Mom and Dad and Emily and her man and three children and little dog are all coming to our house in a few days.  I LOVE having them over.  LOVE it.  But, I admit, I’m the kind of girl who needs special motivation if I’m going to clean my house.  I’ve found two tricks that work every time for me. Find what works for you and use them.

Trick One:: Get something new.

No, I don’t mean a new sofa, although how fun would that be?  It can be as simple as a new candle, or a $4.99 bunch of mums, but, it’s amazing how a vase of flowers on the table can make me want to get the entire kitchen clean.  It’s a small price to pay for enjoying the process and getting that ding a ling kitchen CLEAN.

Here are some things I recently purchased that are motivating me to clean today, this is not a sponsored post although, I am mentioning a sponsor, I just cannot help myself, but I hope you appreciate my recommendations, I love it when real people recommend stuff, I still use the Luxurious Volume line of hair care from John Frieda thanks to a thumbs up a year ago from Boo Mama.

Here we go:

1. Bona Hardwood Floor Mop

Back when I had my slipcover party the girls all helped me clean up and I remember Lily saying she would mop my floor but only if I had a Bona, I think she was kidding but I didn’t have one and my floors didn’t get mopped.  Instead, an entire conversation was  started about this Bona mop thing I’ve never heard of and how great they all thought it was and how much they liked cleaning their floors. ?! I forgot about it until two weeks ago when I got on facebook and asked Lily what that was again and promptly went out to Lowe’s  and spent my $30 on it.  She was right, I love it.  Dear Bona, do you need a spokesperson?

2. Candle Mash Ups

I like to burn two or more flavors at a time.  Today, it’s Yankee Candle’s Vanilla Cupcake paired with Mrs. Meyer’s Iowa Pine. It’s so Christmasy and yummy.  And if you try to candles and they stink together just blow them out.

3. Nuts

I love putting nuts {in their shell} out in pretty bowls.  They are decoration and food.

4. Music

I’m in the market for some new Christmas music right now, but, once I download a few fresh songs from iTunes and add them to the Christmas playlist my mood magically changes when I hear them.  {You are listening to Christmas music as you clean for Thanksgiving, right?}

5. Cleaning supplies that I actually like using.

You know what I’m going to say, right?  Mrs. Meyer’s.  Oh,  that Mrs. Meyer’s you must try her products if you haven’t yet.  If you only want to start with one item might I suggest the Lemon Verbena Countertop Spray?  Excellent choice, ma’am.  {insert mental picture of me in a waiter’s outfit holding a metal tray with a bottle of Mrs. Meyer’s wrapped in a spotless white chamois carefully titled so you can read the label}.  {Disclaimer, I am actually working with Mrs. Meyer’s and I’ll include a coupon at the end of this post~WHOOOPIE but they are not paying me to talk about them~ yet}. My plans to take over the Mrs. Meyer’s world have begun though {also insert evil laugh and sounds of a spray bottle}

oh weird color, please sun, come out so I can take better photos and it bothers me so that my dog doesn’t curl his tail around his body like normal dogs.

Trick two:: Move things around/change up the decor

Again with the new feeling.  Apparently I thrive on little changes.

1. I clear off the kitchen counters and put away any lingering clutter/tchotchkes to make room for the Third Annual Making of PW’s Cinnamon Rolls with Mom and Emily.  PW is not paying me to talk about her. Although, I may need to fine her for the pounds I put on each year due to her recipes.

2. Consider each room {especially the public areas} and think about if they are set up best for lots of people.  I ended up moving bigger table out of our front room into an empty space in the family room.

3. Pull out photos from Thanksgiving past and put them around the house. Beware, looking through old photos can get you off task, save this project for night time when you don’t have the energy to clean but still want to get something done.

4. Bring in the extra leaf to the table and use a simple/low centerpiece {sticks and candles usually work for me}

5. Wash the throws and place them strategically around the house.

And for your buying pleasure, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is now available at Walmart.  I checked it out and it’s by far the best selection of Mrs. Meyer’s items in my town.  And, here’s a $1 off coupon for to use while you are shopping~there’s one over there on the sidebar too that will stay up all month.

Now, tell me what Christmas song {include the version/artist so I can download the right one} is your current favorite?