We’ve all been there right?
You’ve got a baby in your arms, another one tugging at the bottom of your pants, your hair’s a mess, you haven’t had a chance to breathe, much less think of cleaning, and the phone suddenly rings.
It’s Susie and she’s in the neighborhood and wants to stop by. What do you do?
Besides never picking up the phone for Susie anymore (just kidding…well..maybe), here are some great things to clean in a time crunch, in order of importance.
Top 5 Things to Clean in a Time Crunch
1) Smells
Diapers, garbage cans, etc. It’s all gotta go fast.
2) Pick up clutter
Focus on the foyer/living room first, since that is the first impression. Don’t worry about your messy bedroom, laundry room, or even the kids bedrooms, just shut those doors. A great idea to get a few mins to do chores and clean by yourself, is to ask the kids (if they’re old enough) to go clean their rooms. Play a game, who can clean the fastest…they will fall for that several times before catching on, especially if there’s a small prize attached! 😉 Maybe 15 mins of extra TV time, or a small piece of candy. I like to use candy as treats for my kids because they don’t routinely get sugar at home.
3) Dishes
Now, I hope my mother doesn’t read this, and if so, I’m sorry mom! But, when someone would come over when I was growing up, she would take all her dirty dishes and shove them in the oven. She hates doing dishes and didn’t have a dishwasher to shove them into. Either way, you could shove them somewhere. I don’t practice that, but STILL have the habit of looking in the oven before turning it on every single time like a freak! 
4) Bathroom
Do a quick once over of the guest bathroom toliet, counter, and mirror. Shutting your shower curtains helps a lot as well.
5) Yourself
Comb that fly-away hair, freshen your makeup, etc. If YOU look like you just rolled out of bed, it doesn’t really matter HOW clean your home is!
6) Vacuum
A freshly vacuumed floor just makes a room look cleaner. I’m especially partial to vacuuming. You see, before I was saved, I had went over to my Pastor’s wife’s home. I arrived a few minutes early and through the windows, I saw, the Pastor, vacuuming the floor. That moment, my life changed forever. I had never seen a man vacuum before, much less a Pastor. I saw how he cared for his wife, they were a team. I saw how their Christianity was different than mine. I thought I was Christian. Then how come theirs was so different? So much better?
After spending more time with them, I would quickly see that I wasn’t truly saved, that I truly didn’t give my life to the Lord on HIS terms, but mine. Thus started my life as a believer and God used that situation to get my attention in such an awe-inspiring way. To pull back the curtain of what a marriage should be, of what a Christian life should look like. That one incident, lead to a whole lot of questions, which in turn, led to Christ. So, I would say that I would far much rather a man vacuum my floor, than give me flowers or candy. I know, weird right. 🙂
