The Maids, an American franchised company offering an environmentally friendly cleaning service, is offering five easy steps to having your home spick and span for the holidays in less than 30 minutes.

The experts point out that you never know when Christmas visitors might choose to pop in for a quick eggnog... just when all the dishes are in the sink and the laundry strewn across the floor. Or is that just me?

Before we get to the five steps, The Maids highlights that you need only concentrate on the "public" areas of your home. "If you focus your cleaning on what’s visible to the eye, your company won’t know your speed-cleaning secret."

Here’s the five steps, shortened a little so that you can get on to the cleaning:

1. "Sweet Smell of Home" - light a candle or start baking... then you’ve got some nibbles to offer too!

2. "Clear the Clutter" - Self explanatory really... just hide things away, basically.

3. "Bathroom Basics" - Wipe around, get rid of junk, put a clean towel in there. And, why not try Method’s lovely Christmas scented soap... that way there'll be no messy lumps of soap floating around in a manky old soap dish (Oh, just me again).

4. "Conquer the Kitchen" - Fill the dishwasher and have a quick clean around with scented green cleaner. Guess what? Method have done a Christmas washing up liquid too!

5. "Dust Busters" - Use a cloth, such as an E-Cloth, to wipe over visible surfaces. And then a quick hoover around in those public places once again.

6. Have a drink, it’s Christmas.*

*No.6 is mine. But than you The Maids for the other five handy tips.

[Image: jbcurio]