HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: Friends often call to tell me that they are close and want to drop by for a visit. Somehow my house always seems to be messy when they call. How can I get things in order quickly before the guests arrive? — Terry D., Waukesha, Wis.
DEAR TERRY: Take a look at your house from the front door. What will guests see when they walk in? Start by getting the floors picked up — no clothes, newspapers or toys laying about or draped over furniture.
All cups, glasses and plates should be taken off of the coffee table and put into the dishwasher or the sink. Take a dust cloth and wipe down the tables. Straighten the chairs and fluff the throw pillows.
The bathroom counters need to be wiped down, and dry towels should be hung neatly on the racks. Get rid of clutter on the counters. If you don’t have time to clean the toilet, at least throw some bleach in the bowl and let it sit for a minute or so before flushing it down. Close the shower curtain so that no one sees the tub.
Finally, greet your guests at the door with a smile. Remember, your guests are there to see you, not your home.
DEAR HELOISE: While doing my holiday cleaning routine just before Christmas, I found a bunch of cupcake liners on top of cans or sitting loose on the shelf. Since I hate messy shelves, I looked around for something to put them in and discovered that cans of frosting are perfect for storing the liners. Just clean it out, and you have a great little storage container. — April K., Omaha, Neb.
DEAR HELOISE: Three weeks ago, I bought a two-drawer file cabinet at a garage sale and painted it a nice color so that it could go in my home office. I use it to file away important documents and other things, but I also made a section for things that I needed to save.
I have a separate folder for the kitchen, one for the bedroom, one for the bathroom and so on. All instructions, warranties, receipts, packing slips and any other papers for items that we’ve bought go in there. This way, if we need to return a product, reset a code for the garage door or check to see what our warranties cover, we don’t have to hunt all over the place for the information. It’s right there at my fingertips. — Colleen E., Southfield, Mich.
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