The holiday season presents ample opportunities for gathering and entertainment, but all the festivities can take a toll on your home. As you’re making your way into the new year, take some time to thoroughly clean your home so you’ll have a fresh start without any of the clutter or mess from your seasonal activities.
Deep Cleaning the Kitchen
Your kitchen works overtime during the holiday season, keeping friends and family fed with some of your very best (and perhaps messiest) dishes. At the end of the holidays, we often find our fridges overflowing with leftovers and our appliances showing some real signs of wear. Take a day to deep clean your kitchen and restore it to sparkling glory for the new year.
Begin by cleaning out your fridge. Discard anything that’s past its prime and make a dedicated meal plan for your leftovers. Freeze anything that you can’t consume within three or four days. Turkey, ham, meatballs, mashed potatoes, stuffing, breads, grains, and desserts all freeze well for future use. Date your items and plan to use them within four months for the best quality. Finish up by wiping down your refrigerator shelves and organizing all the remaining contents.
Thoroughly clean your kitchen appliances to remove any remaining stains from the holiday cooking spree. This includes the oven, microwave, and dishwasher. Pay special attention to details like the rubber seal around your dishwasher where grime loves to hide. If you can, we recommend pulling appliances away from the wall and cleaning the floors beneath to get rid of wayward pieces of pasta, rice, and cereal that like to skitter away into these areas.
Freshening the Floors and Upholstery
Your home gets a lot of extra traffic over the holidays as visitors traipse through high-traffic areas and lounge on the furniture. Freshen up your home by thoroughly cleaning these spaces. Run a rubber squeegee over the floors to collect pet hair. Use rubbing alcohol to remove tree sap from rugs. Spot treat other stains as you find them.
This is the time to make optimum use of your vacuum attachments. Clean out the vacuum first for maximum suction. To thoroughly deodorize your carpets, sprinkle baking soda over them and allow it to sit for a few minutes before vacuuming. Don’t skimp on the details, and take your time getting into the corners, along the baseboards, and under furniture.
Take the time to thoroughly clean upholstered furniture. Remove the cushions and use your vacuum attachments to get deep into the crevices and cracks. Spot clean stains with a water-based cleaner. For an all-over clean, we recommend a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a gallon of warm water. Wipe down upholstered furniture with a damp sponge and allow to air dry.
Turning Over Guest Rooms
If you had overnight guests, you’ll want to clean up your guest rooms just as a housekeeper would in a hotel. Change the sheets, launder bedspreads or duvet covers, and wash all the towels. Wipe down hard surfaces in the room, paying special attention to high-touch areas like drawer knobs, closet handles, light switch panels, and TV remotes.
Check under the bed, in drawers, and in the closet for any items left behind. Vacuum thoroughly, giving thoughtful attention to areas such as under the bed or in the creases of upholstery. For an extra deep clean, consider laundering curtains and throw pillow covers as well, so your spare rooms are as fresh as possible.
Finding Homes for Holiday Gifts
Holiday gift-giving can bring many wonderful new items into the home, but you can’t make the best use of your new finds if they don’t have a proper place. Get rid of the post-holiday clutter by diligently finding a spot for every item. This may necessitate some time reorganizing kids’ toy shelves, making space on bookshelves, or cleaning out your closet.
If your home is bursting at the seams with stuff, consider donating or selling items that you no longer need. If you have gifts that simply aren’t your style, don’t let them linger. Return these items if you can, or find a way to sell, donate, or regift them.
Make a plan for your holiday cards so they don’t gather dust or clutter your desk. You can cut out the festive illustrations on cards and store these for future use as gift tags. You might also string up prior cards as holiday decor for the following year. Make sure your holiday decorations are well-organized and thoughtfully stored so you can easily access everything you want next year.
If you could use a hand tackling your post-holiday housekeeping, we can help. Contact us for an estimate on your project. We’re happy to lend an expert touch to your seasonal cleaning routine so you can enjoy a pristine home for the new year.