Your Home Cleaning Plan for the Holidays and Beyond

It’s time to dust off my holiday cleaning routine for the family and guests that will descend up on our home over the next couple of months.

It seems that by the end of the summer, when autumn is in full swing our homes seem to need a good cleaning almost like a Spring Cleaning? Almost.

I already have regular cleaning routines for normal times of the year but during these times I like to tidy things up a little more. You never know when you will have surprise dinner guests or even overnight guest.

Grocery Bags with Food

This is what my regular routine looks like (updated for 2019)

In 2018 our lives got a bit busier (it’s now 2019 heading into 2020) I would like to blame it on my daughter but since much of what we are doing is as a family so she’s can’t be held responsible. I find that if I don’t keep up on the home it gets away from me. I’m still tweaking what works best for us in this season but here is what I am doing now….

  • On Mondays I wash towels and just tidy up from the weekends
  • On Tuesdays I water the plants and wash the bed linens.
  • On Wednesdays I tackle any household projects or gardening (I can spend all day outside so it’s good we have seasons)
  • On Fridays I clean the guest bath, and vacuum.
  • On Saturdays we clean the bathrooms (my daughter cleans her own) and mop floors

Since it’s Thanksgiving that I’m prepping for right now I’ll lay out how I clean the home before Thanksgiving day. It isn’t always at our house and you can use this plan before any holiday or hosting event at your home.

So the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, after a morning out, I’ll be cleaning up to welcome our guests.

Here are my cleaning steps…

My Favorite Cleaning Tools

A cleaner is only as good as her tools. I rely on my certain tools to get things done in my home. Let’s start there.

  • Microfiber dust cloths: I really like to use microfiber for most of the cleaning in my home that requires a cloth. Windows, dusting, and mopping.
  • Extended Pole Duster: I’ve actually owned this thing for years and never knew the full use of it until shown by a professional. It cleans high and low, in between those lights in the bathroom, over door jams, even good for a quick swipe along the base boards.
  • Vacuum: I vacuum the floor before mopping and of course vacuuming the carpet. Also good for reaching in tiny places to suck stuff out.
  • Hand Held Steamer: If you don’t have one of these you need one. It is great for getting stains out of carpets. Cleaning in counter sink rims (or whatever you call it). And lots lots more. This machine sends a jet of steam where you need it. If you like to use less chemicals in your cleaning then a steam cleaner is something you want.

For cleaners I really like Murchison Hume. They have a product for every area of the home (Except a cleanser. That would be really nice.). My favorite is their all purpose cleaner and Ladies Bathroom Cleaner.

before-thanksgiving-cleaning

My Holiday House Cleaning Plan

Here how I clean up my home the day before a holiday get together.

  1. Clean out and wipe down fridge: My husband is really good at this. And it’s always the first thing on his agenda. He can clean out and organize a fridge in no time. So that’s his job. He goes through all the stuff in the fridge, tossing expired food and science experiments. Then he makes a last ditch leftover meal from the rest that is still edible. After he does this I go through and wipe down the shelves and walls with a little dish soap in a sink of warm water.
  2. Wipe down kitchen cupboards:  Ssshhhh! I haven’t wiped down my kitchen cupboards since we moved in. Yes that’s 4 months. And I like to cook so you know they need it by now. When we were shopping for a home I can’t tell you how many sticky cupboards we encountered. So do yourself a favor and wipe them down with something that cuts through grease but won’t harm your finish.
  3. Dust living room and dining room: I dust weekly. I’m kind of haphazard at it so I’ll try and do better tomorrow since my main goal is to clean up the place.
  4. Vacuum Carpet: I normally vacuum on Fridays but you know, guests and all.
  5. Sweep and mop downstairs: We have laminate flooring through the front hall, dining room and kitchen so I remove all throw rugs, sweep with a microfiber and then damp mop with another microfiber mop head. I haven’t come up with a good mopping solution for laminate yet but I’m going to try one of the Dawn concoctions probably.
  6. Clean guest bathroom: We timed it last week and I do this in about 8 minutes mopping included. We’re in the process of adding shelving so adding regular dusting to those will up the time.

Keep it Up!

30 Day Home Organizing Bootcamp

Have a tidy home!

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