6 Tips To A Sparkling Clean Holiday

One of the most stressful parts of the holiday season is having guests over.  I don’t mean the guests are stressful, I mean the preparation FOR the guests is stressful.  Everyone likes presenting a clean home to friends and family.  On top of wrapping, cards, decorations, AND cooking, cleaning can seem next to impossible. This year I wanted to give you some of my favorite tips for keeping the house clean, despite the chaos of the holidays. Click To Tweet

Enlist Assistance

Enlist help.  You can hire a professional cleaner to help you this holiday season. Many cleaning services offer special holiday packages.  However, if this isn’t in the cards for you, get your family to help. Give kids a microfiber cloth or a coffee filter (these collect dust amazingly well), and see what they can do.  Remember this…done is better than perfect.  Repeat that…done is better than perfect.  Oh and even if your kids only get a fraction of what you would done, that’s a little bit you don’t have to do. 

First Impressions

Chances are you don’t have time to clean the entire house.  Pick the areas that guests will see first or spend the most time in.  I like to sweep the front step and make sure that the front door and surrounding windows are clean.  If you only have a few minutes extra, spend the time in the guest bathroom.  During the cooking, gifts, and visiting activities, the kitchen and living ares will get dirty all over again.  

Automation

I get asked a lot what tasks should be done first when you have a mountain of things to tackle.  When prepping for the holidays and cleaning your home, I like to focus on the tasks that can be automated first of all.  If you’re washing a table cloth, start the washing machine first.  This means it will be working while you do.  If you’re using holiday dishes, get the dishwasher running. I like to stock up before the holidays on products like Cascade’s Platinum packs that allow me to get washing going super quickly.   Finally, if you have a robot vacuum, start it up for an extra round of cleaning.  

Smells Like Holiday Spirit

The smell of your home well set the tone for your guests.  If they can smell the trash, good luck making it FEEL clean.  Use a nice air freshener or light a scented candle about an hour before everyone’s arrival.  

Relax

Remember that the holidays are all about friends, family, and celebrating.  No one really cares what your home looks like.  They are at your home and chances are their homes aren’t magazine ready at this very moment.  Spend the time with everyone instead of worrying about how clean the floors are.