13 Things About Your Home That Will Win or Lose People’s Hearts

Have you ever been in a situation where your guests are about to come and your place is messy, so you have to do some urgent cleaning? This is very tiring, difficult, and it often looks like nobody even notices your hard work. It is incredibly hard to clean up the apartment quickly after a long work day, meet your guests, and try to not be exhausted.

The Bright Side writers have been in these situations too and it got us thinking: is it really that important to clean the entire place? In order to find out what guests pay attention to the most when they come, we’ve read hundreds of opinions and made a list of the most popular ones. (Spoiler alert: you don’t have to mop the floors and dust everything). And in the bonus, there are 5 ways of cleaning up quickly and easily.

Front door

It seems that the front door is the least important thing. Nobody is ever taught to wash the front doors. But this is the first thing guests see when they come. They’re not even inside yet, but they can already experience their first impression.

It is better to remove the dust, the stains, and the palm prints and don’t neglect the mat at the entrance. This is where most of the dirt is, especially if the weather is rainy.

Shoe shelf

So, your guests have seen the perfectly clean door and now they are inside. The first thing they see is the hall. This is where we leave sunglasses, keys, bags, perfume, receipts, and a lot of pairs of shoes that can even confuse people about the number of people living in your family.

Martha Stewart, famous around the world for her recommendations about housekeeping advises removing all the extra stuff from the hall. This will help create a nice impression, even though the hall is where the guests spend the least amount of time.

Smell

This is a very important and tricky thing because when a person is in a place for a long time, they might not even notice the smell. You’ve probably noticed that when you come inside from the street, you feel like there’s not enough air to breathe. This is the contrast your guests will notice.

• Once, I was in an elevator with 4 little girls. They were about 8 or 9 years old. They were arguing over whose place they were going to go to. One of them said, “My place smells nice.” And they went to her place. And I thought that it was a very good point. It’s hard to argue with that. © DarkEnergyinc / Pikabu

Faucet and sink

The bathroom is another place at home that requires special attention from the owners. Because we are at home every day, we stop noticing the water spots on the faucets. And it takes minutes to wash the sink. You can even use wet wipes if you need to do things really quickly.

• “I never care about the stuff lying around or dirty dishes. But I always pay attention to how clean the toilet and the bathroom are.”

Soap

As it turns out, soap is extremely important for many people. First of all, it’s better to replace old and small pieces of soap with new bars. And also, don’t forget about the soap dispenser. It has to be clean and pleasant to use.

• “I always notice the mess in the bathroom: hairbrushes with hair, old soap bars, and other stuff like that.”

Towels

Replacing an old towel with a new one takes seconds. And it takes another second to show your guests which towel is for them. Many people neglect this, but many people still say that clean and fresh towels are extremely important in terms of comfort for them.

• “I always see clothes drying in the bathroom and several towels hanging on the wall, but you don’t know which one of them you can use.”
• “I absolutely love it if there are paper towels in the bathroom and a contactless soap dispenser. It is really nice when you come to someone’s place and they instantly tell you where you can wash your hands and where the bathroom is.”

Hairbrushes

This is another thing that is often neglected. Hairbrushes don’t always have a spot they are put in. Sometimes, we need to fix our hair right before we leave, sometimes, before we go to bed, or after a shower — so brushes can be left pretty much anywhere. And it’s not important where they are, but what condition they are in. They should have no hair, dirt, or dust on them.

• “I have long hair and before, my hairbrushes were everywhere around my place and I could never find them. But once, I was visiting a friend and I saw a hairbrush that was covered in someone’s hair. It was so ugly that now I always make sure my hairbrushes are never in plain sight, especially when someone is going to come to my place.”

Kitchen table

Very often, kitchens are where the parties happen. The kitchen table is the central object. It shouldn’t have anything useless lying on it and the surface should be perfectly clean. Also, don’t forget about the comfortable chairs.

• “I really dislike it when I have to sit on a low couch or a very solid chair.”

Glasses and cups

No matter what drinks you’re offering to your guests, it is very important to check the condition of the cups and glasses. Sometimes, transparent glasses have water stains, even after coming out of the dishwasher. This is something that can upset your guests. They probably won’t tell you anything, but they will not like it.

So, before you serve the table, make sure everything is really clean. By the way, water spots are really easy to remove with a clean towel. This is why bartenders do what they do in saloons in every movie about the Wild West.

• I don’t like glasses with water spots on them or cups with patterns that have grease on them. On that note, greasy kitchen furniture is also very unattractive."

Mirrors

This is another thing that’s really easy to overlook. Mirrors are really easy to clean from fingerprints and water sprinkles with a wet microfiber cloth. Don’t forget to check all the mirrors you have — those in the hall and in the bathroom.

• “I always notice the dirty mirrors in bathrooms, the trash, and the overall messiness. I like minimalism, like when it’s light and clean in the room. If your place is clean, it means your mind is clear too.”

Couch

At home with children or pets, the couch may be not the cleanest place. In order to make it better, make sure you use the vacuum cleaner and remove all the things that don’t belong there. It is important to remove food pieces, hair, and pet hair.

Book shelves

Bookshelves, especially the open ones, are another place that requires a lot of attention. In order to clean them up, clean the dust where people can see it. Also, remove all the things that shouldn’t be on these shelves. They make the place look messier. Some guests pay attention to what you have in your library, so make sure you have all the best books in the front.

• “I always look at the books on the shelves and if there are any books at all. If I’m visiting friends, I always check what new books they have. I can understand people and their interests based on the books they read.”

Little details

While you’re waiting for your guests, you should remember that some little things can ruin the overall impression of your home and you as the owner. No matter what your style is, there should be no medications, personal things, receipts, cables, or forgotten cups left out.

• I always notice a lot of details. For example, when there are lot of magnets on the fridge or lots of different stuff on the fridge. The same goes for the bathroom sinks covered with different bottles and creams. I think this makes the place look terribly messy, even if it’s not. Yet, many owners mop the floors before their guests arrive. I don’t see the dirty floor, because I have bad eyes, but I do see overall messiness."

Bonus: 5 life hacks to help clean up the place for guests in just 15 minutes

1. Hide the dirty dishes in the oven or the dishwasher. Just put them inside in any way you can. Nobody will look inside.
2. Close the bedroom doors. Your clothes and your unmade bed will remain unseen.
3. The stuff lying around the house can be put in an empty laundry basket. It’s not just about clothes, it’s about all the stuff. Just make sure you don’t forget about it later.
4. A melamine sponge can remove a lot of stains in a matter of seconds. It will come in handy in the bathroom and on any surfaces that are not painted.
5. To get rid of an unpleasant smell in the kitchen, take a pan, mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar with a glass of water, and boil it on the oven. The vinegar will kill all the smells in the air. Then, pour the liquid into the sink to prevent the smell from the drain. Even if you cooked fish the day before, nobody will know.
6. “I will never notice dust on the furniture, spiderwebs, or clothes anywhere, and I don’t care if someone’s bed is made or not. What I do care about is dirt that seems like it’s ages old. It could be on the light switches, doorknobs, or even the plates.”

What do you look at when you come to someone’s place?