Expert Tips for Painlessly Getting Your Home Clean for Holidays

Celebrating the holidays at home can be exciting, but you have to admit, there's always a dreaded amount of stress that comes along with doing so. When it comes to getting your home ready for guests, there's one thing that many of us looking forward to doing least cleaning! We've consulted a cleaning expert on how to painlessly clean the house for holidays. In this article, Molly Maid President Meg Roberts shares her tips.

Q: How early in advance should cleaning begin?
A: We recommend a five-day house-cleaning plan so don't start too early! Attack the house one room/area at a time. As the gathering gets closer, get help from your family members and use a chore chart to assign those tasks. Storage containers, closets and spare rooms make great temporary homes for clothes, shoes, toys, and the mail you haven't yet sorted. Get the clutter out of eyesight, especially in high traffic areas.

Our Tip: Hide extra outerwear, blankets, and pillows in a storage box or ottoman such as:

Hillsdale Furniture Retreat Blank Box

Ashley Furniture Ottoman with Storage

Coaster Round Storage Ottoman

First day: Porch, foyer, entryway and central closet
Concentrate on clearing up and organizing clutter. Wipe clean glass doors, light fixtures and doorways, and knobs. Vacuum or sweep floor, mop if necessary.

Second day: Bedrooms, Hallways, Stairs
Dust from top to bottom, including ceiling fans, light fixtures, vents, nooks, and crannies. Wipe down doorways, furniture, and knickknacks. Vacuum floors, especially under beds, along baseboards, and under furniture. Mop if necessary. Lay out fresh linens and towels in the guest bedroom(s).

Third day: Bathrooms
Dust from top to bottom including light fixtures and vents. Disinfect toilets, tubs, showers, and bathroom surfaces. Wipe clean cabinets, doorways, and knickknacks. Wipe clean sink, mirror. Vacuum and mop. Replace shower liners.

Fourth day: Living Room, Dining Room, Family Room, Great Room
Dust from top to bottom, including ceiling fans, light fixtures, and vents. Wipe clean doorways mantels, furniture, inside and out of cabinets and knickknacks. Vacuum furniture, along baseboards, and under furniture. Mop if necessary.

Fifth day: Kitchen
Dust from top to bottom including ceiling fans, light fixtures, and vents. Wipe clean stove, fridge, microwave, small appliances cabinets, counters and sink. Wipe clean cabinets, islands, and racks. Vacuum and mop the floor.

Q: What are some tricks for making big cleaning projects seem small such as cleaning windows and cabinets?
A: Molly Maid Home Service Professionals have a process to make sure they don't miss any areas while cleaning homes. They move from left to right and top to bottom. This is a great process to efficiently clean a basement, garage, living room, windows, or cabinets.

For windows, budget five to 10 minutes for each side. If you have multiple stories or a significant number of windows, you may want to consider outsourcing this particular cleaning task.

Windows:

• Mix your cleaning solution. Add one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid to every two gallons of hot water for a soapy cleaner. Avoid the urge of adding more soap the more soap, the more residue could be left behind. If opting to use white vinegar, mix two cups water with 1/4 cup white vinegar.
• Use a soft-bristled brush to remove any loose dirt or webs from the window.
• Dip the strip applicator in the cleaning solution, then wring excess solution from the tool.
• Scrub glass with a strip applicator, switching to a nylon-scrubbing pad when necessary to remove all dirt and debris.
• Squeegee windows clean. How you do this depends on which method work best for you. Some find that starting at the top and pulling the tool straight down works best, while others prefer to work horizontally. Still others use the reverse-s pattern to clear windows of solution. Try each way to see which you like best, but with all be sure to start with a wet squeegee to avoid blade skipping, overlap passes and wipe the squeegee clean after each swipe with a lint-free cloth.
• Dry frames and panes with a lint-free cloth or microfiber.
• When washing windows inside, place a towel at the bottom to keep any dripping water from hitting your floors.

Cabinets:

• To clean out cabinets, pull everything out of cabinets, drawers, and the pantry. Set aside items you never use such as that juicer you got as a wedding gift and any other dusty appliances, dishware, or kitchen tools. These make excellent donations to your local charitable organization or in an upcoming garage sale; just store them elsewhere in the meantime.
• Once empty, use a handheld vacuum to quickly remove crumbs and debris from the corners. Wipe out the inside of each cabinet with a slightly dampened microfiber cloth.
• Once empty and clean, this is a great opportunity to reorganize so that items get stored near where they get used.

Q: What are some of the areas of the home that most people forget to clean and how can they be cleaned easily?
A:

• Dusting light fixtures, ceiling fans, blinds, and cabinets are easily forgotten. Dust with a microfiber cloth prior to performing chores in a room. Dust first, then vacuum.
• Oven. Run the self-cleaning cycle. Avoid fumes by setting the cycle and heading outside with any small children or pets.
• Mattresses. Attach the upholstery tool to your vacuum to clean the top and sides of it, getting dust in crevices between mattress and bed frame. Rotate the mattress 180 degrees, if needed.
• Fridge. Wipe down the bottom of the inside of it. Crumbs and other bits of food fall to the bottom of the refrigerator as you put items in and take them out. Pull out the produce drawers and wipe the surface below clean
• Trash can. Not a fun chore but one that will keep your garbage smelling as inoffensive as possible: Take it outside, squirt dishwashing detergent inside the can and let the power of your hose provide the elbow grease.
• Garbage disposal. Many commercial products exist to deodorize your garbage disposal, but you can turn to nature instead. Simply cut up a lemon or two and run them through the disposal. Also be sure to wipe down the rubber piece attached to your sink. It can collect food as well and become the source of unpleasant odors.
• Microwave. Place a glass bowl filled with diluted vinegar in the microwave. Heat on high for two or three minutes. The steam will loosen any spills and splatters. Remove the glass plate and place in soapy water in your sink. Wipe down all surfaces on and in the appliance.

