This year, I decided a new cleaning ritual will forever be a part of my yearly routine. Allow to make the case for Holiday Cleaning.
How it all began…
This Thanksgiving, we had several out-of-town family members in town for the weekend. None of the guests stayed at our house, but we knew they would be spending time in our home.
This ignited in me an unquenchable urge to get our house in order! My husband caught me cleaning the baseboard with a toothpick and realized I was serious. When Thanksgiving arrived, the state of our house was not all that I had aimed for, but it was in better shape than it had been for months, and the weekend was so much more enjoyable with a clean house.
As I was cleaning the bottom of our freezer, I began to wonder why we save deep cleaning for the spring. In the months of cold, wet weather, we spend the majority of our days indoors. During the holidays, we typically have people in our homes for parties and dinners. Why not have a clean house to enjoy when we’re cooped up in the cold and gathering with loved ones?
Enter Holiday Cleaning
Having a clean home this past Thanksgiving allowed me to enjoy the weekend more. I was not embarrassed about a glob of jam on the curtains, or mold on the windows, or crumbs under my bed. (Yes, I found all of these things during my cleaning). It was also easy to keep up with housework during the busy weekend, because I started with a clean slate. The house was easy to care for in the small moments between activities.
I have since decided that Holiday Cleaning will be a yearly ritual.
Should any of you be intrigued by the idea of Holiday Cleaning, I invite you to join me! I created a simple checklist and have included it at the bottom of this post. You will notice that it is NOT a deep clean of the entire house. This time of year is busy, and the point is not to have a Pinterest perfect home, or to exhaust yourself cleaning. The point is make your home as peaceful as possible, and to help you and your family enjoy the holidays more.
A NOTE!
My Holiday Cleaning was a bit of a “Give a Mouse a Cookie” situation, with certain cleaning tasks leading to five more. Most notably, when I was washing my bedroom window, I noticed the dusty curtains. When I removed the curtains, I noticed the cobwebs on the wall above the window. As I dusted the cobwebs, I noticed the neglected space between the bed and the wall. All this led to me moving my bed and a vacuuming the entire space. I also learned that my kids really enjoy using our old canister vacuum.
This checklist may become a starting point, and not your final destination.
The Holiday Cleaning Checklist
I focused on cleaning the kitchen while preparing for the holidays. Not only do kitchens tend to have more mess to clean, they are often the heart of holiday celebrations. Imagine having a clean and tidy kitchen while you bake Christmas cookies and prepare festive dinners. (I LOVED having a clean oven and fridge as I cooked for Thanksgiving. I plan to give myself the same gift for Christmas.)
The Holiday Cleaning Checklist features a small list for other rooms in the house. A clean and tidy home really does bring a sense of peace. Having “less public” spaces clean only adds to that sense of peace. However, should you have only a short time to dedicate to cleaning, I recommend focusing on the areas your family and your guests will gather on the holiday.
Make Room!
My other priority for Holiday Cleaning is decluttering. I know that my family will be receiving (and buying) a lot of new things for Christmas. New clothes, books, games, and toys will be flooding into our house come Christmas, and sometimes, the logistical reality of that influx can seriously dampen the excitement. One of the best ways to avoid the post-Christmas overwhelm is to make some room BEFORE Christmas, and its new treasures, arrive.
It can be helpful to have a guideline in place. You may wish to clear a certain amount of space – perhaps one section of a toy shelf, or one bin used to store toys. You could also choose an amount of things to remove from your home. (Perhaps five items of clothing, or ten books, or one box of toys…you get the idea.)
If your children are older, I think it is great to include them in this decluttering process. They can decide which toys they would like to keep, and which have lost their allure. If your kids are younger, it is probably best to simply remove the toys they don’t use. If your child doesn’t use a toy, and you discreetly remove it, chances are, she will never even notice. (Read more about decluttering toys HERE.)
By clearing out some unused things from our home, and by giving our kitchens a good old-fashioned scrubbing, we can give ourselves the gift of a calmer, enjoyable, and downright easier Christmas this year.
Click HERE to download my simple but effective Holiday Cleaning Checklist.
I wish you all a clean, peaceful, and enjoyable Christmas.