HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOME AFTER OVERNIGHT GUESTS LEAVE

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

StoneGable is sometimes more like a hotel than a home. We have lots of company! Lots and lots. Of course, I love a house full! But, I don’t necessarily like to clean up after a busy weekend or holiday when we have had guests! By then I’m usually exhausted and not in the mood to clean. Here’s how to survive the aftermath of way too much fun in your house! I’m sharing my top 10 tips… and they will make a huge difference in getting your home back in shape. And maybe save your sanity too!

This week’s Practically Speaking was inspired by two conversations I had earlier this week!

I talked to two of my girlfriends right after the long holiday weekend and they both mentioned they had to get their homes back in order after out-of-town family visited. Cleaning up after overnight guest come is something most of us face. Sometimes the clean up is easy but most often there is lots of cleaning and laundry involved, especially if you are cooking meals too! 

It does help to make sure you are straightening up and doing a little cleaning up as you go. No vacuuming or washing windows or raking leaves or anything like that!  I like to have fun and talking so being with company always trumps a little cleaning at my home.

Here’s how I get StoneGable cleaned and put away for the next round of guests!

 Let’s start with #10…

BE A YES MAN, OR WOMAN

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

If someone asks to help SAY YES! I know that may be hard because they are guests, but people help because they genuinely want to be helpful! Let them. They can strip their beds, take their towels down to the laundry room, help with the dishes, set the table, and do little things that save the host (you) lots of energy.  

# 9 WHISTLE WHILE YOU  WORK

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

 Work fast and energetically! Put on some fast-paced dancing music, and your running shoes, sing into your duster, and get busy! Set up a positive environment that will make you happy and energetic. This really does work… so you can work wonders!

#8 POOF THE PILLOWS

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

Straighten up. No cleaning… just STRAIGHTENING! Grab a trash bag and a laundry basket. Starting with the downstairs pick up any trash (not that we are having parties like Animal House or anything), empty the waste cans and use the basket to put all things that don’t belong in the room you are straightening up. Poof the pillows, put away the magazines, put away the coasters, etc. Remember no cleaning… just yet!

#7 A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP IS A GOOD THING

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

 Here’s something important to remember. You don’t have to clean up right away. If you are exhausted get a good night’s sleep and tackle the house the next day. If you work, do a little every day. There is no hard and fast rule about cleaning up right after your guest’s car pulls out of the driveway! Don’t let a messy house after guest stay stress you!

#6 LET’S GO OUTSIDE

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

 Don’t forget about the outside of your home. If your family is like mine we love outdoor games. The back porch, patio, and the yard get used hard!!!! I like to enlist Bobby to do the outside clean up! I like to make him put away his toys!

#5 IT’S A DOG’S LIFE

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

We are a dog friendly home. Many times we have 3 dogs running around the house! And that means someone should go on outside poop patrol!  Believe me, you don’t want to leave this off your clean-up list!

#4 NOW CLEAN

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

Now that you home is put back together work on cleaning one room at a time. Not all the rooms in your home may need to be cleaned. I usually start in the kitchen. If my kitchen is a messy my whole house feels messy to me! Start with the room that will make you feel the most accomplished. It will motivate you to clean the rest!

#3 DON’T FORGET TO FLUSH

SPRING HOME TOUR 2016--view-from-living-room-to-foyer-stonegableblog-2

Clean the bathrooms. After the kitchen, I usually clean the bathrooms and then the upstairs.

Get them sparkling clean. Did you know that I can clean a bathroom in under 10 minutes? I should do a post on that! Maybe I will!

#2 TIME FOR BED

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

Strip the beds right away and get them into the laundry. I start this job first because by the time they are washed and dried I’m usually done cleaning up and the bedding is ready to go back on the bed!

#1 COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

After your guest leave take a few minutes to be thankful for the opportunity and blessing of having people in your home. Creating memories and relationships are worth a little extra work!

There you have it. The list may sound like a lot of work but hopefully you will have some help.  

StoneGable holds decades of laughter, memories, life’s events and more blessings than I can count. A little mess and clean up is nothing in comparison. I wish you this kind of a home too!

Now, it’s your turn! Give us your best clean up tip! 

GET THE LOOK

||  living room sofa  || Curlacue chest  ||  white “bubble chairs”  ||  coffee table (similar)  ||  zebra pelt accent rug  ||  acrylic nesting tables  ||

PIN IT AND SAVE THE INSPIRATION!

 

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPANY LEAVES- 10 BEST AND DOABLE TIPS FOR A CLEAN HOME!

This post contains affilliate links.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

43 Comments

  1. Wow, Yvonne! You are superwoman! It takes me several hours to clean three bathrooms. My showers are quite large and they are tiled almost to the sealings. I’m not complaining, I love to clean my home!

  2. Margaret Hunter says:

    Such great tips! Always enjoy hearing how you get it all done.. Truly a beautiful home, would love to know how you keep those gorgeous floors in shape with all the company and three doggies. Your blog is an everyday red for me.

    1. Hi Margaret, These floors have held up so well! The ones in the kitchen are the oldest and certainly look more worn than the ones in the front of our home that are only 4 years old.

  3. Your flooring looks like the same type of wood I have. What cleaning products do you use to clean them, other than dusting? I LOVE your home!

  4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
    I loved this post- such an inspiration to just get it done!
    Enjoy your day!

  5. Great tips Yvonne! I agree with starting in the kitchen. It does make me feel like I accomplished the biggest task at hand and allows me to keep up with the laundry too since it is right off my kitchen. Thanks for sharing!

  6. Happy Birthday Yvonne!

  7. Laurie Davis says:

    Happy birthday! May your day be filled with love, laughter and moments that allow you to be thankful for the beautiful life you’ve created. I love your blog and appreciate you so much!