Q: What's the best way to clean the stove?
A: Follow these steps.

• Remove all burner covers or pans from the stovetop and shelves from the oven.
• Soak them in soapy water in the sink.
• Wipe down all surfaces on and in the appliance. Mix some baking soda in a small bowl with enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Scrub with the rough side of a sponge and baked on gunk will come right off. Also, the top of most stoves lifts up for easy cleaning.
• You may need a more heavy-duty cleaner for the oven, or you can opt to set the self-cleaning cycle but be sure to get kids and pets out of the house while it runs as the fumes can be a health hazard for them.

Q: Holiday guests will be stomping around on the floors! What are the easiest ways to get them looking their best for the arrival of guests?
A: Make sure you have clean doormats at every entrance all year long. This will make a significant impact on minimizing debris brought into your home. Plan to address all your flooring types and a vacuum is your first step for any surface if you adjust the settings. Use the bare floors setting for tile or hardwood, which will disable the beater bar used for cleaning carpets. The beater bar can scratch a delicate floor. The crevice tool is a great vacuum attachment, which will remove crumbs and debris from your baseboards.
For hardwood, use a dust mop next and do not use a cleaner as it will likely leave residue and actually attract dust. For ceramic tile, a manufacturer-recommended mild detergent works best. Never use abrasive products, as they can scratch the tile, or bleach or ammonia-based cleaners, which can discolor the grout. For cleaning natural stone tile, also follow manufacturer's instructions, which likely will call for a soap-based product. Never use abrasive products, as they can scratch the tile, or bleach or ammonia-based cleaners, which can discolor the grout. Also do not use lemon juice, vinegar or other acids on marble, limestone or travertine. Mix the cleaning product according to manufacturer's recommendations and keep a soft brush ready to tackle stubborn stains.

Q: Making forks and spoons shiny for guests would be nice. Do you have any advice on how to make them glisten?
A: For tarnished silverware, start by pulling out a large cookie sheet and lining it with aluminum foil. Then create a mixture of 1 tablespoon. baking soda to 2 cups of water, enough to fill the pan to the top lip. Add the mixture and a layer of silverware to the pan, and then place in an oven preheated to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Check the silverware every five minutes until all stains and tarnish are gone. Be sure to use tongs to handle the hot pieces. You can also boil the mixture and aluminum foil for 10-second intervals, but this method may result in scratching.
In addition to baking soda, other household items can remove tarnish from silverware, but since many substances remove the tarnish through rubbing you must be careful not to scratch the silverware in the process. For example, toothpaste has long been used to polish silverware in a pinch. Make sure the toothpaste is smooth and does not contain any granules that can scratch the surface, such as in whitening formulas that use baking soda; the ingredient works in the above method because it simply acts as a conductor and is not rubbed against the silverware. Ketchup is another cleaner that gets gently rubbed onto silverware to remove tarnish. You may need to let the silverware sit in the ketchup for 15 minute intervals until you see results. A soft toothbrush makes an excellent cleaning tool for silverware with fine detail. Simply use it to gently lift tarnish from crevices with your cleaner of choice.

Q: The refrigerator will be packed with food! How can it be cleaned and organized prior to guests arriving? What can we do to keep it smelling fresh with all that food?
A:Remove all food from pantry and refrigerator, throwing out expired items as you go. Spray all surfaces, including exterior of fridge and pantry shelves, with diluted vinegar, then wipe with a microfiber cloth. Put back remaining items and consider using drawers and interior door shelves to stash items unneeded during your holiday parties.
A fresh container of baking soda or a small plate with new coffee grounds will help absorb smells and keep your refrigerator smelling great with so many odors from a variety of foods.

Q: And tips for painlessly cleaning the bathroom?
A:You can deep clean a bathroom in one day.

• Pull all bath towels and mats and take to laundry room; start a load.
• Back in the bathroom, fill a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and hot water. Spray shower/tub walls and floor. To remove hard-water stains, soak paper towels in undiluted vinegar and place on buildup. Leave overnight, then scrub and rinse.
• Add two denture-cleaning tablets to the toilet and allow their fizzing to easily remove stains and clean the bowl. If you have little kids, they may like adding the tablets getting others involved with these household tasks makes it easier on everyone!
• Fill another spray bottle with quarter cup vinegar, half tsp. dishwashing soap and 2 cups water. Apply to mirrors, then wipe with paper towels. Apply the diluted vinegar to countertops and fixtures, then wipe with a cloth.
• Scrub shower/tub walls and floor, plus toilet, with a hard-bristle brush, then rinse.
• Use a handheld vacuum to quickly remove stray hairs and debris near baseboards. Sweep, then mop floor with appropriate product.
• Return freshly laundered towels and mats to their proper places.

For even more tips, check out Molly Maids 2015 Tips for Holiday Cleaning.