It’s Thanksgiving Day and your turn to host. You have been on a three-day baking spree with enough desserts, sides, and salad to fill a football stadium. The ninety-seven-pound turkey is minutes away from done, and you’ve pressed your best cocktail dress. But, as you set the table with fine china and sterling silver, you notice a furball the size of a Texas tumbleweed roll across your hardwood floor, and you realize that you neglected to deep clean the house! With the in-laws enroute, you must fluff things up and fast! Thankfully, you remember these five tricks you learned in Home Economics class to make your guests think you were up all night with a Dustbuster instead of a bottle of Dom Perignon.
Dryer Sheets in the Air Vents
This handy and inexpensive trick is beloved by housekeepers everywhere. It’s common knowledge that if a house smells clean, it will feel clean, and what better way than to walk into a home that smells like fresh laundry? Simply grab a few of your favorite scented sheets, place them on the inside of the return air vent, and then run the unit. The smell will circulate throughout the whole home and will effectively mask any less desirable odors.
Boil Citrus Peels and Cinnamon Sticks
This process works exceptionally well if you have already used oranges, lemon, or limes in your recipes because you will be able to recycle the rinds without wasting the fruit. However, in a pinch, you can peel the fruit and make a nice fruit salad or use it to spruce up your holiday beverages (think Sangria). In order to make your kitchen smell luscious, throw the peels into a pot of water on the stove, add a few cinnamon sticks, and bring to a low boil. Let the concoction boil for as long as you desire, then Bonus! toss the peels in the garbage disposal and grind them up for even more fruity freshness.
Spray Dusting Oil on Door Jambs
You will most likely do a quick run-through with your feather duster, but this little-known refresher will go a long way with your guests. Grab your favorite dusting oil (preferably one that smells like lemon or orange) and give your duster a quick spritz to help dust stick better, then take your oil and spray it lightly around all of your door jambs and cabinets. When a guest opens the door, the wind from the action will cause the oil to waft in their direction, thus making them think you hand wiped every last fixture and stick of furniture. As an alternative to dusting oil, an aerosol air freshener will work for this as well.
Clorox Wipes for EVERYTHING
Nothing says clean and sanitized like the smell of bleach, especially as we continue to recover from the COVID pandemic. So, if you are short on time but want to be germ-free, grab the Clorox wipes and get to work. You can use them on kitchen countertops, door handles, appliances, and bathroom fixtures. Wipe the toilets inside and out, sinks, and even the bathtub with these little yet mighty cleaning agents, and do it in half the time as an entire scrub session.
Lint Brush – Febreze Combo
If you need to prove that it is possible to have eleven cats without the extra layer of fur, get out a lint brush and get to rolling over sofas, chairs, and drapes. If you don’t have a lint brush handy, roll some tape, sticky side up, over your hand, and then do the same technique as you would with the brush to remove stubborn pet hair from surfaces. Finish off this quick trick by spraying Febreze on all the upholstery and rugs for even more fresh feels.
Host of the Year
Now that you have taken advantage of all these little shortcuts with big results, you can finally sit back and relax while you revel in your well-deserved title, “Host of the Year.” And don’t worry; how you tackled the cleaning side of it will be our little secret!
