I logged on facebook to check the support pages for our base, in hopes that someone could tell me what to expect and what I found was a massive amount of posts and comments from women freaking out about having their home inspected. I get the whole you aren't in the army, your husband is, so the army can't tell you how to live thing. I get the you have 5 kids and 3 dogs and it's short notice, so ,of course, your house is a wreck. I, even, understand the women who don't have kids and don't like to clean. It's okay if your house isn't spotless 24/7. I'm not going to judge you. (As long as we aren't talking about unhealthy living conditions)
But, rather we like it or not, being a military spouse and living in military housing means that at any giving time someone important can stop by and ask to come in. In some situations, I understand (and I'm sure command understands, as well) that its unrealistic to expect your home to be spotless. When Handsome was hospitalized last fall, our home looked like pigs lived in it. Most of these home inspections aren't about checking to make sure you keep a clean house. Most of them are to check on YOU! to make sure the soldier's family is being taken care of and that they have running water, working electricity. They don't want their soldiers stressing out about things at home, on top of the stress that comes with their job. It's actually a GOOD thing that the command is doing a home inspection. It means they care.
That doesn't mean that when you get that call from your husband saying the command is coming to inspect the house, that you shouldn't get up and tidy up the house a bit. Just because they aren't coming to tell you how to clean, doesn't mean that you SHOULDN'T clean, so I have compiled a guide on how to clean your house on short notice for a home inspection.
Pick up toys and other things that don't belong in the living room
Grab a basket or bag and run around your living room throwing things that do not belong in the living room in it. All those toys the kids scatter around, the laundry you forgot to put away... throw it all in there and then start at one end of the house, working your way to the other end, putting those items where they belong.
Dust, Vacuum and Sweep
Quickly dust over the TV, the picture frames, the mantle or whatever else you have in your living room that may collect dust. It doesn't have to be perfect, you just want it to, at least, look like you aren't breeding dust bunnies. Vacuum your carpet or rugs and sweep if you don't have carpet, like most military housing.
The Kitchen
Any clean dishes, you should put away and any dirty dishes you should throw in the dishwasher. Using an all purpose cleaner, wipe down the counter tops. Anything that doesn't belong in this room should be moved the same way we did with the living room. Wipe down the appliances, the stove, the sink and then sweep!
Check Your Entryway
Check your entryway and make sure it's presentable. Shake out your doorway rugs and wipe up any shoe prints you hubby may have made when he came in from pt.
The Bathroom(you never know, they may have to use the bathroom)
Wipe up your counter, clean your mirror and wipe the toilet. Make sure you wipe behind the toilet, especially if you have little boys, like me!
And the most important part...
Smell! A dirty house can appear cleaner if it smells good and a clean house can appear dirty if it smells bad, so pull out the pinesol, (I love pinesol) and depending on how much time you have left, do a quick mop of your floors. If you don't have time to mop just pour the pinesol on a rag and wipe up a few things with it. If you don't have pinesol or don't like the scent, throw something in the oven. The smell of something baking in the oven can make a huge difference in how clean a house "feels." I'm not going to lie, I keep packs of the cookie dough in my refrigerator that you can just break off and throw in the oven, just for situations like this, where I need the house to appear cleaner then it actually is.
This really shouldn't take you any longer then an hour, as long as your house isn't too bad. I do this anytime we have someone coming over, no matter how clean or dirty the house is and I seem to always get it done in less then an hour.
Happy Cleaning and good luck on your home inspections!
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