If you are struggling with last-minute mayhem and feel like it won't be possible to present your home in the best possible light, here are some things that might make it easier.

Last-minute cleaning is about appearances more than actual cleanliness. People unconsciously make judgments about how you live by what they see. They can't always help it--it's just a mental switch that flips. There are certainly the judgments you are aware of, but there are many more observations that trigger a gut response that cannot be helped no matter how much you try to rationalize it mentally. Admittedly, some of these suggestions are less about cleaning and more about appearances--and you may not subscribe to that mindset. Fair enough; but the suggestions are here for those who really need this kind of help!

1. Seriously consider where your guests will be most. Are you having a lot of guests who have never been to your home and will want the grand tour? Or is it primarily people you see pretty often and will congregate in one or two rooms of the house? This is going to help you focus your efforts on the parts of your home that will give you the most return on your effort.

2. Clean the bathrooms. Clean them thoroughly--especially the one that is going to be most used by your guests. How clean your bathroom is will stick in people's mind as an indicator of how clean you keep your entire home. Clearly, not always an accurate assessment, but it's an unavoidable mental leap that people unconsciously make. If that bathroom has a medicine chest and vanity storage, clean that, too. Stock it with a small basket or other appropriate storage so that your guests won't need to go hunting for the basics that they may need: toilet paper, dental floss, personal hygiene items. When you're running around for the holidays, it's easy to forget to keep some of this on-hand. Providing them in an obvious place reduces the liklihood that they will hunt through your hidden storage.

3. If you have a significant clutter problem, stash it. Now, before I go on with this suggestion I need to issue a serious warning: this is a dangerous thing to do with any regularity and is prone to becoming a habit. But if you are desperate and keep mindful of the potential negative backlash, you can pack all the things in boxes and set them aside or put them somewhere hidden. If you can do so, it would be ideal to sort all of the things you are packing so that similar items are together. By doing this, you can go back to one box at a time and really get that category of things organized and put away.

If you don't have a place to store the boxes out of sight, you can put them aside neatly and tell your guests that you are currently in the midst of going through all of your papers (or whatever the items are) in an effort to clear out things that are no longer useful in your life which has taken you longer than expected. The reality is that if you live this way for years on end, your friends and/or family are either going to expect the mess or their going to truly believe that you are finally tackling the issue (if this is the first time you're using this excuse!).

4. Dust. It's a big one. It's obvious and it screams "This area hasn't been cleaned in a long time!" In my house, we accumulate dust in a matter of a week or two that in other homes takes a month to build. It must be a combination of our dogs and various other things--but the reality is that it gets dusty fast. Unless you live there, you don't know that. And to try to explain it to my guests while they're looking at the dust is akin to making excuses whereas explaining it when it's clean looks like you're complaining about the effort involved in keeping it clean (but you're KEEPING IT CLEAN).

5. Make sure the kitchen is clean. The countertops, sink and floor are big. You don't need to scrub the floor, but sweep it and give it a wipe with some hot water to get the obvious spots and spills. The kitchen is a work area and can't always look like a model kitchen. People understand that. But make sure there is nothing there that makes someone question your food-handling habits. After all, if you can't keep a counter relatively clean--how much attention are you giving to other things in the kitchen?

6. Decrease the visual clutter. Remove anything that isn't NECESSARY in the rooms you decide are critical.

Following these tips and tricks will help you present your home in the best possible light in as little time as possible.