got five minutes?

I just had to share with you a very good thing I just did (and should have done a long time ago)...

The Internet was down in my office--boo bad weather and wireless connex--so I decided to be productive and call all the toll-free numbers printed on the unwanted catalogs I receive, and asked each one to kindly remove my contact information.  Every rep I spoke with was just delightful, and acquiesced my request without hesitation.  Every one of these catalog companies bought my info from another source, as I have never requested to receive a single one of them.  I'm not upset, but I also don't feel I need to be a part of that paper-wasting industry, when I can easily shop on their websites.

My mission was simple, and was completed in record time.  Bonus!  When I called West Elm Customer Service, the rep asked if I would like to be taken off all their mailings, which include--unbeknownst to me--West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Seasonal, Pottery Barn Teen, Pottery Barn Baby, and Williams-Sonoma.  Who knew?? It was like I killed two birds with one stone, or rather, "saved six trees with one call."  ?

The others I unsubscribed to include: Crate and Barrel, CB2, Chia'sso (?), and Urban Outfitters.  I'm an anthro gal, and I know UO owns anthro, but c'mon, completely different aesthetic here, people!

Not to gross you out or anything, but...

...there are times when this will suffice. 

The thing I worry most about when I hear we're going to entertain visitors last minute around my house is:  dog hair.  We have two children dogs, one who sheds all year long, and the other only seasonally.  I say this worries me more than anything else because fewer people can relate to having dog hair on almost every surface, while most can respect a less-than-gleaming bathroom sink or stove-top.  However, when there's no time to vacuum or dust away the dog hair, I just have to deal (read: suffer in silence and stealthily kick some fur balls behind a door or into a closet). 

Of course I worry about not having enough food or drinks to go around, and whether or not there are clean hand-towels hanging in the bathrooms, but when I only have a few minutes before last-minute visitors arrive, I always clean the mirrors of the bathrooms.  I bypass the dishes in the sink, the untidy coat rack, my husband's socks and sweater on the bar counter, and head straight for the mirrors with glass cleaner and paper towels.  I remember my mother telling me, when I was younger and had a giant floor-to-ceiling mirror in my bedroom (I was a dancer and cheerleader, but that's another post, or maybe not) that if I at least cleaned the mirror, the room would look clean.  Somehow I've morphed this into convincing myself if I at least clean the mirrors in my bathrooms, guests won't notice the grimy base of my pedestal sink or the dust settled atop my make-up cabinet, which, for my younger [but much taller] brother, is right at eye level.

I would love to hear [really, I would, so, just click the 'comments' link below] what you do when you learn you only have a few minutes before guests arrive at your home.  You won't gross me out, so be as detailed as you like, and hey, maybe we can learn from one another!