This year, our holiday season was extra special, as we were not only celebrating Christmas, but also, a few days before, our son’s college graduation. So, as you can imagine, December has been a blur of parties and celebrations.
Once the holidays were over, after the last visitors left, I sat on my couch and looked around my house—it looked like a bloodhound had been let loose in it and was trying to desperately find its prey, not caring about the mess it left behind. My home needed some TLC.
I know I’m not the only one that feels this way come January, as many of our clients hire us for after party cleaning services and deep cleanings around this time of the year. To help those that might be looking to get everything straighten up as they start a new year, I’ve put together a quick list of after party cleaning tips to get you started and help you get your home back into shape in no time.
1| Declutter
Sort through the gifts and make a pile of those that didn’t work out so you can exchange them or return them right away. It’s really easy to let these linger, but if you received something you won’t use, chances are that it will just end up taking up space and collecting dust somewhere. If you can’t exchange it for something you’ll use, perhaps you can re-gift it or donate it to a charity.
2| Wash & Pack Holiday Dishware
Throw your holiday dishes in the dishwasher, dry them up, and put them away as soon as you can. It’s easier to forget to do this or leave it for later, but the longer you wait, the worse of a chore it’ll be. Plus, they’ll be taking up precious space in your kitchen.
3| Clean & Organize Your Fridge
Our fridge is left bursting at the seams after the holidays. The most important thing here is to try to eat as many leftovers as possible, but once that’s done, it’s a good idea to take all the food out, get rid of anything spoiled, and wash all the compartments of the fridge, before putting everything back in neatly. And stay tuned for a future post on fridge organizing tips!
4| Clean Your Oven
In our family we cook a lot, specially around this time of the year. Our oven seems to take the hit every year, and by the time January rolls around it is in desperate need of a deep cleaning. Take the racks out, hand wash them at your sink, and then wash the empty oven to remove any stubborn stains. Among other things, we like to use baking soda and vinegar to get the job done, and whenever possible, we leave these overnight for particularly bad stains. Don’t have time to do it yourself? You can request this as an add-on service during your next cleaning!
5| Check Carpets & Upholstery for Stains
Our poor carpet definitely took the hit this year. Between guests coming in and out, the wet December weather, and our playful dog, our carpet was constantly exposed to slush, snow, and mud. We like to set up some easier to clean rugs by the doors to catch most of the mud, but I like to do a walk through of the main living areas after guests leave to make sure no mud or food (or wine!) stains made their way to some hard to see places on our couches or rugs. We also had younger kids around this year, which was extra motivation to take a closer look around!
6| Bonus for Pet Owners: Check the Floors!
Our dog loves food. She loves food so much that she seems to constantly be looking for it. We do our best to keep the floors extra clean because of this, but during holidays we have kids and grown ups walking around the house with food and drinks, so it’s important to not only check the usual areas (kitchen, dinning room, breakfast nook, etc.), but go around the house and make sure you vacuum or sweep thoroughly around all the areas where your guests hung out.
I hope you found these tips useful and that they help you start off your 2019 with a clean home! And if you still need a hand, give us a call! We’d be happy to meet with you and see how we can help.