Having people over for Christmas and left the cleaning to the last minute? We have some tips to help you clean your house in a hurry.
Last Minute Christmas Cleaning Tips
Having people over for Christmas and left the cleaning to the last minute?
If you can’t possibly clean and tidy your whole house before your guests arrive.
You'll need to focus on what’s important.
Put yourself in their shoes.
What is the first thing they will see when they walk in?
What parts of your house will they even see?
What rooms will you spend the most time in?
If you approach things this way, you will quickly realise which areas are critical and what rooms you can forgo if time doesn’t persist. Just close the doors to those areas and if you are still worried you can even put a do not enter sign on the door.
Critical: Entrance area, Bathroom/Toilet, Kitchen and Living Rooms. (Outdoor area if you are entertaining outdoors).
Not Critical: Bedrooms (along as no-one is staying over), Study, Other Living Rooms and Storage Areas.
Get a team together.
Firstly, get a team together. If there are other people living in the house, they can help clean. If not, recruit some friends to give you a hand.
Declutter essential areas.
Clutter makes a house look messy and it also makes it harder to clean the room. Grab a basket or box and clear out everything in your prioritised rooms which doesn’t need to be there. Paperwork, clothes, toys, books, random kids stuff and any other stuff that is taking up space.
Clean dirty dishes
Go through each room and remove any dirty dishes. If you have a dishwasher, use it as it will save you time and remember you are trying to speed clean.
Bathroom and Toilet
In the bathroom, the toilet should look clean, and the floor should also be swept. Hang up some fresh towels, replenish the soap stock and put away any magazines that may have been left lying around.
- Toilets: your toilets should look clean. A good trick to try is Baking Soda and Vinegar. Baking soda and vinegar are two of the most useful household products that can be used to clean hard water stains in the toilet. It can also be used to make a drain cleaner.
- Bathroom mirrors: can look dirty with errant toothpaste buildup, loose hairs, and fingerprints. Tip: Every week or fortnight, after you get out of the shower, spray with glass cleaner and wipe with a soft cloth. The warmth and steam will soften gunk and make your job even easier.
- Toilet paper: make sure you have enough for all your guests to use.
Other Essential Areas
By doing these 3 things you’ll eliminate all immediately visible problems in your critical rooms.
1.Clear away the stuff lying around
2. Remove visible dust and dirt deposits on furniture/bench tops
3. Remove visible dirt from the floors
Extra COVID-19 entertaining tips:
This year we need to take extra precautions in regards to entertaining, due to COVID-19.
- Seating: If possible, sit outside as it can alleviate some of the risks of catching a virus. If you are sitting inside look at seating arrangements where households are seated together.
- Arrange your meals in advance: skip the family-style or buffet-like set up this year. Have only one person be designed as the runner or server, so that most everyone remains seated during dinner.
- Sanitiser and Disinfecting Supplies: You don't have to furiously scrub or disinfect each and every surface as soon as they're touched, but consider leaving disinfecting wipes or spray in your bathroom. Guests can clean their hands and then spray or wipe down any handles or faucets they use. If you do want to disinfect your whole house then consider using a disinfecting service.
