Holiday Rush
In the hustle-bustle of the holidays, it’s tempting to rush through household chores—especially those that involve cleaning. But speed cleaning isn’t always the best way to a sparkling abode. Think about it: You do a quick vacuum here, a little dusting there, and afterwards your house, well, looks about the same.
Cleaning may not be the most fun part of the holidays, but having your house “guest-ready” ahead of time will definitely make your holidays more enjoyable. Today we are sharing cleaning tips that will help you get your house in order before the holiday rush.
Since we were really busy during the day, dropping off gifts and doing last minute Christmas shopping, left with so little time to take outfit shots. Busy streets, long lines, and chasing the sun just to take some outfit photos for the blog, nothing beats holiday rush!
Today’s customers have unreasonably high service expectations - even more so during the holiday rush. The last thing you want is to let the quality of your customer service slip during the most important time of the year. In order to shine a midst the clutter of promotions and maximize your holiday efforts.
Hiring a cleaning service during the holidays will not only be a gift to your guests but a gift to yourself. Have a stress-free and relaxing holiday, ‘tis the season!
Holiday Cleaning Tips
Wash and Touch Up Your Walls
Our walls can often get forgotten in our regular cleaning routines. You will love how freshening up your walls gives your house that extra sparkle. You can wash your walls with a damp cloth and for tough marks, you may want to use some all-purpose cleaning spray
If you have any dents or holes, fill with spackle and then touch up with paint. Even if it isn’t perfect, it will be a big improvement. I feel so much better when those white dents my kids have made disappear!
Decorate from a Clean Surface
There is no better feeling than decorating your house for the holidays without having to worry about cleaning the house as you are bringing in the decorations from storage. The family enjoys decorating, but when you have a list of chores that have to be completed before you get to the decorating the task becomes daunting. Don’t become a grinch before the holidays even begin! A cleaning service can be hired to come in and handle all the not-so-fun cleaning, so your family can enjoy a peaceful day decorating the tree and hanging the stockings
Get Your Light Fixtures Clean and Ready
Let there be light and let it be dust free! For entertaining, you want to make sure that you have replaced any burnt out light bulbs and have dusted chandeliers and lamp shades. And don’t forget to wash those light switches too — I wash mine regularly as they collect germs from dirty hands.
Clean Your Blinds
Blinds and drapes collect so much dust. With the holidays coming, it is a great time to reduce the dust in your home and vacuum up the dust on blinds, drapes and window sills.
Clean Up Mantles and Remove Your Clutter
At our house, the mantle above the TV is a magnet for mess. If you have bookshelves, side tables or mantles that get piled high with clutter, sort and get rid of unneeded clutter well before your guests arrive. Cleaning off these catch all areas will make your house look so much brighter and organized.
Polish Your Silverware Ahead of Time
I don’t entertain during the year very often. So my grandmother’s silverware is in need of some polishing before I set my holiday table. You definitely do not want to be pulling out tarnished silver on the big day. So if you have silverware you use for entertaining, make sure you polish it ahead of time.
Wash Your Crystal and Fine China
If your crystal glasses, serving dishes, and fine china have been sitting in the cupboard all year, they have been collecting dust. Getting them washed now will save you a lot of time when you are setting your table or serving your meal.
Organize Toy Rooms Before Santa Comes
Holiday is right around the corner and before Santa brings new toys, you have to organize the kids’ rooms and toy room before the latest and greatest round of toys gets thrown in the mix. Sometimes it is never an easy task to be Santa’s helper along with organizing the house to make room for new gifts. Hire a cleaning service to be your holiday helpers. They will organize the rooms and make sure everything has a place. And we’d also suggest getting rid of old, unused toys before the new ones come - this is also a great way to give back to your favorite charity during the season of giving.
Take 5 Minutes For A Vacuum Touch Up
Before guests arrive, take 5 minutes to quickly vacuum the entrance and main floor area. A freshly vacuumed floor adds that extra clean feel to your home.
Post Holiday Cleanup
When the holidays are said and done, it is always hard to get motivated to put away all the decorations and to get rid of the many Christmas tree needles that have been pushed around your entire house. It is the perfect time to get things organized, but you never know where to begin. The benefit of hiring a cleaning service is that you can enjoy one more day without responsibility and trust that they will clean the house to your liking. They will organize everything from your wrapping papers to your pots and pans. And many organizations now offer a one-time cleaning services, if that is all you need.
Cleaning house thoroughly before putting up holiday decorations leaves you with less to clean around and lets you move on to other (possibly more fun) preparations as the holidays get nearer. Things to be sure to hit before putting up your decorations:
Your kitchen may have been working double duty preparing for the Holiday, so now's the time to freshen it up by cleaning the oven, counters, cabinets, floors, stove top, and sink. Starting with a clean, blank slate will make holiday cooking and baking much more enjoyable than working on top of a mess that's already there.
Take stress out of the holiday rush by preparing a holiday cleaning checklist. A cleaning checklist will make it easier to assign cleaning tasks to other family members, or even when you hire a professional cleaner. It can also keep track of what you have completed, in order to avoid doing things twice. A cleaning checklist can also help you make sure you don't forget to do anything important either. Keep the list handy along with your cleaning supplies and paper towels.
In Conclusion:
Holidays is the busiest time of the year and the happiest time as well. The holidays are considered a stressful time for everyone - shoppers, retailers, service providers, and especially your HOME Sweet HOME! It’s important to remember, though, that at the end of the day, most of the insanity is being done to bring a smile to each and everyone's face.
We understand that you can never prepare for everything, but by planning for some of the biggest hassles during your business’s busiest time of year, you can smooth out many kinks ahead of time. Always prepare for the unexpected and the worst-case scenario, but also recognize that some things will happen that you hadn’t thought of. Surviving the holiday season is possible; it just takes a bit of planning and preparation.