5 places you need to clean

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rug Doctor for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I think that what I’ve realized lately is that your house can be spotless in most places, but if you don’t have these 5 places clean, all the rest just won’t matter.  People see these places first, when they visit your house, and for this reason, these areas in the home make the biggest impression.  

1- The first thing to do is clear your entryway!  You don’t want someone coming in and falling all over your shoes, coats, kid’s backpacks. ( Here is how I organize my entryway. )  Just gather things up into a basket and you can put things away, where they go.  This will only take a few minutes and it will make a huge difference in how your guests feel when they come into your home.

2- Clean your area rugs.  
We like to rent a Rug Doctor when we have a few hours for free find a rental location near you

We always use it for our area rug near in the garage (walking out into the garage), we use it on the one in the entry, but since it has a 1.9-hoursepower vacuum motor, I end up just doing a whole-house cleaning while we have it.  It takes about 20 minutes per room & 99% of the customers are happy with it, so to me that is a win-win.  The rental cost is $29.99 depending on store and market and renting can save over $200 on hiring a professional (which can be awkward with a professional trying to up-sell to you while they are there).   Machines have a Seal of Approval from the Carpet and Rug Institute, the carpet industry’s only scientific program to test and measure the effectiveness of cleaning products and equipment.

Oh- plus they have cleaning solutions have been tested and proven safe for children and pets (plus you can return it when it is more convenient for you). 

It works really well – here is our area rug (before & after)
It sits by our garage door, so here it is after a few months of not being cleaned… it looks brown, doesn’t it?

After the Rug Doctor:   (clearly… it’s white)

3- Clean up the kitchen.  It is inevitable that when someone comes into our home, they will see our kitchen.  You pass by it when you are walking into the living room.
If you only have a few minutes, either throw all of the dishes into the sink or put them into the dishwasher (dishwasher is better because it will save you time later).

Run a clean damp washcloth over your counters to clear away any crumbs. Grab all of the towels and washcloths and throw them into the washer.   I like to ‘race myself’ and see how quickly I can clean areas.

 4- The living room is where your company will spend a lot of their time.
Do you have any magazines or books left out?  Put them away .  I keep mine in my coffee table drawer.  They are quick to clean up and take less than a minute.  When the drawer gets full, I throw them away or give them to my neighbor & start over.  Are there blankets left out?   Throw them into a big basket (we keep a wicker basket near our couch for these).  Any toys?  Put them into an ottoman to hide them and store them at the same time. 🙂

5- The bathroom:  If you only have a minute, do these three things:

• 1).  Take an antibacterial wipe & wipe down the vanity, in the sink and (with a new one) the toilet seat &  underneath (the base of the toilet).  I keep these wipes under the bathroom sink, so I can just grab one quickly.
• 2).  Scrub the inside of the toilet.  I keep a bathroom toilet scrubber under each (locked) kitchen sink.   This will take less than a minute.
• 3).  Get a new fresh hand towel.  I keep extra hand-towels under each vanity for occasions like this.It doesn’t take much to keep your house looking it’s best… and a little work will make a huge difference!  My favorite thing to do is to clean the carpets and area rugs, because it makes the biggest difference.   What is your favorite thing to clean?