Not inspired to clean the house? Just organise a dinner party

It’s not that I’m against house cleaning – I never minded when I was living in a studio, kid-free. I could clean in a matter of minutes. But a family home is more tedious, and I’ll make any excuse to avoid it.

I’ve tried everything from listening to podcasts to setting up a personal reward system, even reading bestselling books on the subject.

And apart from enjoying the podcasts, ditching the books and eating lots of treats, nothing gets me inspired. Until a recent examination of my cleaning habits revealed a certain pattern, the discovery of which has completely changed my life.

I noticed that whenever we invite people over, I not only clean with passion, but do so to absolute perfection.

All I have to do is organise a dinner party, lunch, even a quick coffee and I get down to cleaning with a skip in my step. And if we’re inviting new friends over for the first time, so much the better.

I’ll re-organise cupboards, put away washing, tidy kids’ bedroom and throw out old newspapers.

Suddenly in need of icing sugar, I’ll rummage around the pantry, stumble upon out-of-date foodstuffs and actually toss them in the bin.

Recently, we invited friends over for dinner and I needed a certain spice for the slow-cooked lamb.

This led to a complete spice drawer “makeover”, clearing empty jars, wiping down surfaces and discarding any condiments purchased before 2010. Something that would never have happened had we not been having a dinner party.

It has completely transformed my cleaning regime. As long as we socialise, the house is fresh and shiny.

I admit, it’s time-consuming, costly and a little exhausting (especially the bit about finding new friends) but life couldn’t be better. Until recently, my husband and I went away for the weekend and I discovered a whole new level of cleaning motivation.

We don’t often go away without our kids, but if we do, they stay at my parents’ house.

This time, Mum asked if it would be easier if she and Dad came to our place instead. “Yes, yes, yes!” I said, before she’d even finished the sentence.

Until it dawned on me that my parents were not just popping in for a cup of tea, but spending two nights in our personal and not-so-clean space.

Luckily we’d had the friends and the slow-cooked lamb the week before, so the house was in good shape. However, accommodating houseguests is a completely different kettle of cleaning products and it sent me into a total frenzy.

My usual “dinner party” clean paled in comparison to the super clean on which I embarked.

Rather than a quick dust, I washed down skirting boards, plantation shutters and ceiling fans. I actually moved furniture to vacuum behind and de-moulded the shower curtain. I sanitised the fridge, chucked out dodgy-looking vegetables and even cleaned inside the microwave.

When it came to the bedroom, I scrubbed it with unfamiliar determination, shocked to discover cobwebs that had nothing to do with Halloween decorations.

The house was cleaner than ever and I was thrilled with the result. It was so worth going away with my husband just to make it happen.

Now, I know it’s impractical to go away every weekend sans children. My parents, while happy to have helped, might need a little break to recover.

However, if it means my house is this beautifully clean on a regular basis then I’m sure they will understand.

But until I find a way to broach the subject, I’d better just invite some friends for dinner.