Since we’re planning on being home for the remainder of the year, I want this upcoming holiday season to be over-the-top and memorable. But it’s hard to enjoy the most wonderful time of the year when our house is trashed, and the floors are sticky. And that’s why I’m planning to focus on a little pre-holiday cleaning!
If we get these deep cleaning tasks out of the way in the late fall, we won’t have to think about them again until the New Year!
Are you ready to get your house clean and ready for Christmas? Let’s get right to it!
This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Please see my full disclosure policy for full details.
Dust
Before you bring out all of that nostalgic holiday decor, take some time to dust your entire house.
You especially want to focus on the areas that you usually tend to avoid. You know which areas I’m talking about… like behind the TV and the tops of picture frames.
But don’t pull out the feather duster just yet! According to the Good Housekeeping Cleaning Lab, feather dusters simply move the dust from one surface to another. If your house seems dusty all the time, this could be the reason!
Instead, try wet dusting. Just dampen a regular cloth or towel and then start dusting your house. You literally want to work your way from top to bottom.
Or you can use a microfiber cloth. They have fibers so small that they can attach to microscopic particles of dirt. Meaning, they can pick up shit a lot easier than regular cloths!
These microfiber cloths* are great for dusting.
Empty the Fridge and Wipe Everything Down
Does your fridge get nasty too? If you’re lucky enough to avoid fridge spills, I’ll bet that you still have something sticky covering the fridge shelves!
And don’t even get me started on the vegetable drawers! That’s a deep, dark hole that I definitely avoid!
Whether you’re hosting this holiday season or just enjoying time with your immediate family, wouldn’t it be great to see a sparkling clean fridge every time you open it?
To get that new-fridge appearance, here’s what to do:
- Take everything out of your fridge and put it in a cooler or set it on your counters (if you take everything out at once, you just might be encouraged to get it done faster!).
- Remove shelves and drawers.
- Mix 2 TBSP to 1 QT hot water and add the solution to a spray bottle. Then, spray the interior of your fridge and let it soak.
- While the baking soda solution is doing its thing, start washing the removable parts in warm, soapy water and let dry.
- Clean out the door seals – that little rubber part on the inside of the fridge door. It’s always full of crumbs!
- With a clean cloth, wipe the interior and clean up the solution from step #3. Use a knife to get under the vegetable crisper tracks if necessary.
- And finally, using a damp cloth, wipe down all of the condiments and everything else before you add them all back to your fridge!
Wipe Down the Appliances
Take a look at your appliances – I bet they’re covered in gunk, lol! I can’t be the only one out there who never wipes her kitchen appliances down! Maybe it’s because I’m too freaking tired after dinner.
If yours could use a good pre-holiday cleaning, take a warm rag or a magic eraser and give them a quick scrub… Your Crockpot, Instant Pot, blender, stand mixer, toaster, and food processor.
Psst… The 2020 Holiday Playbook is here! 🍾 Your one-stop-shop for all things from Halloween to New Year’s. Click here to get your copy!
Polish Your Sink
Continuing with the kitchen since it’s the heart of the home, the next holiday cleaning task is your sink. Have you ever actually polished your sink? The results are beautiful! I was a skeptic myself until I decided to give it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised. My sink is an ugly yellow color from the ’70s, but I still had it polished and shiny!
To polish an enamel sink:
- Mix 2 TSP detergent with 1 QT of warm water. Use a rag to scrub the sink and remove buildup.
- Pour a thin line of baking soda over the interior and use a sponge to remove stains. DO NOT use harsh scouring pads!
- Mix 1 cap of bleach with 2 CUPS cold water. Using a rag, polish the inside of the sink with the bleach solution.
- And then, use a clean rag to wipe the sink dry. You can use enamel polish to add extra shine.
For a stainless steel sink, mix a paste of baking soda and water and gently scrub. Gently rub water spots with vinegar and they should come right off.
