Cleaning the house is a daunting and overwhelming task on the best of days. House cleaning after the holidays is a whole different ball game.
You have to find a home for all your gifts. If you have children, you may need to donate old toys to make room for new ones. If you hosted holiday celebrations, you might have guests to clean up after.
Cleaning up after the holidays is exhausting. But with our house cleaning tips below, it’ll be a breeze.
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Clean Up After Houseguests
While it’s nice to have visitors for the holidays, it’s just as lovely to reclaim your space after they head home.
Strip the linens off of the beds they were using and wash them. Check underneath the bed to see if any items were left behind.
Clean Up the Decor
You might like your home looking like Santa’s workshop at the beginning of December. But by the time January rolls around, you’re probably ready to reclaim your living spaces.
Take extra care when you strip the Christmas tree. Wrap your keepsake ornaments in holiday-themed towels or fuzzy Christmas socks.
Save yourself time and frustration next holiday season by wrapping your light strings.
Cut slits on the ends of a wrapping paper tube. Stick the plug ends in the slits and wrap the lights around the tube.
If you’ve already recycled your wrapping paper tubes, you can cut down a shipping box and use it instead. Remember to cut the slits for the plugs to ensure the strings won’t unravel.
If you’re like the 32.8 million Americans who chose a real tree, you may be dealing with a sap mess. Rubbing alcohol is a great tool to have around to remove sap from clothes and carpets. Let the solvent sit on the fabric before washing in warm water.
Heat sets stains, though. Ensure the sap is gone before putting your clothes in the dryer.
Clean Out the Fridge
Eat the last of the holiday leftovers and give the fridge a thorough clean. Pull out all the food and use a sanitizing spray or wipes to clean the shelves. Make sure there’s no holiday food hiding in the recesses of the fridge.
If you have a lot of leftover food from your holiday feasts, send some home with guests. You should send a container of food home with anyone who doesn’t have to travel far. This saves on spoilage and makes your life easier when it comes time to clean.
The salad drawer is the dirtiest spot in your fridge, so don’t overlook it. It can contain over 750 times the level of bacteria considered safe. Bugs like E.coli, salmonella, and listeria can live and thrive in these drawers.
A Fresh Start
Once the above tasks have been handled, you may want to do a full house clean for a fresh start. Give yourself a few days to make this job seem manageable. Go room-by-room to save your sanity.
We recommend hiring a house cleaning service to help with this task. The employees are professional cleaners and will have your home looking brand new in no time. You deserve to treat yourself after all you’ve done during the holidays.
Cleaning Up Made Easy
Cleaning up after the holidays can feel like a daunting and never-ending task. But following a systematic cleaning schedule can make it seem a little easier.
Check out our Holiday section for more tips for surviving the Christmas season.
