray bottle with vinegar and use it to rinse away the paste. This will get rid of stains and residue that most people think is impossible to remove.
3. Clean Floors After You’re Done with Everything Else
Only you know how much time you have to clean before San Jacinto Day and how to budget your time.
However, since our floors see the heaviest use and really show dirt, we tend to start with them. That is a mistake. Over this cleaning session, you will be wiping the table, countertops, dusting, etc.
While it is normal to try and catch all of the crumbs or dust during cleaning, you can’t get them all. Some will inevitably fall onto the floor. So, if your floor was already cleaned, you will be forced to start over ( at least for that area).
As a bonus point, it can be very tempting to skip vacuuming and go directly to washing. It can be done.
Yet, the hairs and debris can stick to your cleaning cloth/mop, basically using it to hitch a ride to another area of your floor. Or, the mop will not pick up smaller and finer grains of rock and sand.
It is a headache to wash a dirty floor. Even a poor vacuuming job will save you a lot of time.
4. Sinks, Toilets, and Mirrors
There is little tolerance for bad smells or dirty surfaces in people’s restrooms. Yet, most kitchen sinks and dishcloths have more dangerous bacteria than a regularly cleaned toilet seat.
There is no hack or shortcut; just clean your bathroom. It shouldn’t take that long.
The only mention would be to let the cleaning solution soak for 10-20 mins, as it needs time to work its magic.
Conclusion
A holiday is coming up, and you don’t have time to clean every inch of your home. Do the bare minimum.
Clean your door and doorway as it will be the first thing seen by visitors. Meanwhile, prepare a baking soda paste and spray bottle filled with vinegar for persistent oven stains.
After, work on your bathroom, then finally, the floors.
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