The holidays are already stressful enough. Family and friends are gathering for the celebrations. You’re busily prepping your favorite holiday foods, writing cards, wrapping presents, and so much more. You don’t need to add any extra stress over getting your house ready for the festivities. Our stress-free holiday cleaning plan will help you avoid at least one stressor this year.
While you want to put your best foot forward on the day of your celebrations, you don’t need to clean every inch of your house from top to bottom to impress everyone with your hosting skills.
Simply pick 1 to 3 of these tasks per day the week leading up to your holiday gathering. You’ll be prepared, confident, and stress-free.
Stress-Free Holiday Cleaning
We’ve arranged this list roughly in order of the chores that should be completed first to last. There are also roughly in order of the least important to the most important.
You should also prioritize these chores based on how often you normally do them. A chore you frequently complete is probably less important than the one you only do once a year.
Clean the Entry:
The first space your guests will see is your entryway. Break this chore up into multiple tasks if you have a large entryway, or don’t clean it often. Do this early in your stress-free holiday cleaning. You can always touch up if needed.
- Wash the entry mat and any rugs
- Wipe down the front door
- Sweep/Vacuum
- Wash or spot clean walls
- Touch up baseboards / any rails / additional doors
Clean out your Fridge and Freezer:
If your family is anything like ours, finding room for all your holiday goodies is a challenge. Cleaning out your fridge will make your cooking prep easier. That makes it an important part of stress-free cleaning.
Plus, you can use leftovers as quick meals while you’re working on your holiday prep!
Get rid of leftovers. Toss or use produce you won’t need for your holiday celebrations. Check the dates on dressings, condiments, and preserved foods.
If you aren’t sure what cleaners you can use in your fridge, check out this cleaning how to to make sure you have the right stuff.
Launder Guest Bedding:
A freshly cleaned set of bedding is one of the surest ways to look prepared when overnight guests arrive. Even if no one plans on sleeping over, you can use the guest bedroom as a storage room for coats and purses.
Feel free to get this out of the way early, but keep the room mostly closed between laundering the bedding and guests arriving. Open things up the day of and spritz with air freshener or water mixed with a tiny bit of vanilla.
Make the bed as soon as the bedding is dry. That way it won’t have a chance to wrinkle, and you can concentrate on holiday prep. Easy is best when it comes to stress-free holiday cleaning.
Want another way to make your home smell like the holidays? This list from homesteading.com has some creative scent ideas!
Organize:
Walk through your house and see if everything is where it’s supposed to be. Move anything you won’t need on display during your holiday celebrations to a storage room or other more private space.
Neaten bookshelves, fold blankets, and fluff decorative pillows during this step.
Plan Seating:
You should have at least 1 more seat available than you have expected guests. If you don’t have enough dining chairs, try a less formal dinner. Feel free to use cushions, bean bags, and office chairs in your count.
Next, make sure the required seats are out, and comfortably arranged. People will move them. But your guests will be more comfortable knowing they won’t have to sit on the floor.
Look over your seating and decide if anything needs a wipe down or a more thorough wash. Chairs don’t have to be perfect for stress-free holiday cleaning, but they shouldn’t be noticeably dirty.
Clean Off Cooking Spaces:
One of the last things you should do before guests arrive is clean your cooking space.
Wipe down counters and the stovetop at least. If you have time, sweep and mop or vacuum. Now is also a good time to wipe down cabinets and apply wood polish if necessary.
Make sure your cooking utensils and pots and pans are clean.
Decorate:
If you’re going to put up decorations, it should be one of the last things you do. That way, there’s less time for the dust to accumulate or accidents to break or tear the décor.
You can do this the night before your guests arrive, but plan on dusting if your decorations are up sooner.
Contact Us:
Have too much on your plate already? Nothing is more stress-free than letting someone else do the cleaning for you.
Contact us for a quote today.
Need more time-saving cleaning and organization tips? Check out our Rag Mops Blog!