It’s 4:30 in the afternoon. You’re in the middle of a major craft project. I’m talking paint, glue, paper, and jute string all over the dining room table. The kids are playing that fun game of “scatter the Legos everywhere” that all kids seem to know about. And the dishes from lunch are still {dirty} in the sink. All is fine and well. It’s a small disaster but who cares? No one will see it.

Then the phone rings. Your mother-in-law and her best friend are stopping by to drop off some goodies from their latest Farmers Market run. You panic.

You frantically run around the house throwing things into bedrooms and hiding them behind closed doors. You freak out on your kids and threaten the fastest game of Lego clean up ever.

And in ten minutes, when your surprise guests arrive, you’ve just barely had time to put on a bra and sweep half of the entryway. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Is An Always-Clean House Really Possible?

Guess what? There is a way to avoid this mini panic attack.

I’m sure you’ve surprise-visited someone before and their home looked like it had just been photographed for a magazine feature. And you were slightly jealous and slightly convinced that they have some kind of super power that allows them to clean super fast.

Well they probably don’t have super powers. And they probably didn’t sprint laps around the house before you got there either. They just developed some daily habits to keep their home neat and tidy all the time.

And I know what you’re thinking… “I have kids and pets and a full time job. This won’t work for me.” You’re wrong. It works for anyone and everyone, including me, the mom of a 5th grader, the owner of three pets that shed like a wool rug, and the full time employee of not one but two jobs.

5 Steps To An Always-Clean’ish House

1.  Wipe down counters every night. Even if you didn’t cook in your kitchen. And even if you didn’t go into your guest bathroom. Wipe down counters every single night. Clean and cleared-off counters instantly makes a room look neater.

2.  Put things away when you’re done with them. This sounds so simple, and it really is. Finished with the scissors? Put them back in the office drawer. Done snuggling up under a fuzzy blanket? Fold it up and put it away. Brought in the mail? Sort it out and file accordingly. If everything that isn’t in use is always put away, you’ll never have a mess.

3.  Use a cleaning schedule.  Having a specific schedule for when and how you will clean your home saves you from cramming the whole task list into one day. Here’s a great tutorial on making one yourself.

4.  Have storage for your storage.  A well-organized space allows for everything to have a home.  Things pile up and create messes when they don’t have a designated spot. So spend a weekend organizing every inch of your house. Containers, drawers, baskets, lidded ottomans, under-bed carts, and wall hooks are great ways to hide all your “stuff”.  It sounds daunting at first, but you only have to do it once. And the reward is instant and lasts forever.

5. Know that everyone understands you live there.  You don’t live in a museum.  Kids are messy. Pets shed fur. You use your kitchen to cook meals. You use your bedroom for sleeping and changing clothes. Your friends and family know that. So when they show up unexpectedly and there’s a giant sheet fort in the living room, there’s no need to be embarrassed. That’s what homes are for. Nobody has a spotless home all the time. Be okay with it.

Be A Superhero

Give these new habits a try and stick with them. It takes a few weeks to get in the swing of it, but it will come naturally to you soon, I promise. And one day someone will be jealous of your always-clean home and think you have super speed powers, too. A little advice, just let them think it. It’s nice to be a superhero every once in a while.

Need A Little Push To Get Your Home Clean & Organized?

Grab my free 30 Day Home Organization Challenge for a mini decluttering project every day for a month. They only take a max of 15 minutes each and in thirty days your home will be SO much cleaner, neater, and less stressful. You can pick up that freebie by popping your email address in the box below and I’ll send it right over. No strings attached.

Updated August 31, 2018. Original post from May 2016.