Clean Your Burners
The last cleaning task in the kitchen is your stove. Whether you have a flat top stove or traditional burners, you can still get some deep cleaning done in just a few minutes.
Click here to find out how to clean a glass-top stove.
And click here to learn how to clean gas stove burners.
For electric stove burners:
- Gently tug and lift the burners to remove them from the connection point.
- Rinse off any residue using mild dish soap and water.
- Avoid submerging in water and don’t get the electrical connection wet!
- If there are still bits of food leftover, apply a baking soda paste and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Scrub, rinse, and let them dry completely.
Spot Clean Your Carpet
This next holiday cleaning task will greatly depend on how bad your carpets are. Ours are disgusting. They are so hideous I don’t even want to share a picture. It’s the same carpet that my late mother had installed over 20 years ago when she bought this house. And my husband and I have opted to wait for a new carpet – at least until our kids are a little older. In the meantime, we just spot clean them once every few weeks.
If you don’t have a carpet shampooer, you can always rent one for around $30 a day from Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, PetSmart, or Dollar General.
Alternatively, you can use Resolve* and a warm rag to get out a few stains.
Clean Windows and Glass Doors
Before Aunt Karen comes over for Christmas dinner, spend a few minutes cleaning the windows and doors around your house.
If your kids love to hang holiday window clings, you’ll need to clean the glass anyway. So you might as well knock this task out right now!
Our front and back door are always COVERED with doggy nose prints, so much so that we can’t even see out the window. So I will definitely be cleaning the glass in the weeks leading up to Christmas!
Check walls for Fingerprints, Boogers, and Crayon
If you’re a boy mom, you know exactly what I mean when I say boogers. 🤷♀️
Or maybe my kids are the only gross ones out there? If you don’t have boogers on the wall, you might still have some greasy little fingerprints or old crayon marks. Use a magic eraser to get those walls clean!
Shine Mirrors
With young kids, I have pretty much given up on keeping our bathroom mirrors clean. There’s really no point in cleaning toothpaste off the mirrors when they’re just going to be covered with toothpaste again in 2 days.
Can you relate? Then take some time to shine those mirrors before the holiday season!
Tip: Use newspaper instead of paper towels to avoid streaks.
Wash Blankets, Curtains, and Shower Curtains
This pre-holiday cleaning task will mostly apply to those who will be having guests stay for the holidays.
Before your in-laws arrive, take a week to wash all the linens and blankets. And don’t forget the often-neglected curtains and shower curtains!
Sweep and Mop
If you have pets and kids, you know the struggle of trying to keep your floors clean!
With 4 kids and a black lab who thinks she’s a human, our tile floors get real dirty real quick! Because of this, sweeping and mopping aren’t always enough. I usually have to get down on my knees and use a paper towel to get all the crumbs and dog hair out of the corners.
It’s a dirty job, and my knees don’t like it one bit, but it really makes a big difference in the cleanliness of our floors!
Vacuum
And last, but certainly not least, is to vacuum.
I saved this holiday cleaning task for last because it’s so dependent on your lifestyle. Some people need to vacuum a few times a week, while others can get away with a few times a month.
If you wish, you can choose to put it off until after you get your tree up. It doesn’t matter if you have a real or a fake tree, you’re still going to need to vacuum up all those pine needles anyway. So you might as well wait until you put your tree up!
Your Turn
Those are the 12 cleaning tasks you should focus on before Christmas! With 12 tasks, I recommend focusing on 3 a week. This way, you’ll be able to knock them all out in one month. And then, you can start focusing on the basic holiday tasks!
When you’re ready to start preparing for the most wonderful time of the year, enter your name and email to get the free holiday planner! 👇
Related posts:
7 Things You Should Declutter Before Christmas
How to Plan Your Holiday Shopping
7 Holiday Tasks You Can Start Early
4 Simple Ways to Save Your Holiday Sanity
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.