7 final touches that make a home look spotless, even when it’s not – and they take seconds

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There’s nothing worse than guests arriving before you’re ready. You hear the doorbell go and feel your stomach drop. ‘How are they here so quickly and what are they going to think?’ rushes through your mind. We’ve all been there.

That’s why we’ve pulled together this hit list of 7 final touches that take seconds to clean but make the biggest difference to your home. Even if things look a little rough around the edges, working your way through this list will create the illusion of a spotless home. So you can spend less time frantically cleaning and more time feeling triumphant.

A stack of envelopes and junk mail dumped on the console table is never a good look in any home. So, take a second to quickly flick through and organise what’s here. Junk mail can be chucked while your bills can be ordered by date due in a mail organiser. If you don’t have one of these, a dedicated bowl or tray makes it look like there’s a system in place.

In future, keeping a dedicated ‘to shred’ pile can stop letters containing personal information from building up. Just remember to shred what’s been added weekly. While a filing system (either by way of a folder or drawers), gives everything you need to keep a dedicated, labelled home.

Similarly, you don’t want guests tripping over lone shoes as soon as they enter your home. The fix is simple – pair everything up and remove those that aren’t worn regularly. Every pair of shoes should have its own space on your shoe rack, ideally with a few spots spare for your guests. The same rules apply to your coat rack, too.

Sweeping up any dirt and stones that have collected by your front door and giving your door mat a flap outside can also rejuvenate the space.

Everyone likes to double check themselves when they pass a mirror, and that includes your guests. So clear any smudges and smears from your hallway mirror with a quick spritz of window cleaner (or you could use a solution of one-part distilled white vinegar to nine-parts water) and then wipe over with a microfibre cloth. You can leave it streak-free and gleaming by running a squeegee over the top and then buffing with some chamois leather.

Take a moment to organise your coffee table; this is likely where your guests will gather after all. Recycle old newspapers and magazines, clear any stranded mugs and polish the surface. For wood, use a dedicated wood cleaner, and for glass, you can use the same method as mentioned for the hallway mirror.

It’s one thing clearing the coffee table of any old newspapers and magazines, but if you leave out reading material on purpose – that is ‘coffee table books’ – that can earn you some extra brownie points. It gives your home the impression that it’s ready for your guests and adds to the decoration.

Opt for books that are easy for guests to flick through, such as travel, interior design or artist’s collections. You can always check out our list of the best coffee table books for some inspiration.

Nothing makes a bathroom look neglected like a limescale-coated tap. This is a common problem on chrome taps in hard water areas – as every hand wash, splash back and minerals coat the handles and spout and leave behind watermarks.

It takes seconds to remove, though. You just need a solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Vinegar’s acidic nature breaks down the minerals found in limescale, making it a cinch to remove. Just spritz it on, wait for a minute or two, then scrub away with a microfibre cloth.

There are products you can apply that will polish and protect the tap from watermarks if guests are staying for a while. Alternatively, you can rub your microfibre cloth over the top of a plain, unscented candle and apply the wax to your chrome tap to create a barrier.

Should guests want to be helpful when it comes to scraping plates, you don’t want the bin to be overfilled, with residue splattered around the rim. So, make the effort now to take the bins and recycling out.

You can run a disinfectant wipe around the rim and sides to clear any bits that may have missed, and you can sprinkle some bicarb in the base before you fit a fresh bin bag to help deodorise. Remember to pay special attention to the release button – this is usually covered in greasy finger marks.

Finally, you do need to clean the toilet, but this doesn’t need to take hours. Just focus on the areas your guests will see (and use). That includes the lid, the toilet seat, directly on top of the bowl and the handle.

Spritz each with a dedicated bathroom cleaner, then give them a quick once over with a microfibre cloth, working into any crevices and around the fittings. For any stains you can’t shift from the seat, letting a bicarb paste sit on it for 20 minutes can help to remove it. As for limescale stains in the bowl, giving them a gentle scrub with a damp pumice stone can clear these in seconds.

Spritz some toilet cleaner around the bowl to finish, leaving the toilet brush sitting in the water to disinfect it, then flush 10 minutes later.

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