Cleaning house for the holidays
November 21, 2008
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Jennifer Wilson-Speedy
EDITOR, YOURHOME.CA
The holidays mean shopping, decorating and getting together with friends and family. It also means that your normally impeccable housecleaning regimen may slip just in time for the bulk of your seasonal entertaining.
But a clean home is within reach. Melissa Maker, decluttering expert and owner and founder of eco-friendly cleaning company Clean My Space suggests starting holiday preparations now to ensure a sparkling space in time for holiday visitors.
Clearing up clutter is the first, and most important, step to a pristine home, Maker says. Piles of junk mail, unfiled bills and magazines not only look messy, but can also interfere with your cleaning efforts. It’s much easier, and faster, to dust a clear surface than to clean around three months worth of the latest decorating mags and some early Christmas cards.
To eliminate – and prevent – clutter, everything should have a designated space. For example, magazines may be placed in a bin under the coffee table, while children’s art can be stored in a chest or accordion-style folder. And junk mail should be immediately tossed into the “G” file.
When everything has been assigned a space, the next step is to tackle the existing clutter. Maker suggests chunking your sorting efforts into five to 10 minute efforts to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Once your clutter has been handled – and you’ve rediscovered your lost occasional table – a deep housecleaning, much like a spring cleaning, is your next order of business.
This will give you a clean base for decorating (no putting ornaments on a dusty mantel this year!) and also means your future holiday cleaning efforts will be geared more toward maintenance than a total overhaul.
When tackling this task, Maker suggests using eco-friendly cleaners. She says that vinegar, baking soda and a little elbow grease should do the trick to help keep your home sparkling throughout the holidays and beyond. But there are also a number of great off-the-shelf options available.
Again, Maker says, breaking up your work into manageable chunks is key. She suggests focusing on the bathrooms one day, the living room the next, and so on, to prevent getting the urge to (literally) throw in the towel and move the party or meal to a restaurant at the very last minute.
If you do tend to get overwhelmed at the holidays (and really, who doesn’t?), Maker says it’s a good time to call in the professionals for a helping hand – or duster.
“People are shopping, they’re going to holiday parties, they’re visiting family, their kids are busy at school … having a clean house is pretty much not possible,” she says. “I have harried clients calling me all the time.”
When choosing a cleaner, she says it’s important to check references and consumer reviews or the better business bureau. A quality cleaning service should also have bonding and insurance – and be willing to show you a copy – and do police background checks on employees. Additionally, a good company will have a quality policy and guarantee their work, as well as be willing to use eco-friendly products upon request.
Once your space is as sparkling as the lights on your tree, simple maintenance tasks will help keep it ready for entertaining.
A quick pass with a duster, such as a Swiffer, a spot clean with a damp cloth for any minor messes and an occasional run over the floor with a broom or vacuum should be enough to keep your home spotless.
When company is coming, Maker suggests surveying items at eye level, such as TV screens and light switches, as well as the floors, for any trouble spots, as these areas will be the most noticeable if they’re not clean.
As a final touch for your holiday home, Maker says a scent will help make a space feel calm and clean.
It “gives the essence of cleanliness, that way your house smells nice as well as being clean,” she says.
For an eco-friendly way to achieve this, she suggests picking up some essential oils, such as seasonal favourites cinnamon or orange, at a health food store, adding 10 to 20 drops in a spray bottle with a little water and diffusing throughout the home.