Prepare your home for the holidays: Stress-free cleaning breakout checklist.
Prepare your home for the holidays: Stress-free cleaning breakout checklist.
🎄The holiday season is upon us, and it's time to get our homes ready for the festivities!
Is also the perfect time to reset your home with a deep cleaning, and to receive your loved ones during this special time of the year. To help you prepare your home for the holidays, gather expert cleaning tips that will ensure your space is sparkling and cozy for you and your loved ones.
Cleaning your entire home might seem like a daunting task, but with our efficient room-by-room weekly cleaning strategies, you can tackle each area effectively.
Let’s get hands-on, because Thanksgiving is in 4 weeks, and 9 weeks until Christmas 🤩
Cleaning general areas and surfaces (week 1)
Based on our experience, these areas are usually the last priority, because they are not that visible. And we understand these areas are also boring areas to clean.
However, as we like to say: it is the details for us. That is why we recommend cleaning these areas in the first week: to avoid getting discouraged at the end of the cleaning plan.
Walls: Wipe down to eliminate scuffs and marks. Take anti-allergies medicines. Believe me, you might not see the dust, but your nose and throat will definitely feel it.
Windows: Use a strong glass cleaner to remove dog noses, art, and handprints. Some glass cleaners are scented in pine, orange, or lemon, to spice up your holiday cleaning. For extra preventative measures, use a water repellent to prevent water spots.
Floors: Vacuum or sweep and mop all floors and baseboards. If cleaning hardwood, use a special hardwood floor cleaner.
Entryways: Wipe the doors, and choose a designated area for shoes and coats. Maybe adding a mat and throwing rug to prevent dirt from being tracked throughout the house. Shake out doormats and launder if necessary.
Carpets: vacuum and remove any stains.
House plants: give a little holiday love to your plants and pots.
Leave us a comment if you want our favorite product lists.
Cleaning the kitchen and the dining area (week 2)
This is the week for the heavy cleaning. But also, the most important one. You will spend the most time sharing with friends at the table, and - most likely - preparing all the food for the holidays.
On week 2 cleaning the kitchen and dining area will make cleaning easier after the holidays. Also, if you consider using chemicals for old stains, grease, and others. to let the chemicals dissipate is necessary to avoid any residues or chemical odors.
Here is the cleaning checklist to prepare your kitchen and dining room before the holidays:
Cleaning the kitchen
Dust everywhere—don’t forget the top of the fridge.
Wipe down all surfaces: countertops, kitchen appliances, and your stovetop, double-checking for grease stains. Gleaming countertops give the appeal of a clean kitchen. Take into consideration that depending on the countertop material may require a specific type of cleaner. Make sure you pick the right one.
Wash the kitchen clothes: this includes hand towels, aprons, potholders, and dish clothes. Very important: wash the holiday kitchen clothes and the everyday kitchen clothes separately.
Emptying every cabinet, space, or container: A tip here: you’d like to begin emptying the dishwasher. Rinsing the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, and put those on the next dishwashing round.
While you are waiting for the dishwasher to finish the first rebound, go ahead and empty the fridge. Throw away past-due food, and make space for the fresh groceries you will re-stock next week.
Check every container, if it doesn’t need to be in the fridge, put it away. You don’t need that lonely and sad cherry tomato you stored a month ago just to not waste it.
Deep cleaning inside the oven, the fridge, the freezer, and the microwave or air fryer: yep! You will not postpone this one minute more. You already emptied the fridge. So, that will be the first thing to deep clean. For all of these appliances, follow this procedure:
Withdraw all the internal pieces of the appliance: the tablets inside the fridge and freezer, the oven rack and the baking tray inside the oven, the plate inside the microwave, the air fryer basket, and the Drawer.
Wipe them out before putting them in the dishwasher or applying any chemicals.
Apply the chemicals and let them work for a couple of minutes.
Scrub with a heavy-duty sponge.
Rinse, dry, and deodorize all appliances
Put everything back together, including the groceries.
Clean the cooking utensils: Condition your cutting boards. You can use baking soda to deodorize and do a heavy scrub. If you feel like buying a new one is up to you. Look for your favorite pots and make sure they are ready and handy for the big day.
Final touches: polish the surfaces like the sink, the fridge, and the countertop. Emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash, and cleaning out the garbage disposal.
The good thing about this list is you can distribute the chores like one or two chores a day. And if you have a big family, you can also distribute the tasks with them.
