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!