Get Ready for the Holidays with these Housecleaning Tips

The holidays are stressful, especially if you are having guests at your house, and the last thing you want to do is clean. With a little planning and a bit of patience, you can get your house ready for the party without the season any more hectic than it is already.

Here are our tips:

Make a Checklist

When the holidays are already stressing you out, it’s easy to look around your house and feel overwhelmed with the cleaning tasks ahead of you. Before you start with any cleaning, walk through your house with a visitor’s eye and write down ALL the things that, if you have the time, you’d like to clean before your guests arrive. Don’t forget to look up and down – ceiling fans and rugs are easy to miss.

Set Priorities

Once you have a list (even if it’s a mile long), start to set your priorities. Sure, you’d love to scrub the baseboards in your bedroom, but will anyone be in your bedroom during the party? Or can that wait until after the New Year? Consider the spaces where you’ll be gathering and the areas your guests will be using. Don’t forget about the coat closet and the medicine cabinet – people will look. In addition to your list of priorities, create a smaller list of things you want to do the day of the party, like take out the trash, wipe down the bathroom mirror or vacuum. Once you have your lists, you’ll be able to concentrate on the cleaning tasks that are most important to you.

Involve the Family

If you have family members with free hands, ask for help. Even little kids can be a big help with things like dusting and wiping off the cabinets. Even if it’s not something on your list, getting everyone involved with chores they can handle will help you get things done while not feeling like you’re doing it alone. Plus the more hands involved in the cleaning, the less work it is for everyone.

Set a Timer and Turn on the Tunes

When you’re doing a deep clean, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. You go the hall closet to clear out space for coats and, the next thing you know, you’re packing bags of clothes for Goodwill. If you’re going to get through your entire list, you can’t spend too long on any one of your cleaning tasks. Consider setting a timer and turning on some upbeat music to keep you moving.

Top to Bottom

We’ve all done it – you wash the sheets, put on fresh bedding and make the bed, only to realize that you didn’t clean the ceiling fan first. When you’re going through the rooms, make sure you clean from the top to the bottom to make sure you aren’t creating any extra work for yourself.

Of course, if you don’t want to clean at all, your local TruBlue can help with our regular or one-time cleaning services through House Care Plus.