Let’s say you’re having a holiday party at your house. And let’s say that you’re stressing out a little bit about how much you’ve got to do in preparation for this party. And you just realized that people will be using your bathroom, and you live in an old house and bathrooms in old houses are essentially impossible to clean, really.

Here’s what you do: unscrew the light bulb and put a candle (or two) in there, maybe one on the back of the toilet and one at the sink. If you have kids or are worried about leaving a candle unattended, you can get one of those battery-operated tea lights and stick it in a pretty holder. Or I’ve always been kind of intrigued by these Candela lights. That way, when someone goes to the bathroom, they flip the switch, nothing happens, and they shrug and go about their business, never having to know that you have evil mildew growing in the corner of your bathtub.