Trying to shop, bake and clean for holiday company? Here are 10 tips for making the most of your time:
1. Plan ahead and prioritize: Decide must-do, can-do and can-wait. The bathrooms, kitchens and wherever people will eat, for example, make the must-do list, while an upstairs bedroom that no one sees can wait.
2. Divide and conquer: Do something each day so that each task doesn’t seem so overwhelming
3. Freshen up the front: First impressions are lasting impressions, so clean around the entrances, and sweep porches and walkways. Put a festive wreath on the door. Vacuum or wash that welcome mat.
4. Clean from top to bottom: Because dust settles, it’s best to dust furniture or wash walls before cleaning the floors.
5. A family affair: Assign tasks to everyone who’s old enough to do something.
6. Group similar chores together: For example, vacuum all the rooms that need vacuuming so you’re not taking the vacuum cleaner out for one room, putting it back, then taking it out again for another room.
7. Play music Make it as enjoyable as possible by playing whatever music that gets you and your family pumped up and moving.
8. Remove or organize clutter to make each room easier to clean.
9. Clean first thing in the morning: Dust and cobwebs are more visible in daylight. You can sometimes open windows to release the smell of cleaning products and let fresh air in.
Also, a morning start with time left over to do something you want to do won’t leave you feeling like you’ve spent the entire day cleaning.
10. Last minute: On the morning before guests arrive, do a walk-through of the rooms most likely to be visited by guests.
Look up and around for cobwebs, dusty furniture that may have been missed, a floor that can use one more mopping or cleaning supplies mistakenly left out.
Clear the closet that guests’ coats and jackets will go into. Put your family’s coats into an off-limits bedroom. Put fresh towels in the bathroom that guests will use.
Sources: Michigan State University Extension Service, Miranda Walker of Miranda’s the Miracle Workers, Good Housekeeping magazine and Merry Maids
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