The holidays are THE BUSIEST time of the year. And why in the world would you want to spend those precious, quiet moments at home running around with a duster in your hand? I’d MUCH rather be sitting by the fire with the sparkling Christmas lights watching Love Actually.
Who’s with me?
One of my biggest kept secrets is that I’m a living, breaking, swirling, natural disaster when it comes to keeping our house tidy. In fact, I’ve been known to be called “Hurricane Savannah” a time or two. I’m the kind of person that would rather have a lived in space, where everything is a bit of organized chaos. Like seriously, I can find my black cami in the pile on the floor way easier than I can when it’s actually folded and where it’s supposed to be. (Not my hubby tho! He’s a very Type A “neat freak” for lack of a better word. He can’t go to sleep without all the dishes done. He can’t concentrate on anything if there is a mess around him and he probably spends at least half of his time picking up the trail that I leave behind. Bless him.)
But, during the holidays? I want my house clean, smelling cozy and looking oh so pretty. So, I take the weekend before Thanksgiving to give the house a really good scrub. I declutter, I organize, I wipe down the walls and I clean everything. Does it take me all day? Yup. But is it worth it? You betcha.
So let’s get to it! Tonight, I’m sharing 10 Deep Cleans that you can do decently quickly, to get your house in tip top shape for the holidays!
Freshen Up Your Mattresses. I’m sure you know that the fastest way to make your bedroom feel cleaner is by washing your sheets. But did you know cleaning your mattress is actually really simple?! I mean, think about just how much time you spend in your bed… and think about all the germs that end up in it. Ew. For a quick deep clean, vacuum your mattress, then sprinkle baking soda with a few drops of your favorite essential oil on top. Let it sit for at least a half hour (longer if you can!) then vacuum one more time. It’s seriously THAT easy to get a “so fresh and so clean clean” mattress. Then, do the guest bedroom mattress too! While this bed probably doesn’t get used as much as your own, it could still use a good cleaning!
Get to Dusting. Everyone remembers to dust the places that you can see, but do you remember to get the dust bunnies off your ceiling fan? What about your baseboards, blinds and your HVAC vents? Grab a swifter duster and quickly run it over those often forget about spaces for an instant cleaner appearance throughout your home.
Clean the Dishwasher… you’re going to be needing it especially after your turkey dinner! How bad are you at cleaning your dishwasher? I think I remember to do it like twice a year. And every so often I catch myself thinking “is that thing REALLY cleaning my dishes?!” when I see just how much gunk (and funky smell) has built up in there. Cleaning your dishwasher is SO dang easy! Just remove the filter and soak it in warm, soapy water for 10-5 minutes. Rinse it off and replace it. Then pour one cup of white vinegar into the dispenser and run a heavy cycle. (And personally, I can really smell the vinegar afterwords and get worried that all my dishes will taste like vinegar and make all my food taste like vinegar. So I ALWAYS throw a dishwashing tablet in and run one more cycle before I start using it again.) OR use a dishwasher cleaner. (I really love Lemi Shine!)
Scrub Your Cabinets. For an instantly cleaner looking kitchen, scrub away the dirt and grime that is piling up on your kitchen cabinets. You can use a scrubby brush and soapy water, your favorite cleaners, or just a warm wash cloth to make them look sparkly and brand new. Sometimes, the littlest things make the biggest impact when it comes to cleaning! Because our cabinets are painted, I fill up a bucket with some warm water and a bit of my favorite Mrs. Meyers Multi Surface Everyday Cleaner spray. (I love the Acorn Spice scent for this time of year!) It’s gentle enough to not take paint off my cabinets but powerful enough to get rid of gunk. Plus, it makes my kitchen smell sooooo good!
Clean the Small Appliances. You’re coffee maker is about to work on overdrive. Take an hour out of your day to clean the littlest loves in your life… like your Keurig or your Microwave. You’d be amazed what you can clean with a little white vinegar! (And lemon juice too!) From running it through your Keurig, to heating up a little bowl in your microwave, it will do the trick to make all the Small appliances in your kitchen feel brand new! (I also like to wipe them all down with my favorite cleaners so they’re sparkly and disinfected too!)
Clean Your Floors… and by that I mean actually CLEAN them. Not just vacuum up the dirt. If your family is anything like mine, people will be sitting on the floor. And the last thing you want is for them to stand up with a dirty butt! That means it’s time to treat your carpet to it’s own personal spa day, and making your hardwoods shine like they’re the newest star on Broadway. Your Dyson and your Swifter will be your very best friends for the hour you spend cleaning your floors. And I pinky promise, your house will have never looked better! (Oh! And while you’re at it, clean all your accent rugs too! Shake them out and vacuum them!) And if you really want to give them a good scrub, use a steam cleaner! We can’t steam mop our laminate floors, but we do steam clean our carpets up stairs! We have two different steam cleaners and love them both. (Sounds extra, I know.) I like this one for our hallways and bedrooms, and this one for the stairs. We’ve been using this solution with them and really like it!
Get Rid of Stains. Whatever stain you’ve got, chances are there’s a hack to clean it. Just head over to Pinterest and search for your specific kind of stain! (And if you can’t find a hack on Pinterest… try Folex.) I know that everyone says no one will look that closely, but, I personally like to be safe than sorry. And you can bet I’ll be scrubbing away as many stains as I can. (OR at least finding a creative way to cover them!)
Scrub Your Tub. While most of us might clean our showers and tubs on a weekly basis, chances are we don’t really, really scrub them. And that’s how all that soap scum and build up ends up in your shower. Use your favorite natural cleaner, or a tough on grime foaming cleaner like Scrubbing Bubbles or The Pink Stuff and your favorite scrub brush to really get the soap scum out of every nook and cranny in your shower. Remember, a lot of people are going to be using this shower if you’re hosting this holiday season. It might be a good idea to clean out your drains too!
Organize. It’s time to pick up and organize your home. Get rid of things you no longer need and want and make sure everything has a place. It’s AMAZING what clearing clutter can do to make your space feel cleaner!
Wipe EVERYTHING down. Take time to wipe down all the surfaces in your home. I’m talking counter tops, shelves, walls, mantles. I do this using the same soultion I use on my cabinets… water and Mrs. Meyer’s! It makes the entire house smell SO good and just look extra, extra clean!
And of course, don’t forget your normal cleaning tasks… like scrubbing the toilets, cleaning out the refrigerator and dusting!
So if you need me this weekend, I’ll be over here checking off this list and attempting to not pull my hair out 🙃
Alright my loves. My dinner is about done (I made biscuits and gravy!) and I’m ready to eat! Have the best rest of your night. I’ll be back tomorrow!
Xx.
Savannah
Savannah Said It 