This post is part of a series – “31 days to take the Stress out of Christmas”. You can read all the posts in the series here. And to make sure you don’t miss a post you can subscribe to have every post delivered to your inbox, or follow me on facebook.
I hate cleaning. There I said it. And I am sure that I am not the only one out there that feels this way (unless you are my friend, Molly – wish I could borrow just a tenth of her cleaning/organization skills). But it is a necessity. If you are going to host a party or have family over for the holidays you are going to have to have a clean house. The last thing you are going to be wanting to do on the day before Christmas Eve is frantically cleaning your house and decluttering from top to bottom. Yes, you will need to do a quick vacuum, wipe down sinks, clean the toilets, maybe mop the kitchen floor but avoid stress and get the BIG cleaning done way before Christmas (or Thanksgiving) gets here.
So schedule some time NOW and in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving on your calendar and then on your detailed to-do list to do some deep cleaning, purging, and organizing. Get out your calendar and schedule it out. Tackle a room each day or a room each week and get rid of things by either donating, trashing, or giving away. Then do a few days of deep cleaning – baseboards, cleaning the cobwebs in the corners, washing guest bed linens if they haven’t been done in a while cleaning carpets, maybe even touching up scuffs on the walls. If the big cleaning has been done and you keep things decluttered than a quick 30 minutes or 1 hour of touch up cleaning will be all that is required before a party or Christmas gathering.
And let’s also talk about those new toys that your kids will be getting for Christmas – where will they put them? Take some time in the next few weeks to go through your kids rooms (maybe while they are at school so they can’t object to broken and not used toys that need to go) and get rid of things. Donate them if they are still in good condition to somewhere that does a toy drive for needy kids or set them aside for a yard sale.
I have been attempting to follow along with the 31 days to a Clutter-Free Life challenge over at Living Well Spending Less. That would be a great place for you start to work on decluttering your house. Something she has said again and again in each post has been this:
Keep only the items that:
- Are currently useful
- Are in good working order
- You absolutely love and want to display
Do not keep items that:
- You don’t use
- You don’t like
- You feel obligated to keep because it was expensive
- You feel obligated to keep because it was a gift
- Are constantly in your way
The thing that has struck me the most is why we should get rid of things – don’t keep it because it was expensive, don’t keep it because it was a gift from some relative, and don’t keep it if you don’t absolutely LOVE it and truly use it. That is where I struggle – I know I paid good money for it so even if I don’t really like it anymore I keep it but in all honesty I don’t use it. Or I keep it because it was a gift but I don’t use it and don’t like it.
So here’s your challenge… declutter and deep clean your house so cleaning won’t cause you stress when Christmas gets here. Maybe get a head start this weekend!
What’s your biggest struggle with a clean, organized home?
Wow. I needed this post. Now where’s the button I push to get it all done for me?? Seems like there’s a button for everything these days. If only………right??! 😉
If I find it, I will be sure to let you know!
I just started the New Year with a room to room deep cleaning. It’s amazing how much junk and dirt is collected in a year’s time!