7 Ways to Speed Clean the House for the Holidays

These 7 ways to speed-clean the house for the holidays will help you have your home sparkling for friends and family.

With the holiday season right around the corner, I have some tips for quickly cleaning up your home before guest arrive.

Even if you don’t have a houseful coming to celebrate, there is nothing like a clean house.

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I generally do a thorough deep cleaning in the weeks leading up to the holidays and then right before I do a speed clean to spruce things up before we relax and celebrate.

Crank up the tunes and get going…….

1. Clear the Clutter

Before you can clean you need to get rid of the clutter. If there are others in the family, get them involved. Make a game/race to get everything quickly picked up and put away. REMEMBER: If you don’t use it or love it – Throw it, Donate it or Recycle it.

• Throw away junk mail and put things that you need to keep in their proper place.
• Pick up any toys, clothes, shoes, and coats that are lying around and put them away
  • I love baskets for toys, throws, pillows, and more.
• Make sure everything that is out of place finds a home

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2. Gather all your Cleaning Supplies in a Caddy

I keep all of my cleaning supplies in a caddy that I can carry around the house while I clean. Here is what I have inside.

You can read about some of my homemade cleaning recipes HERE

3. Dust Main Pieces of Furniture

I dust everything that is near where people may sit or walk. I use a microfiber cloth and either glass cleaner or all-purpose spray for all my furniture and glass.

4. Wipe Down all Countertops in Kitchen & Baths

The kitchen takes the most time because it’s where you prepare food. Move everything and clean under it. Use hot soapy water on your countertops, the ones where you prepare food. On the other surfaces, use a countertop spray because you’ll love the smell. My favorite is Caldrea “Ginger Pomelo. It makes my whole house smell lovely.

4. Clean all Mirrors and Dirty Windows

Clean the mirrors in the bathrooms and while your at it take a pass at any doors with glass (patio door) and windows that little hands or wet snouts touch.

6. Clean Sinks and Toilets

I start by wiping down the bathroom sink and clean up the faucet at the same time. Then with rubber gloves on, I clean the toilets. I’m a big fan of using environmentally friendly cleaning products but when it comes to the toilet, I use Zep Toilet Bowl Cleaner because our water is so bad and I don’t want a yellow ring in my bowl.

A few months back I wrote a post about keeping my bathrooms clean. I re-read it and honestly, it’s a really good post with some great tips. You can find it HERE

I use BarKeepers Friend in my kitchen sink. It works beautifully on my porcelain sink and removes black scratches from my pots and pans in a heart beat.

7. Finally the Floors

Once everything has been dusted and wiped down, run the vacuum on all the floors in the living spaces. Then pull out a mop and mop all the hard surface floors.

The upcoming weeks can be challenging if you have a lot planned. You can read about my ideas for handling a stressful week HERE. What ever you are celebrating, I hope you have the best holiday season!

Peace and Love,

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