  8. Robin Burke says:

    Yvonne, thank you for a great post. Sometimes the cleanup and “put away” is overwhelming, especially when you work full-time outside the home. The throw away, put away, and then clean makes so much sense. And please do post your 10-minute bathroom clean. You’ve inspired me to get moving.

  9. Yvonne, Happy birthday and I totally agree that we need to celebrate our good fortune of family and friends that want to share their time with us.

    Have a wonderful day to start your best year ever and thanks for the great post.

  10. Yvonne, this is so timely! I just had two families (relatives) stay with us for a week and my introvert, tidy self was pushed to the limit. Your tips are so practical and do-able! It helps me most to give myself a week to truly get everything back like it was, including my personal challenge – creatively using up all the leftovers!

    Blessings to you, Yvonne. Happy birthday and thanks for being the cheerleader for a community of like-minded women!

  11. Birthday!? Hope you have a wonderful day!!! And cake! Thanks for a most helpful post, and I agree, the memories built and love shared having people visit is worth any amount of afterclean.

  12. Happy Happy Birthday!! Love your blog and pray you’ll have many more beautiful and inspirational posts to come. Enjoy your special day and thank you for all the teaching you do for us all!!

  13. Have a blessed birthday in your clean and tidy home!

  14. Happy Birthday, Yvonne! Thank you for all you have taught me! Enjoy your day!

  15. Birthday blessings to you, Yvonne!
    And, thanks for all your wonderful tips.

  16. Happy Birthday Yvonne. You and your beautiful home are an inspiration. Best wishes.

  17. Deborah D says:

    Happy birthday Yvonne. Hope your day has been as special as you are. You continue to guide, educate and bless us with your blob.

  18. Loryl Fisher says:

    Happy Birthday to YOU! I’ll be celebrating mine next weekend. Love your blog, love your tips, love your recipes, love your home. Have a great weekend!!

  19. Karen VanLoo says:

    I always love cleaning tips! I usually have a house full around the holidays. My most challenging time of the year is after Thanksgiving is over and Christmas season starts. I have my family here for Thanksgiving and I’m still decorated for Fall, and have turkeys around. All of that has to be put away and clean my house after company before I can start my Christmas decorating. One smart thing I did was I have started taking an extra day off work (the Monday after Thanksgiving) to give me an extra day to get things done so I am not so stressed out. It should be a fun thing when people come visit, and not stressful. Love the tips, and the advice to get your rest as well!

  20. Please share your bathroom cleaning tips! I feel like it takes me 30-60min and who has time for that?!

  21. Wendy Howell says:

    Would love some tips on cleaning bathrooms quickly, seems to take me forever 🙁

  22. Happy Birthday! Hope it is a great one.
    I stayed at a home once where they had the fresh sheets there in the bedroom waiting for you to change them before you left. That was certainly a novel idea, that I think I am going to try. I feel like a laundress – or the maid in a hotel. It is especially a lot of work for a one night stay!

  23. Yvonne – I couldn’t agree with you more! Whenever I clean my kitchen it feels like the entire house is clean! (Oh! And bathroom mirrors.)

    Great tips. Thanks for sharing

  24. I love the large “pot” on your coffee table in today’s blog. Looks like you just ‘threw” it together. Can you teach me that technique?

    1. Hi Tara, The vase came from HomeGoods. I did not know what I’d do with it but it was exactly my style so I took it home. As you can see it did not take me long to find a place for it!

  25. Great ideas! I like saying yes! Let them strip the bed, etc, if they offer!!

  26. I, too cherish the memories made with great friends and family. Great tips for clean up afterwards. I, also, strip the bed immediately after they leave. Waiting for you to share your bathroom cleaning tips?.

  27. We tackle the kitchen first also. You must be organized (to some degree) or will be overwhelmed which just adds to an already exhausted You! We have lots of company, it’s extra work, and we are no spring chickens but we are so Blessed! Great post Yvonne.

  28. Dean Simson says:

    Wow…!! Great concept for cleaning tips, thanks for sharing the wonderful article. I love to clean my home; this article is very useful for me because you explain numbers of idea and tips.

  29. Lana Nicol says:

    Thank you so much for you “get ready for guests” & “clean up after”……..Living on the west coast, but “being from” the east coast, means a great weather destination all year round for our families and “old friends” (we’ve lived here 49 years). There are years that we have company for weeks at a time and I am always looking for ways to be more guest-friendly. Your advice hits home on every bullet. I’ve incorporated all of your ideas over time. We just said goodbye to my widowed sister who was here for 6 weeks. Now we are expecting some friends (a couple) in their 27′ trailer & huge truck from the east coast. They would like to stay in our guestroom & park their rigs on the street for 10 days. Unfortunately for me, I cannot control their timing and I am hosting a large wedding shower for our neighbor girl in the middle of that 10 days. Planning, planning, planning to have everything done before company comes and not go crazy the couple days surrounding the shower. Your ideas today and a few prayers for calm and patience may just be my saving grace. You rock! Happy Easter to you and yours.

    1. Wow Lana! YOU are the consummate hostess!As long as YOU love it… YOU GO GIRL!

  30. wow!!!!!!!!!! great advice…….i like your all suggestion! keep it up…… i want to mention that i read your blog post every day ….. great suggestion ever……………

    Thanks

    1. YOU ARE SO SWEET, Kristine! Thank you for being a part of our StoneGable family!

  31. Your article is quite helpful! I have so many questions, and you have answered many. Thank you! Such a nice and superb article, we have been looking for this information about a simple house cleaning routine Indeed a great post about it!!

  32. Thank you very much for sharing such useful advice. I will always try to follow these important tricks in the future.