Your mother-in-law called. She’s on her way with Aunt Tilly, and they will over in 10 minutes for a visit.

As you hang up the phone, you turn around to survey the damage in the rest of the house.

Yikes!

You’ve been hammering away at work in your ‘mock office’ on the kitchen table. Papers are everywhere. And your kids? If they are like my twin tornados with remote school, video games, and more, things are scattered everywhere. Then there’s the laundry. Yeah, at least we can throw a load or two in while working from home, but getting it put away (at least in my house) hasn’t happened.

But don’t panic.

You’ve got approximately 10 minutes. What do you attack first to get the most bang for your cleaning buck?

Pick stuff off the floor.

It always makes such a difference to actually “see” the carpet. Close off any rooms that don’t need to be seen, such as bedrooms, playrooms, etc.

For those other rooms, keep an extra laundry basket handy and just fill it up. Don’t bother sorting. Just scoop up all the toys and “stuff” and move on. (I also love the stuff under the bed or in a closet routine. That’s often what happens to my laundry… into the closet on the floor until I can get to it later!)

If your vacuum is easy to use, run it quickly. If it is a pain to find it and deal with the cord, forget about it.

Head into the kitchen.

If you have piles of dirty dishes everywhere, you have two choices. You could try to load the dishwasher. However, it might be easier to rinse everything quickly, fill the sink with soapy water, and pile it all in. Don’t worry about actually washing them. Let your company think they interrupted you.

Give the counters a once over with the sponge or a wipe, so nothing sticky is left for your guests to discover.

Time for the bathroom.

Nothing is more embarrassing than having someone ask to use your bathroom when you just know it is gross. And I can tell you with teen girls, it’s really gross. And what the heck happened to all the toilet paper?

Get everything off the counter and into a drawer. Grab a bleach wipe and wipe down the counter, the faucet, the sink, and the toilet.

Grab a wipe made just for mirrors and get that toothpaste spray that you have been purposely ignoring off the mirror. If you can, clean the toilet bowl as well. Note: make sure there is toilet paper.

Living room quickie.

Straighten the cushions on the sofa. Corral all the stuff in the shoe pile and hang up the coats.

That’s it. That’s all you’ve got time for, but this little list should make everything more presentable. Whether you are a neat freak or on the messy side, we all have days where we get caught off-guard. The point to remember is that you only need to give the “illusion” of clean. No one is going to open your closets or drawers. No one is going to peek behind closed doors. At least, I hope not.

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Thank goodness 2020 is done. It’s been so odd from all the fires to the pandemic, and just normal everyday things seemed less… normal.

Have you made any resolutions? Do any of those resolutions involve home decorating? I’m not a resolution person per se (I normally say I’m resolute on no resolutions.) Yet, I’m yearning for something new in 2021.

As a matter of fact, to get my decorating done this new year, I created a Trello board with a calendar. I know, a bit anal. But even with all the ‘free time’ at home, I wasn’t able to make some holiday decorations (mid-century fabric trees) I wanted to before the holiday season hit. And I still haven’t wallpapered my secretary desk to give it that mid-century vibe I want.

So sometimes, the best way to get things done (like my list of decor projects) is just to resolve to do it.

And since I already have a list of those to-dos (and then some), I’m resolving to have a productive attitude! Also, I am resolved to complete those projects in small steps (and my Trello board helps with that).

Want to join me in home decorating resolutions?  Here are a few to get you started that I’ve added to my Trello board:

Clearing Clutter Step by Step

Clearing out clutter. Isn’t that something we all wish we could do every year day? And don’t we inevitably end up overwhelmed and more buried in clutter than ever?

Not this year! Resolve to clear the clutter in steps. It’s indeed overwhelming to look at your whole house and imagine tackling it all at once, not stopping until it’s finished.  Instead, approach it on a room-by-room basis, resolving to clear the clutter from, say, one room a month.

You could even begin with corners of rooms to make it even less overwhelming – say, clear the clutter from one corner of the living room every Saturday for four weeks. Then move on to the next room or area.

Organize Your Stuff

Although 2020 saw me throwing away a ton of unused items as I made space for remote working for Matt and me and remote school for the girls, I didn’t throw away everything.  And when you clean up the clutter, you won’t be throwing away everything this year, either. There will be “stuff” you’ll need to organize and store in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Here are some suggestions.

• Baskets are definitely your friend. Baskets can be used to hold items like shoes by the front door, CDs, DVDs, remote controls, and all those adapters for cell phones and computers.
• Decorative boxes are also handy. Slip them onto shelves and look like decorative pieces but they’re actually holding stuff. I have some next to that desk I need to wallpaper. They contain paper clips and other desk-related items that can look cluttered otherwise.
• If you have items to display, use simple trays or clear bowls. I love my British inspired tray with my mid-century cocktail glasses display in our dining room/piano bar pub area. It really makes the place look organized with a theme.

Living Decorations

Although I wish I could be talking about my girls and the cats, what I mean is houseplants. Adding them brings beauty; they are also gaining a reputation for detoxifying indoor air. Not enough sunny areas? You can get plants that do well in low light areas (and that’s most of my house). I recommend starting with spider plants. We have tons of them and can’t kill them.

Sparking Joy – And Function

I learned this year to keep items only that spark joy. Yes, just like Marie Kondo said. Yet, if the item had a functional purpose that I was really using, even when it didn’t spark joy, I kept it too. The result was paring down many items and using nostalgic items, such as my grandmother’s hope chest, as real functional pieces in the home.

Whatever you do, don’t rush the process. After all, you have a whole year to get it done.  I also recommend checking out Joan Silva’s Tidy Up Tuesdays.  She has some great tips if you make home decorating tidy.