Before Your Friends Come Over: 5 Cleaning Tips

By Allie Mitchell on August 29, 2016

This article is brought to you by CORT Furniture Rental. We take the hassle out of furnishing your new place so you can do more important things like read this article. Learn more about why furniture rental is the best way to get a great looking apartment.

So you just got your new apartment and you are so excited; I mean who wouldn’t be?

You have your own freedom now to do what you want and make your own decisions. You no longer have a curfew or anyone to nag you about really anything at all. You can have friends over whenever you want and have them sleep over time and time again.

You really only answer to whoever you pay rent to and the gas and cable people, more or less. If you are a smart apartment owner, you always know where your money is going and how much you still have left. No need to over stress yourself when it isn’t necessary.

On the other hand, whether or not you have friends over, most people will want a nice space in general. Your parents would highly agree with me, especially if you have them over and they see how much you have let the place go with the mess you haven’t had the time to clean up yet.

Also, you don’t want your friends thinking that you are a total slob when you aren’t. You don’t have to be overly clean when people come over but you do want to make sure people feel comfortable when they are in your home and living space, and no one will feel at home if there is dust everywhere and piles of dishes in the sink.

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Here is a short compiled list of things to consider when preparing your apartment for friends or really anyone to come over. A clean and healthy apartment can actually make you a much happier and stress-free person in the long run.

1. Clean sweep: You don’t need a large feather duster to get things clean. Honestly, most feather dusters just move the dust around rather than actually removing it. Get some pledge wipes and wipe down surfaces that people may touch or just any surface that you find that may need a quick cleaning. The type of clean sweep that you do also depends on how much time you have before your friends’ arrival.

2. Wash your clothes: If you have had a large pile of clothes in your laundry basket for a good bit of time now, maybe today is the day you should do some laundry. A pile of dirty clothes is not attractive, let alone the smell of dirty clothes can sometimes travel depending on how long they have been in there together. Your friends won’t mind if you have the dryer going while they are over; it’s really no big deal.

3. Clean the living room: More times than not, when you are hanging out with your friends you will do it in your living room, a wider space to chill out and talk. So make sure to fluff your pillows, make sure everything looks and feels comfortable. You want your guests to feel right at home in your place, even if all you plan to do is pig out and watch television.

4. Pet hair: If you are an apartment owner with pets, especially pets with long hair, then you understand about shedding. Personally I know this from experience; we moved into my sisters’ old apartment and all there was around us was pet hair — all in the cracks, on the couch, even the ceiling. It was awful.

No one wants to sit on a couch, just to get up and be covered in pet hair. It’s no fun and it’s not fair to your guests. There are things like lint rollers and furniture vacuums for your situation. Keep this in mind.

5. Food and dishes: Make sure all the dishes are washed or at least don’t have a million and one dishes in your sink all piled up on top of each other. Washing dishes or even putting dishes in the dishwasher only takes a small amount of time and effort.

Also, as for food, just always have snacks just in case no one wants to splurge for pizza. Small and inexpensive snacks will do — no one is expecting you to make a gourmet meal and if they do expect that from you, well, your friends need a reality check.

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Your apartment is your space to be yourself and let your personality show, but if you want to have guests over you need to take into account your living space. If people see a messy space, they will think of you the same way, so at the least have a mediocre space.

Which means mildly clean, but you can survive and live in it. You want people to WANT to come back over and see you, not have them come over and then regret every minute of it.

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