Getting your home ready to host guests for holiday gatherings can be stressful, especially if maintaining a tidy, clutter-free home isn’t exactly your forte. One of the most important things you can do to ensure the process of preparing your home is as stress-free as possible is to give yourself adequate time to complete everything on your to-do list.
If that list starts getting too daunting, consider breaking your large “cleaning list” up into smaller, more manageable tasks to complete in the days leading up to your event. Depending on the current state and cleanliness of your home you may need more or less time to prepare, but the following is an example of how you could break up an arduous cleaning list into much more manageable daily tasks.
Day 1: Identify Areas That Need Attention and Come Up with a Strategy
Use this initial day to do a thorough walk through of your home (both inside and out) to identify all the areas you’ll need to clean, fix, organize, etc. Put yourself in your guests’ shoes and look out for messes they may be more likely to notice than you – someone who lives there and likely overlooks all the imperfections that fresh eyes may catch.
After doing your walk through, write down a detailed list of all the tasks you’ll need to complete before your guests arrive.
Day 2: Hit the Floors
If it’s been some time since you’ve had your carpets professionally cleaned and/or deodorized, there’s no better time to do this than soon before your guests arrive. Not only will it make your carpets look as good as new, it will eliminate the accumulation of dirt, dust, allergens and other pollutants that have become trapped deep within your carpet fibers, thereby improving your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ).
To learn about the specialized hot-water extraction method used by Blackmon Mooring’s carpet cleaning technicians’ view our service page for more details.
Day 3: Tackle the Bathrooms
You can often get away with not cleaning certain areas of your home like the laundry room, garage, and your bedroom, but the bathroom certainly isn’t one of them. If they’re dirty, you can be sure your guests will notice. Scrub the toilets, eliminate all clutter, take out the trash and scrub the shower, bathtub, sink, counters and all other surfaces until they’re sparkling clean. Be sure to also go through your medicine cabinet/vanity and remove anything you wouldn’t want your guests to see or have access to.
Day 4: Organize and Straighten Up Guest Areas
Use this day to ensure your guests will have plenty of space to sit, stand and mingle before, during and after the party. Declutter all rooms, straighten up all end tables, entryways/walkways and clear out the coat closet so your guests can quickly make themselves at home. If you have throw/area rugs, this is a good time to clean them or set them aside if time doesn’t allow for a thorough cleansing.
Day 5: Clean the Kitchen from Top to Bottom
You’ll be using your kitchen constantly during the day of your event, so make sure everything is cleaned and organized accordingly. Your guests will likely offer to help you with the cooking/dishes/etc., so make sure the refrigerator is clean, all surfaces are disinfected and spotless, the floors are mopped and the trash/recycling receptacles are clean, empty and easy to see.
Does the tile in your kitchen need a good cleaning, along with the grout? Our tile and grout cleaning services use specialized cleaning solutions combined with a high-pressure hot water rinse and vacuum recovery system to ensure that even the hardest to reach grime is removed.
Day 6: Show Your Gathering Spaces Some Extra TLC
Use this time to polish up the rooms in which your guests will be spending the majority of their time. Vacuum all flooring surfaces and furniture, dust all tables, bookshelves, electronic appliances, etc. (don’t forget the ceiling fans!) and put up any festive décor/finishing touches you desire.
If you’re not exactly sure how to go about cleaning your furniture, or you want to make sure it’s getting a deep, professional grade clean, Blackmon Mooring is the company to call. Our professional upholstery and furniture cleaning services will have your furniture looking and smelling as good as new in no time. Whether your upholstered furniture could use extensive deodorization and decontamination or you simply want all your gathering space furniture to be refreshed by highly trained, professional hands, we’ll take care of it with ease.
This is also a great time to utilize our DuPont™ Teflon® Fabric Protector on any upholstered furniture you expect your guests to use, as it can work wonders when it comes to protecting against stains.
Day 7: Set Up and Touch Up
Use this last day to do one final sweep through your home and make sure all trash is emptied, the couch cushions are fluffed and there are plenty of napkins, silverware, dinnerware, clean hand towels, hand soap, etc. Sweep or go through each room one more time with the vacuum and set up all party areas, including setting the table(s), setting up food/beverage stations, prepping your food and finishing up anything else that’s necessary to carry out your festivities.
You Took Care of the “Before” Cleaning, Now Let Us Handle the “After” Part
Having friends, family, coworkers or neighbors over to celebrate the holidays is one of the most joyous parts of each year. But once the party is over, you’ll likely have a whole new list of things to clean (like that stain from your cousin spilling cranberry sauce on your couch) and chores to carry out before the New Year rolls around.
You did the legwork in the days (if not weeks) leading up to your festivities, so why not let the experts at Blackmon Mooring help take care of the aftermath? Here are just some of the services we provide that can help ensure your home looks and feels as good as new heading into 2017:
For more information on our services or to speak to a technician at Blackmon Mooring, give us a call today!