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Few people actually like cleaning their home. But once you start, you get into a type of rhythm. And as your home becomes more and more presentable, that feeling of accomplishment grows until you’re looking at a pleasant, spotless home. The trick is having the motivation to get started with your holiday home cleaning.
Having people over for the holidays is a pretty solid motivator. And by coming to your holiday home cleaning with a plan, you’re more likely to actually get started and stick to that plan. So below are some tips for getting your home clean for that next get-together or holiday event.
Make sure your carpets are stain-free by planning any professional cleaning they might need. Image: ProCarpet
Plan for Any Large Overhauls
Your first step for holiday home cleaning is to take stock of everything that needs to be done. There are the obvious cleaning duties like vacuuming/sweeping, dusting, cleaning up the clutter and possibly putting out holiday decorations.
However, you may want to take a survey of your home to see if there are any major parts that need updating. For instance, that stain on the carpeting could require scheduling a professional cleaner. The curtains could start looking faded and require replacing. Do you need a bigger table for all the guests you have coming over? By looking at these large chores ahead of time, you can have time to plan for appointments and bigger purchases.
Get rid of clutter fast with a systematic approach. Image: Habitat by Resene
How to Declutter Fast
For the next step in your holiday home cleaning, you’ll want to declutter. Cleaning out all the accumulated junk will make it easy to actually see the counter in order to clean it. So here are some tips for decluttering fast:
- Your first step is to identify what is quite obviously garbage and throw it away: flyers for events from months ago, bottles, old newsletters, expired medicines in the cabinets, etc.
- Next, take a look at what ended up in the wrong room and put it in its right room (for instance, that remote for a TV in the bedroom that’s in the kitchen for some inexplicable reason or books that should go back near a bookshelf). You don’t have to organize everything perfectly in this stage. Things should just be in the right part of the home.
- Now organize the things you want to keep into neat piles that you can then file away. For instance, that pile of bank statements, the DVDs you left out or those books that should go back to the shelf.
Decluttering just looks intimidating because of how fast things can pile up. Once you have a system in place, decluttering isn’t that hard.
Don’t forget to clean often-forgotten places like under the counters. Image: Divine Design + Build
Tips for Holiday Home Cleaning
After you’ve got everything put away or thrown out, next comes that part where you actually have to get everything clean. Here are a few handy cleaning tips:
- When dusting, don’t forget hard-to-reach places. You’d be surprised what your guests notice. Get an extendable duster for cobwebs in the high corners, dust the molding and around the vents, clean the top of the ceiling fans so no one has a dust shower when they go to turn on the fan, dust the top of picture frames, etc. Be thorough.
- Remember to sweep or vacuum behind doors, under the sofa and other unseen places. Accumulated gunk in these places can be unsightly in the off-chance that someone spots it and cleaning these areas can reduce odors.
- Don’t forget to give surfaces a once-over with anti-bacterial wipes. The holidays can be a time for colds and the flu, so keep everyone healthy with proper sanitation.
- Wipe windows and mirrors with a window cleaner for a spotless presentation.
- Don’t forget to clean the often-forgotten places like inside the microwave, inside the toaster (crumbs can create a fire hazard) and inside garbage cans.
After holiday home cleaning, you’ll feel like you’re in a new home.
For easy holiday decorating, use the tree as a focal point combined with subtle accents like lights around the mantel. Image: Chris Snook
Easy Ways to Decorate for the Season
Now that your home is clean and decluttered, you can get down to the fun part: decorating for the season. There are many ideas for getting a fun, festive home. If you want something on the low-fuss end after all that extensive cleaning, there are a few tips for getting a festive home the easy way:
- Decorate around large focal point decorations, like the tree or large seasonal wall hangings. You can place these in the home and use only a few smaller items as accents.
- Make use of holiday-themed throw pillows or blankets. They add festive cheer with minimal effort.
- Use seasonal dishes and table runners. These are also easy to place and set the seasonal tone around the dinner table.
- Take a look at these minimalist Christmas decorating ideas.
As you can see, a festive vibe is possible with just a few simple room additions.