Author: Jean Hanson

The holidays are almost here— that magical time of year where friends stop by bringing cheer and well-wishes, family comes from all around, your house becomes a revolving door for houseguests, and holiday cleaning looms at the top of your list. 

Whether you’re hosting parties prior to the big day or you’re planning to have a full house for the actual holiday, most of us feel the stress of keeping our homes clean ever-ready for our families and friends.

Holiday cleaning might feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Make sure you have a plan for your holiday cleaning and you’ll enjoy a stress-free holiday season this year.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #1: Kitchen

If you’re hosting holiday parties, chances are you’re doing a lot of cooking and baking. Open concept homes are the newest trend, which means that your kitchen is likely a part of your party space. Even if it’s not, people tend to migrate and gather in the kitchen during parties. Try these tips to make sure your holiday cleaning doesn’t pull you away from the fun.

• Clean out your fridge before holiday shopping. Wipe down all the drawers and shelving, and throw away any outdated condiments. This will free up space for all the ingredients you’ll need for your holiday gatherings.
• Wipe down all your appliances. We tend to blame all the sticky fingerprints on our kids, but when you’re cooking and going in and out of the refrigerator, stove, oven, and dishwasher, chances are there are going to be something on your hands!
• Wipe down your trash can, and make sure the trash is taken out before your gathering. This will help your kitchen and home to stay smelling fresh.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #2: Bathrooms

If your home has a guest bathroom, such as a half bathroom on the main floor, you can focus on this bathroom during your holiday cleaning. However, if you’re having guests to stay, remember that all the bathrooms might be up for grabs during the holidays. Here’s a guide to help you clean all your bathrooms in a hurry. For deep cleaning, pay attention to these areas in particular:

• There’s all the obvious spots that need to be cleaned— the sink, the toilet, the mirrors—but remember the other areas too. Cleaning around the base of the toilet is an important task that’s all too often neglected.
• Be sure to clean out your medicine cabinet, and have aspirin and bandages readily available for your guests.
• Wiping down door handles and towel racks will help your bathroom sparkle.
• Bathrooms should have fresh towels and washcloths, but also freshly stocked supplies. Make extra towels, washcloths, soap, and toilet paper easily accessible in your bathroom for your guests.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #3: Guest Bedrooms

If you’re having people come to stay at your home during the holidays, this room is definitely important for your holiday cleaning, even if it hasn’t been used recently.

• Wash all linens whether they’ve been slept on since the last washing or not. They may feel stiff or be dusty.
• Dust all surfaces and wipe down door handles and blinds.
• Make sure there is room in the closet for your guests’ clothing.
• Putting a dryer sheet inside the pillow cases or underneath a chair cushion is a good way to keep the room smelling fresh.
• Go the extra mile for your guests! Leave a little basket of necessities like snacks, the wifi password, and travel sized bathroom products in case they have forgotten to bring something from home.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #4: Floors and Carpets

Floors and carpets are a part of basic everyday cleaning, but you’ll probably need to clean them with more frequency as you celebrate the holidays. For holiday cleaning, give your floors and carpets a deep clean before all your events. Then, you’ll just have upkeep before and after parties and gatherings.

• Your entryway is the first thing your guests see and your first line of defense in having guests track in outside dirt. Make sure you sweep up the entryway daily and also provide your guests will doormats inside and outside the door to wipe off their shoes.
• Carpets should be vacuumed regularly to make sure there aren’t clumps of dirt or pet hair.
• Keep a small vacuum or broom and dustpan handy to clean up small spills during your party.
• Consider getting a few holiday throw rugs to protect your floors and carpets from spills and dirt.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #5: Dining Room

Some holidays are a sit-down affair, while others involve you and your guests mingling and munching on hors d’oeuvres. Either of these parties necessitates a clean dining room. General cleaning would include the floors and dusting, but consider these extras for your holiday cleaning:

• Wipe down the chairs entirely. Depending on what kind of dining room table you have, use a wood cleaner, leather cleaner, or fabric cleaner to really make your chair shine.
• If you think your chairs might look a little too lived in, consider holiday chair covers to give them an extra spruce-up.
• Some tables might need to be lengthened with a table leaf. It might be a good idea to add this before you clean the floors. When you pull the table apart to add the leaf, crumbs might fall to the floor. Give it an extra wipe before putting it all back together.
• Don’t forget the bottoms of your chairs and tables, too. Dust and animal fur can gather on these, so it’s a good idea to wipe them off prior to cleaning the floors.