Now we need to work on the dining.
This is our favorite part because it gives off the holiday vibe and allows us to actually see how your dining is transforming. Let’s do this!
Preparing the dining room
We have 2 areas left. Which are actually very important:
Polish the dining room table. There are special sprays to get rid of stains without scrubbing the wood.
Select all the special dishes, napkins, cutlery, and decor for the dining room.
Wash the dishes you plan to use for serving, polish all silver and, if necessary, wash the napkins again to refresh the smell of the clothes. A little tip here: you can put a drop of essential oil on each napkin to give it a special touch.
Press any napkins or tablecloths that you plan to host with.
Ensure you have enough seating for your guests. And clean the chairs.
Top the table off with fresh flowers or a centerpiece.
Set the table with enough place settings for guests in attendance.
Keep coasters on table tops to prevent drink rings on furniture.
Cleaning the bathroom and the house entrance (week 3)
You might think it makes no sense to have these 2 areas in the same week. However, these are the 2 areas everyone will visit at least once during the holiday celebration at your home.
That being said, it is strategic to deep clean these areas in the third week because they are areas you can’t avoid visiting yourself on a daily basis.
Here is the cleaning checklist for the bathroom.
Cleaning the bathroom
We like to clean the bathroom from the inside out. Let us explain: From the tub to the toilet, to the sink and countertops. This will reduce contamination in the area.
Also, make sure you use gloves and a face mask to protect your skin and avoid allergies.
Take everything out. This means the curtains, the personal cleaning products… everything.
Apply the chemicals or your favorite green products in all the areas of the bathroom. You will need to let them work for around 5 to 10 minutes. Don’t forget the walls.
Scrub the walls, the shower, and the tub. Rinse everything twice, to avoid any chemical residues. Dry the areas with a microfiber cloth, or simply let every air dry.
Scrub the inside and the outside of the toilet. In case of stains, you can use a pumice to scrub it as well. Rinse abundantly.
Scrub the sink and the countertops of your vanity.
Clean mirrors with a powerful glass cleaner to remove water spots. Enjoy a streak-free reflection.
Wipe down the countertops, the faucet, and the sink.
Final touches: Put all your personal cleaning products back inside, the curtain, fresh towels, and any decoration if you want.
Refill the soap dispenser and replenish all toiletries, supplying extra for anything your guests may forget. Supply tissues and hand sanitizer
The house entrance
You might already decorate this area by this time, so this will be just a refresh of the area.
Dust, wipe, and polish the door at the entrance and the glass if needed.
Put a clean mat.
Clean the decorations, if needed
With all the top priority areas clean…
You can now say you are ready for the holidays!
There are other areas of your home you may also need to consider for the cleaning list, that aren’t necessarily urgent to deep clean. However, you might like to give this area a little holiday love as well.
Other areas: bedrooms and the outside (optional)
Bedrooms
In case you have family or friends sleeping over during the holidays, or just want to give a holiday touch to your house, here is the holiday cleaning checklist for bedrooms.
Declutter the room: put all the laundry in the laundry room, including the bedsheets you are using now. And products on the vanity.
Vacuum the surfaces: the mattress, and the pillows. also the curtains. And finally, vacuum the carpets.
Wipe down the vanity, the light fixtures, fans, a/c, and the vents. Again: remember the face mask to avoid allergies.
Put all the personal products inside.
Put the clean bedsheets and fluff the pillows.
For the outside area:
Put any yard tools away, perhaps in a shed or garage. This includes rakes, lawnmowers, or snow shovels.
If there’s winter weather, shovel and salt the walk/driveway.
Cleaning recommendations for your mental and physical health
Avoid procrastination. If you feel unmotivated at some point, play some holiday music. That might help (we talk from experience).
Keep in mind that everything has its place. If you find yourself lost with something, you can use a box or container for the things you don’t know where to allocate.
Use a facemask and gloves when handling specialized clean products or green formulas for specific surfaces.
Tackle one room at a time and try to enjoy the process. You are not in a rush and you are doing this, especially for your wellbeing and the pleasure of renewing your energies. And of course, for the guests as well.
Focus on rooms with high traffic.
Set the mood with music, and your favorite brew.
If you feel like you need help with this, we will be happy to clean your residence for the holidays.
Warmly,
P.S.: Leave a comment if you need info about the cleaning products we use.
