It's the first place your guests encounter. It is the first impression of your home. It's your first opportunity to make a statement about your house. And its....dirty? No, not your foyer. It's spotless. I know it is. But in case you know of a friend that could use a little guidance on cleaning her entry, I'll do this post in the hopes she'll stumble upon it ;)Tonight's Spare Time Thursday is all about making your first impression your best impression. We'll break it down into time increments for moments when you have last minute guests coming around the corner, to a weeknight when there is no good TV on, and the entry can have a little more of your time. Let's get started.
5 Minutes
Dust your entry table, bench, whatever piece of furniture you might have in that area. If you don't have a closet, it is nice to have somewhere for your guests to put their coat, bag, shoes, etc. If you have a small entry, a small bench or leather ottoman is a great option so they can use it to sit and put on their shoes, or rest their bag and keys. Whatever that holding spot is, give a good wipe! Then, clean any mirrors you might have.
15 Minutes
Do the above, then vacuum the rug, and/or sweep the floor. While mirrors, tables and benches will most likely catch your guest's eyes first since they will be looking to set things down (or at themself...) the floors will be a close second. As they go to take off their shoes, they are definitely going to notice dirty floors! To help keep it clean, be sure to have a welcome mat right outside the door to brush off any loose debris before entering the house.
20 Minutes
If your entry is attached to your stairwell, take these extra 5 minutes to continue the vacuuming right up the stairs. Half of them are going to be eye level with your guests, so it's a great spot to tackle and you look like a cleaning allstar! Don't forget to vacuum the vertical portion, that is what you are going to see when standing in front of them anyway!
30 Minutes
Clean the front door windows. Simple as that.
I decided to add one...
45 -60 Minutes
Again, if your entry is attached to the stairs, take some time to clean the banister. I did this the other week, so I didn't do it again today, but it's one of those items that you don't think about cleaning, but gets HUGE hand traffic! You can click here to see my process.
And really, that should be just about it. You are only 30 minutes away (at most) to a clean entry! Did you spare any time tonight?
*Mental note: get some Halloween candy to fill my pumpkin dish :)
Well, our entry is a small tile area in our living room! So I have to keep our entire living room looking nice, clean and picked up. Which is fine because we tend to put everything away each night before bed, readjust the pillows on the couch and I windex/wipe down the glass on our end table each morning. What really gets hard is when DH comes back from being out of town and leaves his suitcases in the entry area. UGH! So I lug them upstairs and put them in his side of the closet so that he can unpack them.
ReplyDeletebarely time to spare... but i did the same... cleared off the entry cabinet from the things that just do not belong (cough drops and a sports illustrated- ahem), replaced a few hats with scarves, cleaned up the hall closet, and wiped down the walls and the mirror. much better.
ReplyDeletemolly- are you going to get candy corn???
So I ran across your blog from the Working Woman's Guide to Domestic Success and I LOVE your blog. It is exactly what I need and I will definetly start following. I'm just sad you are halfway through the Happy Home Challenge, because I am not a neat person and I could use it!
ReplyDeleteSandra- welcome and thanks!! I hope you enjoy the blog. As for the cleaning challenge, you can still definitely join. If adding all 6 of the current tasks at one time is too overwhelming, try adding one a day for the next week, or one every two days. Play along and you'll be entered for a prize at the end!
ReplyDelete