Lovely sister is visiting. Help me get the house ready for her!

[TR888]

My sister and her two teenage daughters are visiting and will be staying at mine for a week around new year. This is a much wanted visit and I want it to go really well. However, it's a 'big deal' as I live abroad and its the first time she's visited in 20 years!

She's also very particular about cleanliness. She hates herself for being like this but she can't help herself. For example, she finds it difficult to use toilets in other people's houses, etc. She might be on the OCD spectrum (one of her daughters is) I'm not like that at all and I'm starting to panic 🙂.

I've got three weeks to get ready. The shower room she's going to use is freshly decorated and will be sparkling. Now I need tips to:

• get my kitchen really clean (it's not bad but my oven is in a terrible state).
• plan my meals as we won't eat out all the time (pescatarian).
• she's kindly offered to look after my three teenage kids for three days so my husband and I can go away. What food and other stuff would you have in the house to keep treating her/making her life easy?

Any ideas welcome!

If you have money to spare I would delegate the "cleaning" part to a cleaner the week before she comes, places that do all day one off end of tenancy cleans.

You can focus your energies on the next 3 weeks on tidying/decluttering/thinking of things you sister will enjoy doing

In anyone room that’s staying I now put in a small hand sanitiser. Also decent toiletries even if they probably end up bringing their own. Tissues, magazines.

Definitely look to getting a cleaner that will take the stress off if you can. I find a bbq spray works well in the oven & shifts most stains.

Enjoy your visit.

As above, but I'd book the clean much closer to her arrival so that the house is still sparkling when she arrives.

I hate using other people's cleaning cloths to wipe up worksurface spills or just clean up after cooking. They're always not quite clean and you've no idea how long they've been sat there festering. So could you leave out kitchen roll and antibac spray for easy cleanup when needed? Or even wipes?

Don't forget to ask the cleaner(s) to do inside the fridge, wherever the kitchen bin lives and the kitchen cupboard shelves.

I'd also get the cleaners to bottom the bedrooms your guests will be staying in if you can run to it. Then make sure there's a good reading light, means to get warmer/cooler depending on where in the world you live, tissues, bin, something to read, water bottle and water glass. Then tissues, cotton buds, fluffy towels, hand soap and lovely shower gel in the guest bathroom.

Your sister might also appreciate reassurance now that the house will be very clean so that she doesn't worry about it in the run up?

You don't say what your budget is but I have had a professional oven clean once or twice and it cost about £70 including changing bulbs. He took it all to pieces and it was like new. Well worth it.

De clutter, put everything that you won’t be using away, have a sort out of rooms. We’ve just done our conservatory which was basically a junk place to put things in. Then we cleared our lounge, got rid of computer and desk and unit by it, it was hardly being used and put it in conservatory. Thrown out old candles that have never been lit, plants that have seen better days. Cleaned our oven recently, wish I could keep it clean, need to get some liners. Going to start on kitchen next, already thrown away old pans, wok and 5 saucepan lids.

Maybe ask your sister which cleaning products she uses and buy or ak her to bring those with her. This is to provide her with reassurance so she can be comfortable & enjoy her visit. You could also ask her for a copy of her cleaning schedule. If it's not too involved, you could copy all or parts of it.

This might sound like a whacky suggestion but my dc have autism & follow schedules religiously. Sometimes, it's easier to just follow the script to avoid the meltdowns.

Lovely to get a professional cleaner in if you can manage it, but if you can't then definitely get somebody in to clean your oven! Go through your fridge and get rid of those things that you have been hanging onto for ages in case somebody might want them. Check the dates on everything in there and give it a really good clean. Clean inside your kitchen cupboards, give your mugs a good soak in sterilizing fluid to get rid of any stains. Look at those areas that don't get cleaned very often (skirting boards, top of door frames, round the edge of the handles on your kitchen cupboards) and do those. Clean your hob extractor if you have one or have that done as part of your oven cleaning package. Clean your windows! And otherwise just make sure you do a really good clean before she comes. Don't forget your light switches!

Omg, some of these answers are stressing me more! 🙂 I'm looking at my kitchen, which I'd say it's reasonably clean. But if I look closely and realise I simply don't see the dirt on some surfaces anymore...

I don't want my sister to know I'm stressing over this. And I actually don't want to stress over this either! She's not full-blown OCD but I do sometimes wonder if she's on that spectrum (there's neurodivergence in our family).

Thanks for all your answers! What about food, how would you prepare in advance? There'll be 8 of us at home during her visit: 3 adults and 5 teenagers. Thanks!

I would say the kitchen surfaces and cupboards you can do yourself with some scourers, an old toothbrush and decent products like Pink Stuff or HG degreaser spray. It can be quite satisfying really!

Food wise - fish pie freezes well and so can be made in advance of the visit. Recipes can go from bog standard to more luxurious. Look on the BBC Good Food website for ideas.
Kedgeree is good for large numbers.
Pizza can have vegetarian, fish or meat toppings and are easy so might be something to have when it’s your sister and 5 kids. They could get a fish and chip takeaway one night as well.
Prawn stir fry with noodles is quick and easy. Teriyaki salmon has always been popular with my kids and their friends - again fairly simple.

If the oven is dirty then a professional clean makes sense if you can afford it (& get a space before Christmas). Otherwise the ones where you get a bag to soak the racks are pretty good.
Hoover out crumbs from the cutlery drawer and empty toaster of crumbs.

Dcs at uni I freeze

Fish pie
chicken pies (pastry)
cottage pies
lasagne

On the day tray bakes are good
sides of salmon with soy, ginger honey with rice super easy
Thai green curry
tagines