For many reasons, life in December tends to get hectic. There is Christmas shopping to be done, family visits to organise, work projects that all need to be completed before people head away. And then there is all of the organising for the big day itself.
You don’t need unnecessary stress on top of all of this busyness.
So to help you out, we here at RAMS Cleaning Services, wrote up our top Christmas cleaning tips:
Before Christmas …
Plan and prepare
Before you do anything, sit down and make a list. In fact, make a few lists. You may want to use categories such as presents, food shopping, Christmas cards that need to be sent, house prep, volunteer work, children’s jobs, etc. Not only do lists make it much easier to delegate some of the work to other household members, but they also do wonders for helping you feel more organised and on top of everything that needs to be done.
Have a separate list for cleaning
You may not love cleaning, so writing down all the cleaning tasks that need to be done over the Christmas holiday period will help you divide and conquer.
Do just what needs to be done now
This isn’t the time to start reorganising wardrobes or cleaning the attic. Stick to what needs to be done for you to enjoy Christmas. Don’t get carried away thinking the entire house must be immaculate and super organised. If you’re having people over, concentrate on the lounge, dining room, kitchen and main bathroom. If you’re having guests stay over, clean the guest bedroom. Don’t stress if all the bedrooms don’t get more than their usual weekly dust and vacuum.
Start cleaning out the fridge and freezer before you fill them with Christmas goodies
About a week or two before you do your big Christmas food shop, start using up the dregs and leftovers in the fridge and freezer. This will help make space and minimise the amount of forgotten food thrown out.
Declutter the tree corner
Don’t just push those toys up against the wall. If you’re putting up a Christmas tree, it will take pride of place for a few weeks. So give it the room it needs to be properly enjoyed. And remember, you will likely have a few photos taken in front of it, so you don’t want any mess left in the corners.
Divide and conquer
In the lead up to Christmas, get everyone in the family to pitch in. Running around screaming, “come on, we need to clean the house before visitors arrive” is never going to work. If you assign one chore at a time, the workload will be less demanding.
Leave the cleaning supplies out and accessible
Out of sight, out of mind … so the reverse is true. If you leave a few cleaning cloths, a broom and dustpan, and some cleaning spray out, half the battle is won. You may find that it’s easy enough to pick up the mini vac while you’re on hold on the phone. Or, as you’re talking on the phone to someone, you can give the coffee table a quick dust. The “little and often” approach works a treat.
On Christmas day …
Sort your present rubbish and recycling as you go
When opening presents, have a paper bag that you can put used wrapping paper in (tear off the tape first and use less of it to start with). This can then go straight into the recycling bin. Even better, try to remove wrapping paper carefully so that it can be re-used. While children are opening presents, you can quietly be sorting cardboard and recyclable plastic packaging as you go to avoid it all getting scooped up and thrown in the rubbish.
Clean the kitchen as you go
The key here is to designate one person to cleaning duty. You don’t want too many people in the kitchen, but you also don’t want the chef to do all the cleaning. It’s easy enough to have someone in the background rinsing dishes, removing veggies scraps, rinsing out packaging, etc. so that it doesn’t all get piled up into an impossible chore.
Don’t stress
Christmas is a time for joy and laughter, so if the house is temporarily untidy, try to ignore it. The focus should be on family, children enjoying their visits from Santa, good food and making memories. No one will remember if all of your shoes were put away on the shoe rack or not.
After Christmas …
Look out for fire hazards
While the house or bach may be a bit of a mess for a day or two (or week or two), the first thing to look for is anything that may be a fire hazard. If you have a real tree, make sure it hasn’t dried out. If you’re going away, think about whether you should put the tree out in the garden before you go (don’t just abandon it on the verge, though). If you’re leaving a tree up (real or artificial), turn off the lights and ensure no ornaments or tinsel are hanging near electrical outlets or appliances.
Deal with the present opening and food mess first
Don’t worry about getting the house back up to the pristine state it was in before visitors arrived. Focus on the kitchen mess first. Once that’s done, tidy up the mess from opening presents. Give the kitchen and dining room a sweep so you’re not dragging dust, crumbs or food throughout the rest of the house.
Check for stains
Have a look around to see if there are any spilled drink stains on the carpet or furniture. Spray or soak these accordingly. The longer you leave them, the harder they will be to remove.
Clean in stages
Once those busy areas have had a post-Christmas clean, you can think about the rest of the house. You may need to vacuum other areas next. There may be linen from the guest bedroom to wash or tablecloths and cloth napkins from Christmas day to launder. Just do it in stages. You don’t need the pressure of trying to get it all done in a day.
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