Hello! Can you believe we have Christmas right around the corner? Of course we had to bring some cleaning tips before Christmas!
This is the most beautiful time around the year. You get to spend the holidays with your family celebrating Christmas (and New Year’s Eve very soon!) you have only this week to get your home ready!
As we always mention, make sure to check our professional cleaning service in Dallas if you wish to remove stress and spent this week getting your home ready for Christmas!
But if you find some free hours during this week you can try cleaning and tidying up your home during this week, or even during Saturday morning, before you get to enjoy your Christmas dinner.
Let’s find some quick cleaning tips to make your home spark before Christmas!
First Step: Take a Look Around the House
When you have a lot going on, it might not be easy to quickly spot the areas in your home that need some care.
We are in a very special moment which is Christmas time, so you have to take extra effort into thinking about all those hidden areas and corners where you might need to vacuum, clean and tidy.
A nice, easy trick is to enter each room and quickly scan for 30 seconds until you find the most “out of place” item. Fix it and then return again to fix the next item in the line.
Flat, large surfaces usually create the biggest impact when you clean a room. This includes floors, countertops and tables, for example.
Tidying up and wiping those surfaces can create a big impact, especially if you don’t have a lot of time.
You may have a lot of rooms and not enough time. In this case, focus on the kitchen and the living room, and the guest bathroom. Those are the three essential areas that you and your guests will likely spend time at.
Of course, if you have any particular plans or activities, include those areas as well (e.g., your backyard or a guest bedroom).
Set Up a Christmas Cleaning Day with Your Family
Cleaning becomes much easier when you have extra help, and it can even become something that you can enjoy as family time!
Dedicating an entire day (or even just the morning) and treating it as a “cleaning day” can help you save a lot of time. In a way, it is easier to make quick decisions and carry out your cleaning tasks.
Besides, as we all know, Christmas is the perfect time for decorating and spending quality time as a family.
You only have a few days left so make sure everyone is available that day for some deep cleaning!
There are many schedules and ideas to sort out your cleaning tasks in a way that is effective and fair to all members of your household, including kids!
You can use our Spring Cleaning Checklist as a guide for your Christmas cleaning.
Clean Your Floors Before Christmas
As we were mentioning earlier, flat surfaces are usually the ones creating the biggest difference between a messy home and a clean, fresh one.
Each type of floor has different cleaning instructions. Between carpet, ceramic and hardwood floors, you have completely different steps to clean and sanitize, for example.
The most important steps for cleaning your floors are: using the right vacuum cleaner (e.g., avoid the beater bar brush attachment in parquet, laminate, tile and vinyl floors to avoid scratching).
Also, make sure you don’t use excessive water, as you don’t want humidity to soak into the floors. Pay special attention to excessive humidity as certain areas of North Dallas can become extremely humid during this time of the year.
Whenever you are mopping try using as little water as possible, and also rinse and wipe several times. Open up your windows to let some sunlight and airflow into the room.
Remember to check our blog with all our tips for different types of floors, such as Carpet Floors, and Hardwood Floors.
Clean Your Windows Before Christmas Time
Windows are often left behind in the cleaning calendar. If you can squeeze in this cleaning task within your schedule, it would be great for your household!
Depending on where you live, this may or may not be a great time for cleaning windows, because of the weather. Contrary to popular belief, you can clean your windows in a rainy day.
In fact, if you do it on a sunny day, you run the risk of having the sun dry your cleaner too quickly and leave streaks. Just make sure it is not as windy to avoid a lot of dust floating around and sticking to your shiny windows.
To clean windows, you can use hot, soapy water to start with. Use a microfiber cloth to spread your cleaning solution in a circular motion.
Don’t forget to place an old towel under your windows to absorb any excessive water.
To achieve that streak-free look, you can use a one-part vinegar, two parts water mix for general cleaning.
Wipe again with a microfiber, lint-free towel several times until it is completely clean. You might need to apply the vinegar/water mix again until the soapy water is completely rinsed off.
Organize Your Cabinets and Drawers Before Christmas
Now that you are getting closer to Christmas time, this is a great opportunity to organize your kitchen and your pantry.
Sometimes we save too many ingredients, canned goods, herbs and spices that we don’t use at all or that are already expired before we notice.
Besides, in order to prepare your favorite Christmas dishes, it would be helpful to clear out your kitchen before you start with your cooking.
You can try different organization system to help you out with your pantry: lazy susans, baskets, glass jars or containers are all effective and simple solutions. It will look cleaner, more organized and easier to spot the exact ingredient you are looking for.
Of course, the same goes for cabinets and drawers. Nowadays you have drawer dividers, trays or even plastic boxes to help you keep everything under control.
Deep Clean Your Fridge
Speaking of organizing your kitchen, this could be the perfect opportunity to clean and sanitize your fridge and make some space for your favorite Christmas dishes (and the leftovers!)
Always start by unplugging your fridge and removing all your food items, as well as drawers and shelves.
To clean your drawers and shelves use soapy water and a large sponge. If you haven’t cleaned your fridge in a while, you can add white vinegar or baking soda to further clean and deodorize your fridge.
Place a large old towel at the bottom to absorb excessive water.
Don’t forget to wipe the inside of your fridge as well, using a microfiber cloth damp with hot, soapy water.
If it has liquid stains such as tomato sauce or meat juice, you can use a steam cleaner if you have one, or a concentrated dish soap and hot water mix to quickly remove any stains or residues.
Remember to leave plenty of room for your Christmas meals and you can also leave half a lemon on a small plate to absorb odors as much as possible. You can also try mixing one teaspoon of baking soda and a few drops of lemon juice or lemon essential oil.
Bonus Tips: Add Some Décor After Cleaning
What is Christmas without some beautiful decoration? After all the important surfaces in your home have been cleaned, vacuumed, and sanitized, it’s time to add a few Christmas items.
It’s likely that you have small knick-knacks that have collected dust and you’re afraid of damaging them. In this case, it might be easier to soak all of them in hot soapy water. Make sure they are safe to wash (e.g., porcelain or plastic items without any electric wiring).
To make things easier, you can choose different tools: a steamer, a pressure washer or even a small toothbrush can help you remove dust and dirt from with delicate items.
Choose your décor items very carefully, as you don’t want to overwhelm your rooms. Items that are easy to clean and store back afterward should have simple shapes and be resistant.
A great trick is to add a nice fragrance with a Christmas touch. Cinnamon, vanilla and pine are popular choices this time of the year. You can choose floor deodorizers or candles with these scents, for example. That will give your home a fresh and clean touch, even if it wasn’t deep cleaned in the first place.
Conclusion
Christmas time is coming very soon. We hope these tips helped you tidy and clean your home in a very small time frame.
Because time is scarce, remember to take at least 10 – 15 minutes to come up with a plan for each task/room. Then, try to add as many family members and friends as possible to finish in a heartbeat!
Don’t forget to check our cleaning and housekeeping service in the North Dallas area to help you out before Christmas! You only have a few days left to get your home ready.
We hope you enjoy the holidays, and we wish you a Merry Christmas!