I've blogged about this before, but I think I might have some new readers. THis is such a practical thing to do, that I want to share it again.

By the time my work week ends on Friday, I am ready for the weekend. Both my body and my brain are tired. But I still want to be ready for whatever the weekend might bring. If a friend calls and wants to stop by, I don't want to be in a panic. I don’t want to wake up on Saturday morning to a mess.

So, I started the Friday Tidy. When I come home from work, I spend 60 minutes or so doing a quick once-over of the main part of the house.

Here's what I do:

• I run a cleaning wipe over the fixtures in the bathroom and clear away any used towels.

• I do any dishes that are in the kitchen sink (or you can empty the dishwasher).

• I empty the garbage cans and take the garbage and recycling outside.

• I sort the laundry if necessary.

• I go through any mail that's stacked up and separate things I need to handle from the huge amounts of junk I can toss.

• I put away clothes and gather any dry cleaning.

• I do a general declutter – putting things back where they belong.

• If I have a minute, I might run the vacuum or run a dustcloth over furniture in the living room.

By the time I've finished with these things, whatever I tossed into the oven for dinner is done — or the pizza has arrived. And I've earned a nice glass of wine and an evening of reading and watching movies — without worrying about who might stop by over the weekend.