Keeping your Home Tidy during the Holidays
The holiday season is upon us! Next week is Thanksgiving and then from there is a whole cascade of holidays and new year’s festivities. Perhaps you’re excited for all the fun but it is also reasonable to feel a little anxious when you think about all of the people you might be having over to your home during the next month and a half.
It’s one thing to be keeping up with tidying the home during other parts of the year, but there is so much more going on during this season that keeping your home looking clean while multitasking can become downright overwhelming.
Roll into the season prepared with some tips and tricks to keep you on top of your game and keep your home looking beautiful!
Stock up on cleaning supplies beforehand
This one is a bit of a no-brainer but also easily forgot: why wait until you’re in the middle of doing three hundred things to have to make a run to the store for supplies? Stock up now and you’ll be thanking yourself later.
Clean while you bake
This writer has worked in a kitchen and learned firsthand (and from strong pressure from peers, ha!) that it is of the utmost importance to keep your space clean while you cook. Not only that, but in the case of any baking you might be doing, you’re going to have extended periods of time during which you can not only clean up the mess you’re making in the kitchen, but you can also pick and choose small targets of “mess” that you want to tackle while you’re waiting for dough to rise, waiting for the oven to preheat, or waiting for that delicious sweet potato pie (grandma’s recipe!) to finish in the oven. Emphasis on small targets, start small and then use the motivation from accomplishing those minor goals to eventually tackle the larger challenges.
Deep clean while you decorate
You most likely decorate with a game plan in mind. Maybe you come up with the plan as you open up the box of decorations, or maybe you like to brainstorm a whole game plan ahead of time. Why not piggyback on your own planning and add in some deep cleaning while you go?
Get the whole family involved
It’s happened in the past: you’ve asked for assistance but you’re so overwhelmed with the mountain of things (beyond cleaning!) to accomplish that you approach the fam with a little less than calm composure. If you can keep your stress at a low level and when you approach the family, do so with with a measure of enthusiasm and excitement, they’re more likely to help you… and have a blast! Yes, cleaning is a chore, but it is also very necessary. It has to get done! So you and your family might as well all enjoy it. Put on some tunes, share your enthusiasm that the job is getting done, reward yourself and your family with a delicious treat or a good movie (or both!) afterward. When you’re all having a blast it becomes less of a chore and more of a party.
Most important: Enjoy the season!
It can be so easy -too easy- to lose sight of the goal and get mired in the stress of what needs to be done. In the end, you’re doing all of this so that you, your family, your loved ones, can have a really good time. So do your best to not lose sight of that goal. And if you do, don’t stress yourself out even more over the fact that you’ve become stressed — just take some deep breaths and get yourself back on track.
And remember, folks: If you’re looking for a hand with the cleaning, with a friendly staff of cleaners who use only natural cleaning products, then you know who to call! Happy Thanksgiving!