Tricks to Keep Your Home Clean During the Holidays

Struggling with maintaining a clean and tidy home with back-to-back gatherings in the holidays? We’ve all been there. Keeping up with house cleaning during the hectic holiday season can be difficult at times. Nobody likes to clean when there are so many other exciting things to do! In the hopes of saving you some time and energy throughout the holiday season, these tips can help you out: 

Nothing is worse than running out of cleaning products just before a holiday function, so make sure to stock up on everything before the holiday madness begins. Plan ahead of time and get enough goods to last you until January. To save money and plastic, try to buy in bulk and divide the product into smaller glass spray bottles to use in different areas. Just remember to mark them to avoid mixing up the products.

Establish a timeframe each day when the entire family tidies and cleans the house. It's surprising what you can get done in a good 20-30 minutes when everyone pitches in! Assign specific responsibilities to each family member that you know they can perform successfully. Try to do it in a consistent time frame every day to make it more of a habit. Remind everyone that the more they help out, the more time you'll have to spend together enjoying all of the holiday activities. Even your kids can help out in this process with age-appropriate chores.

Getting the heavy traffic areas clean regularly will greatly reduce the spread of dirt and dust throughout the house. Ensure you have a designated shoe storage spot at the entryway to your home to remind everyone to remove their shoes and store all of the shoe debris in one place. Small area rugs at entrances can also help catch intruding dirt. If your guests are bringing in pets, place an old towel by the door so that you can easily wipe their paws when they are about to enter.

Cleaning as you go is always better than going back and dealing with a massive mess later. Make it a practice to put away little objects such as your coat or drinking glasses as soon as you are through with them. And, encourage the rest of your family to do the same! Make a real effort to do all of the minor things that only take one or two minutes, and you'll end up saving a lot of time and energy.

If you're pressed for time, and your home is disorganized, utilize a big bucket or laundry basket to store goods. Go through the home quickly, gathering everything on the floor or needs to be put somewhere else into your basket. You might not be able to put everything away before your company comes, but at least it's contained and out of view.

The restroom may be one of the busiest rooms during the holiday season, so keep it fully supplied! Keep a bathroom cleaning kit beneath the cupboards for quick clean-ups and a seasonal soap available for a festive touch. Also, make sure to get the double roll toilet paper so the rolls don't have to be changed as frequently, and put a roll or two out so that the guest can easily help himself in case the first ones run out.