How to Organize Any Room Quickly for Guests You Want to Impress

Expecting visitors to your home or apartment soon? Meanwhile, your rooms could use a little sprucing up? Well, it doesn't have to be a daunting task if you know how to get rid of things fast1 Some of the most popular eye sores that make visitors think twice about entering a room is as follows.

Paper

There are all kinds of paper piles in one's home. There is the paper you need, the paper you might use, and the paper you already looked through but just didn't bother throwing it away. Begin, by throwing away papers you know you will not need. File paper you believe you will need to mail or use to support future documents. Then neatly pile paper you plan on getting around to. Store all paper out of site of all your guests. Utilize drawers, a laptop bag, filing cabinet, bin, or box to place paper. Now if you forget about the pile, then that's a clear indication you never needed the paper pile in the first place.

If you have piles and piles of paper sitting in your apartment or home for a very long time almost to the point of yellowing, chances are there are paper fleas in those piles. Don't put those piles near clothes. You will know if you have paper fleas, if you should start noticing itchy skin and small bites on your hands and arms every time you move paper, card-boxes and other paper products around. Consider getting a bug fume which will require that you place it in the center of a room, close up windows and doors and vacate the environment for a few hours. The last thing you want is to be responsible for your guests being bit by bugs while visiting your home.

Shoes

Piles of shoes in doorways and in other walkways are nothing more than hazards. Then there are the shoes in corners and everywhere else, but where they need be-- like in a closet. So find a box, get an under-the-bed bag or bin, or a shoe rack and start organizing. Local drug stores carry these items if you have no time to run to a department store.

Clothes

Clothes anywhere strewn throughout the home is not a good impression even if they are clean. So pile the clothes you know you won't be wearing and put them in a box if you have no time to hang them up. However, if you do have time to hang them, be sure you are getting maximum use of your closet. There are space saving hangers you can also get sometimes in the As Seen on TV household section of your local department and drug store.

Stains

Who wants to sit on a stain or look at one on a wall? So check for unsightly stains on furniture, floors and walls and wipe clean with a mild cleanser. Dish-washing liquid or laundry detergent works for some markings when you don't have upholstery, bathroom or kitchen cleaners. Don't forget to lift up that toilet seat when you start cleaning the bathroom!

Odors

There are so many products for odors, but if you don't have air freshner readily available, you can always use baby powder or a perfume or cologne. Sprinkle baby powder on the floor lightly and vacuum. Spray the air with a fragrance. If furniture smells strange, spray fragrance above the item(s) and let droplets fall. Don't spray directly or the fragrance may stain the material. Use a bleach to kill bathroom smells, but if you don't have that use a bubble bath or body wash and scrub away odors.

Dirt and Dust

Look for dirt and dust on things like lamps, desks, television and computer screens, picture frames, and book shelves. Who wants to be snacking on a sandwich only to look up to see a spider web dangling from the chandelier? Also, check window sills. Although you might not think your guest will be going to the windows or looking that closely at the mirrors, they might. So give it all a quick wipe down.
Check your floor and vacuum. Most people walk into a home and look around then down. Don't get caught with the crumbs and the unsightly messes!

A person who sincerely wants to impress his or her guest(s) will not overlook the obvious. He or she will be sure that everything looks well-organized, clean and smells fresh. So in your haste to make that first lasting impression, don't forget the most important rooms: the bathroom, kitchen and living-room. Be sure there is nothing in view that would make your guest(s) turn around and walk out or think of you as a lazy slob. Always remember people do judge a book by its cover.

By Nicholl McGuire