The holiday season is joyous and ‘tis the season to enjoy your family, friends, and neighbors. It can also be stressful - and messy. Whether you’re hunkering down with your partner, children, parents, or pets or hosting visitors, a maid is probably at the top of your wish list! Relax: you can do this. We’ve assembled our top ten tips for taming chaos and cleaning your home before (as well as during and after) the holiday season.
Cleaning for the Holidays
1. Do Double Duty
Waiting for your coffee to brew? Tackle some dishes or organize that junk drawer that’s hiding an assortment of rubber bands, old takeout menus, sauce packets, and other miscellaneous clutter. Watching TV? Grab a clean cloth and do some dusting, arrange your bookshelf, or finally put those old DVDs into a donation box to drop off. Whenever you have a little wait or downtime, put it to good use. You’ll start chipping away at your to-do list without having to make extra time.
2. Get the Sink Cleared
When you’re feeling overwhelmed by the holidays, a sinkful of dishes is enemy #1. It taunts you, and it just keeps growing. This mess also makes it more difficult to cook and prep meals because you’re constantly having to wash items in order to use them! And, yes, they go right back into the sink to be done another day.
Make today that day! Get your phone, put on a show or podcast, and just do it. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment after. When your kitchen is in order, everything else is easy breezy.
3. Check the Refrigerator
Speaking of the kitchen, take a look in the fridge. Do you have leftovers that are looking a little iffy? Some sauce spills that never got cleaned up? Juice or milk that’s past its expiration date? It happens to the best of us, and it’s especially easy for the refrigerator to get crowded, cluttered, and messy when we’re busy. Pull out food items that have gone past (and compost them. See if your local recycling center or haul-away service takes food scraps), clean up spills, and give everything a thorough wipedown.
Again, a clean kitchen makes everything seem more manageable. Another benefit is that you can more easily see what items you have so you don’t waste food.
4. Prioritize
What happens when you sit down to make a cleaning to-do list? It requires a whole notebook, you get discouraged, and then you give up, sit on the couch, and watch Netflix. It can be overwhelming when you think about your entire house. Prioritize your cleaning and think about what is essential for both your family and any guests. Kitchen, bathrooms, living room. Start here. Your bedroom and the garage can wait - maybe they can be your New Year’s resolution!
5. Set a Timer
Another way to combat the feeling of being overwhelmed is to set a timer. Aim for 20 minutes, and start. We recommend starting with one the areas we mentioned in Tip #4. When your timer goes off, you can stop - or you may feel motivated to keep going.
6. Clean As You Go
You just stepped out of the shower? Keep a bottle of cleaner in the bathroom and spray it down. Notice that the bathroom trash needs to be emptied? Don’t put it off; take a minute (literally… just a minute) and do it now. Cooking a meal? While you’re waiting for the water to boil or a chicken to roast, wash your utensils, pots, and pans. When you clean as you go, and as you notice tasks that should be done, you prevent mess from building up, accumulating, and becoming difficult to manage.
7. Keep On Top of Recycling
With the holiday season, you’re likely going to be wading through cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, cookie containers, and more. Make sure to take your recycling out to the curb or bring it to your recycling center as a matter of routine. Don’t let it pile up.
8. Put That Laundry Away… NOW!
Anyone else have a laundry basket of clean clothes they root through every morning as they’re getting dressed? Sure, many of us do. In keeping with our “clean as you go” tip, take a few minutes to fold it and put it away. It takes much less time to do it with one load of laundry than ten if you put it off. It is also a wonderful clutter-clearer. If you have clothes that no longer fit or suit you, box them up and donate them.
9. Don’t Forget the Exterior
A clean exterior is inviting to guests - and it is a point of pride for owners. Mobile Magic can pressure wash your siding, roof, solar panels, pathways, driveway, outdoor furniture, and more.
10. Delegate!
Mobile Magic Pressure Washing Asheville, NC
The kids are home from school? Your partner or parents who live with you have some downtime? Well… they can - and should - help too. Delegate responsibilities and chores. At the very least, children can put away their own toys and keep their rooms (relatively) tidy. But even young kids can help out with things like sorting laundry, dusting, and other lighter tasks.
Don’t hesitate to delegate some of your exterior cleaning chores to Mobile Magic. Our team of pros is ready to help you make your holiday season a lot less stressful - and a lot cleaner!
