Are you ready for the Holidays? Fall is the season for warm fires, great scents coming from the kitchen, and lots of fun times with family. Sadly, we probably won’t have as much family together as previous years so let’s make the best of it.
Day 1:
The key to successful holiday cleaning is to start early. Plan to kick off your housekeeping tasks several days in advance. By accomplishing a few major tasks each day, all that will be left is a bit of last-minute shine when the big day arrives.
To kick off your holiday cleaning, walk through your home with a visitor's eye. Make notes of any imperfections you might be used to but guests might notice, such as houseplants with dead leaves. Next, make a plan, go over the plan, and assign chores. Remember: many hands make light work.
Day 2:
Focus on specific areas that will be easily viewable by guests but aren’t likely to get dirty again. Such as
- Wash windows and vacuum window screens and sills
- Damp-mop baseboards
- Launder and press window and shower curtains
- Launder bedspreads
Day 3:
Next, tidy up any bathrooms and bedrooms visitors are likely to see or use. This is especially important if your guests will be staying the night
- Deep clean bathrooms and medicine cabinets (yes, people will look)
- Straighten bedrooms; remove clutter. (Think about donating some of that)
Day 4:
As it gets closer to the holidays, make sure your entryway is ready to receive guests.
- Straighten coat closet, making room for guests’ coats. Add extra hangers.
- Wash or spot-clean area rugs.
Day 5:
Two days before the event, it’s time to deep-clean the kitchen I preparation for holiday cooking.
- Clean range or stovetop, surfaces, and grates. Vinegar, water, and lemon essential oil work great.
- Clean out refrigerator, making room for party foods. Dust the top of the refrigerator and clear as much extra out as you can. Or if needed, just organize what’s up there with some cute baskets.
- Wipe down large and small appliances. Vinegar, water, and lemon essential oil work great here too.
- Wipe down kitchen cabinets
- Take recycling to recycling bins or facilities.
Day 6:
Or the day before guests arrive. Tackle tasks like dusting and sweeping. Your home’s surfaces are likely to get dirty again before the event if you do this too early.
- Sweep the entryway and decorate with seasonal touches.
- Dust all surfaces, including bookshelves, photo frames, and art. Don’t forget the ceiling fans.
- Clean the kitchen sink and dish drainer. I love to use baking soda and a all-natural household cleaner that I have for the sink. Then I like to put some baking soda down the drain and then pour in a little white vinegar. Let it bubble up, leave for a few minutes, and then wash it down. If you use essential oils, I like to add either lemon essential oil or a blend called “Purification.”
Day 7:
It’s almost time to celebrate. Finish up your holiday cleaning with this checklist of day-of touch-ups.
- Clean trash receptacles and add fresh liners. I usually just put some of my favorite essential oils on a couple cotton balls and put them in the bottom of the trash bin.
- Wipe down any dirty areas in the bathroom using household cleaner (ask me about my FAV all-natural cleaner) and paper towels.
- I also like to put out little hand towels for guest to use and then a pretty basket for the used towels to go in. It’s crazy but right now we need to be super conscious of our ability to spread germs. I also like to have a hand sanitizer out for the guests to use.
- Wipe down bathroom mirrors and counters. Wipe down floors with a damp towel.
- Put toilet bowl cleaner in the toilets and brush. Be sure to double check the undersides of the toilet lids!
- Damp mop the kitchen floor
- Vacuum if you have carpets or damp-mop wood/tile floors
- Fluff sofa cushions and pillows.
- Decorate with special touches, such as holiday décor or flowers
- And I love to finish it off with some diffusers going with great smells. Please, think twice about using candles. Lots more on the dangers of candles, besides the obvious of fires if unattended.
I think of my Gramma’s kitchen when she was making her famous cookies. She was a great cook. Since I’m not as good at re-creating her tastes, I can try to recreate the smells. I use essential oils and diffusers but if you don’t have a diffuser, cotton balls strategically placed can work too. But you can also try some of these little hacks.
- Create a great scent every time you vacuum. Put a few drops of essential oil or combination on a small piece of napkin or tissue and then vacuum it up. Vacuum away!
- Disinfecting essential oils: Drop them in your (hopefully) natural cleaner. Cinnamon bark, tea tree, clove, orange, pine, thyme, coriander, and rosemary are all great oils for disinfecting. Oh, and don’t forget Lemon. I love mixing it with orange and clove.
- Deodorizing essential oils: Try dropping these essential oils on your dish rage for counters and other surfaces. Sage, tea tree, orange, cinnamon bark, patchouli, cypress, cedarwood, orange, white fir, juniper berry, and eucalyptus.
- Add a few drops of pine, orange, or tea tree to your mop water. They have powerful disinfectant properties and also leave your room smelling great.
I hope there are a few tips you are going to try this season. Have a great couple months of celebration, whether it is in-person, by Zoom, or in those wonderful Holiday letters. This will be a Season to remember.
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