There are only a few days left before the Christmas holidays. How are you going to celebrate it? Are you planning on hosting a family reunion at your place? Or are you going to invite your friends for a fancy Christmas dinner?
Hosting holiday gatherings are super fun. Just imagine all the amazing things you can do with your kids, parents, extended relatives, coworkers and friends. But, of course, it can also be super stressful, most especially if your house isn’t always spick and span.
Thankfully, there are simple tips you can follow to ensure that your home will be ready for your guests this coming Christmas season.
Divide and Conquer
Imagine you’re one of your guests and walk around the house. What imperfections do you immediately notice?
Is the bathroom untidy? Do you need to replace cracked bathroom tiles? Do you need to install new door knobs? What about the kitchen? Are there any pipe leaks? Do you need to fix a leaking shower head? Is the garbage disposer working?
Check every room of the house and make a mental list of all the things you need to work on. Once you have a to-do list, you can start designating the chores to your kids, husband/wife, siblings or other members of the household.
First, you must declutter
Put everything in place before you start grabbing the mop and broom. Hang the puffa jackets and coats on the rack. Put the knives and other kitchen utensils in the drawers.
If you have kids, ask them to pick up their toys and throw them in the designated storage bins. Get rid of the empty pizza boxes, food takeout cartons, scratch papers, overused kitchen sponge and other kinds of trash.
Get your windows cleaned
Many people forget to clean their windows. Don’t be one! After you finish decluttering the house, proceed to cleaning your windows.
Start with the screens. If you don’t frequently clean them, most likely they’re filled with so much dust. Yikes! You definitely don’t want your mother or grandmother sneezing all night because of your dirty window screens. Use your handy-dandy vacuum cleaner to get rid of all that dirt.
Then, wipe the window glasses clean. Use your trusted glass cleaners to remove your handprints (or dog pawprints). You might also want to use water repellent if you hate water spots.
Say no to kitchen gunk!
Wooden kitchen cabinets are prone to gunk buildup. Thankfully, you can remove them by using ordinary cooking ingredients like white vinegar. You can also use specialized formulation or paint thinner for hardened gunk. After cleaning your cabinets, you should apply wood polish to keep them gunk-free for months.
After working on your cabinets, proceed to removing accumulated grime and grease on your kitchen countertops. Wipe off all those stains that resulted from frying, boiling and roasting all kinds of stuff.
Time to work on the flooring
What type of flooring do you have? Take note that not all flooring materials are made equal. As such, you need to be extra mindful with the cleaning methods and solutions that you will use.
If you have laminate flooring in your house, you can check out my laminate flooring cleaning guide. If your house is fully carpeted, you might want to check the carpet cleaning solution guide. For homeowners who have tiled or marble floors, you can just use an ordinary mop and broom and your trusted cleaning solutions.
Say yes to a tidy bathroom!
Nobody wants a dirty bathroom! Grab the most powerful cleaners to get rid of mildew on the tiles, bathroom enclosure and tubs. As much as possible, you need to clean the bathroom regularly so you don’t have to do a lot of work when the holiday season comes.
You also need to improve your bathroom storage. Feel free to check out my post about bathroom storage to learn the best ways you can organize the room.
Other useful preparation tips
Check the bedroom and living room furnishings. Some of them might need a little repair job. Moreover, you need to ensure that they’re completely free from dust and dirt.
If your guests are going to sleep at your place, you should also replace your bed covers, pillowcases and blankets with fresh ones.
If you’re hosting a garden party, have our plants pruned and trimmed. Also, don’t forget to clean your outdoor furniture to avoid unwanted complaints and remarks from your guests. Learn the proper rattan care, metal furniture care, and other furniture cleaning techniques to complete the job efficiently.
Yep! You also need to clean the fridge
Discard all those month-old leftovers, expired milk, bad eggs, and other food items that you don’t want to eat anymore. Leave behind all the good stuff instead. You should make enough room for all the yummy holiday leftovers like fruit cakes, turkey and pudding.
Last few words…
What better way to celebrate the holiday season than inviting your family for a nice Christmas dinner. Surely, you’ll enjoy the company of your loved ones and their funny stories about their work, travels and other personal affairs.
Hopefully, the tips above can help you prepare your house for your upcoming family get-together this Christmas.
