The holidays cause happiness, family time and unique memories, but they also come with additional clutter and concealed dirt. The floor becomes worn after weeks of holiday baking and entertaining, crumb lines appear on furniture and bacteria are present in the high touch areas.
Home reset is a must after the holidays so that you can go back to enjoying a peaceful home environment.
To start with, start the decluttering process with your entrance. This is the first room that visitors are going to visit and hence the need to impress the visitors to empty bulky clothing and footwear, clean floors, empty knick-knacks and other smaller objects into a decorative bin, disinfect door handles and light switches.
Spray a disinfectant into the welcome area as required, and add a pleasant holiday scent, too.
Then on to the bedrooms and living rooms. Toys and books get out of control and play areas get out of control at times such as over the holidays.
Request the children to pass out toys they no longer play with or feel outgrown by, and to consider adopting a system of toy rotation, so that they do have favorites to fall back on when needed but to decrease the clutter. Another easy method to enable children to keep books under control is by organizing them into bins or shelves.
The paper clutter during the holidays is typical, e.g. receipts, invitations and miscellaneous papers. Put away a box or a drawer of mushy cards, and cut up the others. Receipts and warranties can also be easily tracked down with the assistance of a particular folder or file cabinet, and periodic sorting and storing of paperwork will assist in reducing the clutter.
And give every member of the family a job before putting away the decorations (take the hooks off of ornaments, put together all Christmas tchotchkes to be packed up, etc). The aspect of delegation and appreciation of progress promotes teamwork and motivation.
Intelligent storage should also be purchased like labeled bins and closet system accessories that can be utilized to separate the clutter of toys, arrange the wardrobes and protective objects.
A clean environment will be arranged in an orderly fashion and will help restore some peace and sense of tranquility in the house and become a platform to a successful 2025. Consider adding a clean-up and systematization plan to maintain your new space: every day or every month.
In order to be continued successfully and prevent the clutter that can be accumulated in the future, attempt to create a 10 minutes evening reset or a day of family donations.
Organize Your Kitchen
During the holidays you can be busy with a lot of food preparation and guests and your kitchen would be busy. A functional and clean kitchen will go far in terms of the ease of preparation and hosting in the holidays. The prep and storage tools can make the difference between a smoothly running space, with the right prep and storage tool.
Wipe down your counters, and sweep or mop the floor to remove any mess or crumbs on your kitchen. In the next step ensure that your instruments and materials are clean and tidy so that they can be easily accessible when you need them.
This entails the provision of a certain space where other items like baking sheets, utensils and pots and pans could be kept. It is also not a bad thought to have few extra things in your bag such as some extra sponges, cleaning spray and few of paper towels or napkins in case of some accidents and spills.
As long as there is space, keep frequently used items in bins or baskets labeled to designate the use e.g. toys, more tableware and seasonal decorations. This will help in minimization of chaos and wastage of time in searching of something during future partying.
Disposable plates and cups and utensils: When you are prepared to eat dinner, you use disposable plates, cups and utensils so that you have less to clean up. Also, wipe away any treat stains and spills as soon as they appear, to prevent permanent stains. After all people are done eating, remember to refrigerate the leftovers as soon as possible to prevent their spoilage.
When you have people scrambling, wash down surfaces in your house that were touched by the visitors, such as door handles, light controls and remote control. Microfiber cloth or a green cleaner can work well to remove dirt and will not streak. You can add a cool fragrance when cleaning to make the cleaning process more pleasant.
Vacuum and dust your house, too, as well as cleaning the areas that have high contact. This incorporates the shelf tops, corners and under furniture. Another great thing to do on this day is to wash curtains, wash and iron linens and tablecloth and wipe down appliances.
The final step following the holidays is to have a neat and tidy house that will put you in the right frame of mind to get started in the new year. A post-holiday clean with your local team of Molly Maids is a wonderful opportunity to make sure that your house is in good condition to receive visitors and new year celebrations.
Wash Your Housemaid Room.
Regardless of the time you spend cleaning up your home to entertain guests, whether it be parents during the Thanksgiving week, cousin during the Christmas or friends during the New Year, there will not be enough time to wash the bed with a new set of sheets.
The details are noticed by the guests such as the rings in the guest tub, the broken light bulb, or drawers of old phone cords and unused bathroom supplies. When you intend to invite guests to stay over, concentrate on the rooms that will be used most by the guests.
Start with the guest bedroom and bathroom. Clean all surfaces and mirrors, clean the sink and toilet and replace used hand towels. Remember to have lots of additional linens, as well as leave a carafe of water on the nightstand or some other convenient place.
Thereafter, clean your spare bathroom so that it does not have any unpleasant odors. The quickest way to get your guest bathroom sparkling is by using Wet & Forget Indoor. Wet the surface by spraying approximately 6-8 inches off the surface with the nozzle until it is wet to touch, wait 10 minutes and then wipe and air dry. On nonporous and rough surfaces such as counter and mirrors simply wipe them off with a cloth.
And, of course, about your guest closet! Get space ready ahead of time to winter clothes your visitor may be carrying with him by cleaning off tables, and clearing up swinging room. A basket/bin of mini guest necessities, such as deodorant, sheet masks, contact lenses solution and others, can also be an addition you might consider.
Post-holiday cleaning cleans up your house and gets rid of the lingering odor, germs, dust build up and allergens. A professional cleaner who cleans the deep will ensure that there are no uncovered areas in your house including the corners that are not easy to reach like baseboard and those behind the appliances.
When you are overwhelmed with your check list of the house guest you have in your house, call a local cleaning service to do it on your behalf. The individuals at COIT will ensure that your house looks shiny and is presentable to accommodate overnight visitors and you can be certain that the surfaces of your home and bathrooms are germ/odor free and will not present a negative view to visitors.
Declutter Your Closets
Cluttered closet may cause problems when trying out clothes that one loves and assembling outfits to come up with either work or special outfits. And because you may have been planning to dispose old or out of fashion clothes that are no longer fitting, or that have been lying there all this time, why not clean up your wardrobe and start the year with a clean wardrobe and simplified clothes-storage system.
Do not hurry in making a step in decluttering and take time, and really look at each garment and see whether it is worthy to be put in your closet. Write down things to get rid of and decide on a drop off date, so they do not remain in your home and continue to clutters the place again, advises White.
You can even have a continued donation bin which remains in your wardrobe and gets cleared every couple of weeks, so disposing old clothes when required is very easy.
Once you have come to terms with the thought of parting with some of things you have, you will have an easier time figuring out what clothes you will wear again in the future and clear up on some of the space in your closet to store those clothes.
White recommends putting clothes together by color or style each time you do this, you may be surprised that you have a lot in common! She would also have you brutal with things which are so marked or torn that they can never be mended.
One of the most effective methods of remaining organized in a closet is hanging and folding after use, which simply assists the clothes to maintain their shape. The next thing you can invest in is an over-the-door shoe rack that will enable you to store the items at an easy reach and not on the floor.
An untidy house will raise the stress levels and decrease concentration and efficiency unconsciously. A post-holiday clean up and an organization will help you get back on track with your goals, everyday life and family.
Whether you want to take on the cleaning yourself or hire professional house-cleaners, such a home makeover would make you start the year on the right foot and make your home ready to receive all the entertaining, guests and daily living.