How to Clean Your Room in Five Minutes

Uh oh. Your parents are coming for a surprise visit, and you haven't cleaned your room since... well, you've actually never cleaned your room since you moved out. Sometimes you only have 5 minutes' notice that someone is coming to hang out in your dorm or apartment, and that thick layer of clutter covering every horizontal space in your crib is definitely an eyesore. It really isn't too hard to make your room look presentable and company-ready.

First things first. Prioritize. You know those 3 month old dirty dishes in the sink? Now is not the time to work on them. Fill the sink with hot sudsy water to make it look like you're on top of it (4:40 left). Now throw all your dirty laundry in a big box or bag and put it in the hall; your company will just assume your neighbor forgot to move his trash (4:10 left). Put all your books and homework in a huge stack on your desk and put all your pens and pencils in that empty Starbucks cup you forgot to throw out. You're cleaning and recycling. Way to be.

Only 3 minutes and 30 seconds left. It's time to make your bed. Don't worry about straightening your sheets, just throw a big blanket over the whole thing (3:10 left). Kick all trash into a pile in the middle of your room and throw it away (2:10 left). It's important to make sure you don't confuse your big bag of trash with your big bag of dirty clothes. While you're buzzing around the room like a busy bee, pop a soothing CD into your stereo or laptop to add a little ambiance to your room. A little pizazz goes a long way in making your room feel comfortable. Take any remaining clutter and throw it somewhere out of the way, like in your microwave or in your rain boots (1:00 left). Take a deep breath... this is hard work (0:55 left).

You have just enough time to put the finishing touches on your room. Try doing a little dusting, or tear out random advertisements from magazines and tape them on your wall as artwork. Be creative, but move quickly. This will zap the rest of your time, but be sure you're finished by the time you get that knock on your door.

Now that you know how to clean your room quickly, you don't have to clean your room on a regular basis. Just make sure your friends and family know to call you five minutes ahead of time.