Holiday Cleaning Tip #6: Living Room

During your holiday party, the living room is sure to be a high traffic area. Many of the season’s decorations are located here, so aside from pre-party cleaning, you might consider giving this area extra care before your decorations are put up! Here are a few things to remember as you undertake your holiday cleaning of your living room:

• Look under the couch cushions! Kids or no kids, pets or no pets, if you haven’t looked under your couch cushions lately, you should. People getting up and down off the couches can release dust, move cushions, and reveal lost items you might not want your guests to see. Pull up those cushions to rescue the lost socks and vacuum out the unwanted dirt.
• While you might always dust your mantle or bookshelves, do you take the time to dust your vents and air returns? Take a look at your ceiling fan and light fixtures, too—they could probably benefit from a quick wipe down!

Holiday Cleaning Tip #7: Here, There, Everywhere!

Aside from all big things in your house you’ll want to handle when you’re doing your holiday cleaning, here are some extra tips that will really make your guests marvel at the warmth, cleanliness, and comfort in your home.

• If you’re using actual silverware during your holiday party, and not just flatware, did you know that toothpaste can help you buff out tarnish? Make sure you shine the silverware before your party and rinse it as quickly as possible after use.
• Even though your house is clean, you may not want it to smell like the cleaner you used to get that shine. Try putting one of these simmer pot recipes on your stove to make your home smell delicious.
• Putting a scented candle in the guest bathroom will help keep it smelling clean and fresh.
• If you have children, an easy job to give them to help out during holiday cleaning is to take disinfectant wipes to all the door handles and light switches. This not only is a good job for them before your parties but after holiday parties as well, and all throughout the cold and flu season!

CleanSpace is proud to serve Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, California with all their cleaning needs. From regular cleanings to holiday cleanings, we can give your home that sparkle and shine you want for your guests all year round. All our maids clean the same way, starting from the moment they walk in your door, they will clean the room from top to bottom, left to right.

We use an Aspria Backpack vacuum system, that allows us to capture 99% of the dirt and remove it completely from the home. Our cleaning products are Green Guard and Green Seal approved, meaning your home will be cleaned with non-toxic and environmentally safe cleaning products, improving the health of your family and pets. Contact CleanSpace today so we can help you with your holiday cleaning, and year-round health of your home!

You’ve considered hiring a cleaning service, but you couldn’t justify the expense; after all, shouldn’t you be able to clean your home yourself? In truth, hiring a cleaning service is guilt-free! Here are a few reasons why you should treat yourself to the experience of allowing trained professionals to take over one of your least favorite chores.

Hiring a cleaning service No-Guilt Reason #1: you CAN buy happiness

Well, maybe not exactly happiness, but you can buy more time, which leads to happiness. It’s been established that adults report greater happiness after they spend money on time-saving purchases rather than on purchases of material goods.

If you outsource your cleaning to a house cleaning service, you’ll have more time to do the things that make you truly happy, whether that’s spending more time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, or volunteering. When you know you don’t have to spend hours of your week cleaning your home, you’ll feel a tremendous weight off your shoulders, meaning that hiring a cleaning service is guilt-free.

No-Guilt Reason #2: you’re not the only one who outsources

Some people have their groceries delivered, others send their laundry out to be done professionally. Hiring a house cleaning service is guilt-free, just like those other tasks are for the people who outsource them.

While hiring a cleaning service was once considered to be a luxury that only the rich and famous enjoyed, that’s no longer the case. In some parts of the country, it costs more for a family of four to enjoy the full movie theater experience, complete with popcorn and sodas, than it does to hire a cleaning service.

No-Guilt Reason #3: you’re employing people

When you hire a cleaning company, you’re giving someone a job. But not just any job— a job that’s flexible, enabling parents to work while their children are in school or people who have health issues to work fewer hours. It offers an opportunity to earn to people who might otherwise struggle to find work.

Additionally, you’re making your community a place that fosters the growth of small businesses. Hiring a cleaning company is guilt-free for you, and a tremendous opportunity for the folks who clean your home. It’s a true win/win!

No-Guilt Reason #4:  pros do it Best

You might not mind cleaning your home, but are you sure you’re doing a really thorough job? Do you have the right tools for the job and the training that enables you to use them properly? Are you cleaning quickly and efficiently without missing important spots or halfway doing the job?

If you’re like most of us, the answer is probably no. If you’re not a trained professional cleaner, it’s likely that you don’t have the skills that get your home truly clean. Not only do the pros have the proper equipment, but they know all the places that germs hide in your home. Their understanding of the “hot spots” will make your family healthier during cold and flu season.

Ready to see for yourself why hiring a cleaning service is guilt-free? Click here to request your free estimate from CleanSpace now!