--- title: Hosting Unexpected Guests? 7 Tips to Get Ready in 30 Minutes description: Looking for quick and easy hacks to clean up quickly for guests? Learn how to maximize your cleaning time before they show up! image: https://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/hubfs/Stock%20images/High%20angle%20of%20a%20frustrated%20blond%20woman%20vacuuming%20the%20living-room.jpeg --- [![bostoncleanerscompany.png](https://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20images/bostoncleanerscompany.png?width=263&height=87&name=bostoncleanerscompany.png "bostoncleanerscompany.png")](http://design-assets.hubspot.com/vast/homepage) [![Learn More](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3012122/a0522826-2536-4b4d-882a-5c8bd8b72dcd.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3012122/a0522826-2536-4b4d-882a-5c8bd8b72dcd) # Cleaning Blog ## [Hosting Unexpected Guests? 7 Tips to Get Ready in 30 Minutes](http://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/blog/hosting-unexpected-guests-7-tips) ** Mar 23, 2017 10:33:04 PM / by [Steven Miller](http://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/blog/author/steven-miller) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![High angle of a frustrated blond woman vacuuming the living-room.jpeg](https://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20images/High%20angle%20of%20a%20frustrated%20blond%20woman%20vacuuming%20the%20living-room.jpeg?width=711&height=410&name=High%20angle%20of%20a%20frustrated%20blond%20woman%20vacuuming%20the%20living-room.jpeg) **We've all received the "sorry, but I'm inviting myself over tonight" call. **Your roommate from college rings you: "Hey, we're in town right now - you said we could stay at your place anytime...?" *Oops, *you think. *Did I really say that? *Suddenly, your relaxing weekend becomes a flurry of activity. It's not just the self-invites. Unexpected guests assume many forms: - You forget that you're having company for dinner - An unanticipated life event (good or bad) brings family to town - Wait, did my children just invite *all* their friends over? **Two words: don't panic.** Just follow these seven "make the hosting experience amazing" hacks: ### 1. Order take-out! This is not time to play it fancy! In fact, call that friend back right now, ask them what they want from [insert your favorite take out location here], and ask if they can pick it up on the way. ### 2. Clear any flat, used surfaces (counter, table, floor) Maybe your guests are someone you really need to impress. It's time to follow the advice that you took as a kid: shove everything under the bed or in the closet! It's amazing **how orderly your place can look just by not having piles of *stuff* out** in the open: - Put any dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher - Take piles of paper onto shelves or back rooms - Shoes go in your closet, clothes go on the bed or in a hamper - Toys back in the toy bin You can develop a long-term organization plan later. Now is about taking all the shortcuts possible! ### 3. Get out guest bedsheets and towels If your guests are staying with you (even on a couch), it's a nice touch to put out the sheets and towels ahead of time. It's a 30-second way to show that you're thinking about them first. (Maybe two minutes if you have to make the bed). ### 4. Three Super-basic Bathroom Cleaning Steps There's something about a dirty bathroom that's...memorable. We can all remember the time we had to use a gross public restroom. Don't let your bathroom be that memory! 1. Wipe off (with a rag or paper towel) the sink area 2. Flush the toilet 3. Vacuum any obvious hairs off the floor ### 5. Vacuum the main walkways While you have the vacuum out for the bathroom, go ahead and give it a quick run around the entryway and any other areas guests will be walking. ### 6. Pull out a deck of cards (and entertainment options for the kids) Cards are an answer to the awkward lull after dinner. Grab some drinks (and I use that in the broadest way, whether it's tea or tequila), clear the dishes, and play an old family favorite card game. Try to make a mental note for the age of any children as well. Could they watch a movie? Play their own board game? Have an early bedtime? ### 7. Caring for your guests is being a good host Stress can mess with you. Maybe you never feel ready for guests. Maybe you feel like your house is a disaster zone. Maybe you're embarrassed to have people over. There's good news: **you caring for your friends enough to have them over already shows you're a good host.** Check out these words from Danny Meyer, someone who's life as a restaurant manager literally revolves around hospitaility: > "Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple prepositions - for and to - express it all." ~ [Danny Meyer](https://kindle.amazon.com/work/setting-table-transforming-hospitality-business/B000EOLJUW/0060742755) *Are you interested in more ways to do things for guests? Have a little more time to prep than you expected? Check out our full house-cleaning checklist that our cleaners use for their services!* [![Get a "Deep Clean" Checklist to Make Your Apartment Amazing](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3012122/db644ded-bbc6-4527-b098-4c35c6e14376.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3012122/db644ded-bbc6-4527-b098-4c35c6e14376)  Topics: [hosting](http://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/blog/topic/hosting), [house cleaning](http://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/blog/topic/house-cleaning) ![Steven Miller](https://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stock%20images/steven-miller.jpg?width=100&height=100&name=steven-miller.jpg) #### Written by [Steven Miller](http://smiller-3012122.hs-sites.com/blog/author/steven-miller) Steve runs the day-to-day operations at Boston Cleaners Co. Tweet him anything that reinforces his delusion that the Steelers will win the Superbowl this year. 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