So your mom or other visitors are coming down this weekend, and your apartment is a mess. Follow this quick 20-minute plan to make a good impression on your guests.

Start by setting a timer for 20 minutes. This way, you’ll do all the cleaning at once instead of taking breaks. The following are estimations for how long to spend on each task.

Do the dishes: 10 min.

A sink full of dishes is one of the first giveaway signs that an apartment isn’t clean. This takes a bit of time, but will definitely be worth it if your mom needs a drink of water, but there aren’t any clean glasses. Even in a dorm, nice and tidy dishes make mothers feel like their child is living a healthy life.

Put clutter in a laundry basket and hide the laundry basket: 5 min.

This is a good tip for getting things off of counters, tables or other surfaces. It’s helpful to create a good first impression for your mom or other visitors when they first walk in the door. This tip is also good for hiding other things you might not want your family to see. 

Clean things at eye level: 3 min.

It’s good to dust things like a TV, TV stand or other places that naturally draw lots of attention. If you and your mom or guests are watching TV, they might notice dust under the stand or near other places where people pause and look, like the top of a microwave or the top of the toilet or nightstand.

Always make the bed: 1 min.

A nice and tidy bed makes the room look much cleaner, especially if it is the main focus of a room like it is in a dorm. 

Clean the desk: 1 min.

A clean and tidy desk means that there is a place for you to do homework – which is always mother-approved.

Don’t worry about sweeping the floor: 0 min.

It’s definitely good to clean the floor frequently, but it’s one of the last things that people notice when looking at a room. So unless the floor is atrocious, spend your energy elsewhere. There is especially no need to vacuum if you are in an intense time crunch.

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