Every once in awhile, and particularly around the holidays, you might get a phone call from your mother or aunt that they’re just going to “stop by” for a few minutes or to drop off some cookies.  Sometimes you check the answering machine on your way in the door and discover a message from your significant other that (s)he’ll be home soon – with dinner guests.

Even with just 30 minutes notice, you can get your house into a presentable state and have snacks ready to go.  Here’s how:

1.  Raid your cabinets, freezer and refrigerator first to determine what kind of snacks you can serve  (or dinner if they’re staying for dinner).  If you need to thaw something, put it under lightly running water to speed the process along, or pop it into the microwave on the defrost setting.  Chances are there will be something you can whip up into quick and easy snacks – think crackers and cheese, a bag of cookies arranged nicely on a serving tray, veggies and dip.  If the guests are staying for dinner and you just don’t have anything you can prepare quickly, call for delivery from the local pizza or italian restaurant.  You can always order a few dinners that go well together and serve it family style so everyone gets to try a little of each dish!

2. Figure out where in your home you will entertain your guests.  Will you primarily be in the kitchen?  Living room?  Where will the guests enter your home?  These are the rooms and areas that you’ll want to focus on straightening up and making more presentable (don’t forget the bathroom!) while you can close the doors to any other rooms that won’t be used and skip cleaning them unless you end up having more time than you expected when everything else is done.

3. Quickly de-clutter!  Even people who are normally good housekeepers sometimes fall behind with the daily upkeep of a home.  Grab an empty laundry basket and go through the rooms you’ve decided your guests will be in and put anything that doesn’t belong in the rooms into the laundry basket.  You can sort it out and put it away later, but for now, you’re just removing the clutter from the rooms your guests will be in and hiding it in a bedroom or utility room until they leave!

4.  Speed clean the bathroom.  Dampen a towel and quickly wipe out the bathroom sink and then the top of the toilet where dust tends to collect.  Give the floor a quick wipe too if it has dirt or stray hairs on it.  Spray the sink and toilet with bathroom cleaner and give each a quick scrub.  Make sure you’ve got toilet paper handy, hand soap and hang clean hand towels.

5. In the rooms you plan to do the entertaining, do a quick but thorough clean.  Wash all table surfaces, straighten up slipcovers or throw blankets on couches and chairs, wipe off kitchen or dining room chairs, hide dirty dishes in the dishwasher.  If you don’t have a dishwasher and absolutely do not have time to wash them before guests arrive, put them into a plastic wash tub and hide under the sink or in a cabinet until they leave and you can take care of them properly.

6. Do a spot clean of any rooms or areas that the guests will need to walk through – for example, if your home has a foyer or you enter through the garage, you’ll want to quickly straighten these areas up.   Clean anything that is noticeably dirty (spots on mirrors, fingerprints on doors) and hide just about everything else.

7.  Turn down the lights and/or close the curtains.  There is nothing like the sun beaming through the window to spotlight any dust in the air or on furniture!  Dimming the lights and closing off the windows if it’s daytime can hide a lot – and it has the added effect of making everything more intimate!

8.  Finally, assemble your snacks and drinks.  This step is last because it’s acceptable to be putting crackers and cheese on serving plates when your guest arrives – more so then tossing toys and magazines into a laundry  basket, anyway!

This isn’t a recommended list for your daily cleaning, of course – but in those instances when you have unexpected or last minute guests arriving, these 8 tips can make entertaining a breeze.  A little clutter or dirt won’t kill you or your guests – so do what you can before they arrive and then enjoy the company once they’re there and don’t stress about the cobwebs you spotted in the corner just as they came in!