HOLIDAY PREPARATION TIPS

It’s the Holiday Season! Are You Ready?

The holiday season means great food and quality time with family. Unfortunately, when some of us think of the holidays, we imagine piles of dishes, busy schedules and pressure to entertain guests. Holidays are a wonderful reason to celebrate! Don’t let the duties of entertaining and cleaning keep you from a good time.

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Use this list to organize your tasks. If possible, get everyone in the household involved.

• Don’t procrastinate. You don’t have to set aside four or six consecutive hours to get the job done. Clean your home in little blocks of time over the next few days to spread out the workload.
• Get everyone in the household involved, including kids who are old enough.
• Start with the entryways, foyer and central closet area to create room for guest coats.
• The next day, take a small block of time to clean bathrooms, hallways and sitting areas.
• Next, clean bedrooms and any other areas your guests may encounter.
• Consider buying a microfiber cloth and mophead.

Cleaning After the Holidays

It’s holiday party season, which means there’s plenty of time to spend with family and friends. But for party hosts, it also means a lot of cleanup after the guests have left. Give your home a fresh start in time for the new year – or maybe just your next party – with easy holiday cleaning tips!

• Say goodbye to unwanted gifts. It’s the thought that counts, but don’t let good intentions add additional clutter to your post-holiday house. If guests insist on bringing a gift, request an edible food item everyone can enjoy. Otherwise, return gifts that didn’t work out. If it would be appropriate, consider giving those gifts to the charity of your choice. Holiday cleaning will be easier without those extra items.
• Go through the holiday cards you got in the mail, and make a list of who sent them to you. Use this as a thank-you list or the start to your Christmas card list for next year. Then recycle cute cards by cutting the images, attaching string and using them as free gift tags. Throw the ones you don’t want in the recycling bin, and your after-party cleaning will be well underway.
• Clean the guest bedroom. Wash the bedsheets in warm or hot water with a capful of white vinegar to ensure they are fresh. While the sheets are in the dryer, use your vacuum’s upholstery attachment to clean the mattress thoroughly, paying special attention to the seams. Replace the bedding and fluff the pillows to make your next guests comfortable.
• When you take down Christmas lights, you’ll save yourself time next year if you put them away using one simple trick: Wrap strings of lights around a piece of cardboard or a paper towel tube to keep them organized and easy to unravel next season. This also keeps you from being the neighbor who still has strings of outdoor Christmas lights up on Valentine’s Day.
• When is your trash pickup service collecting Christmas trees? Find out so you can get your tree curbside in accordance with the collection times. It’s easier to clean up after your party if you don’t have to worry about pine needles spreading through the house.

Tips to Get Your Home Ready for Holiday Guests

Guests and the holiday season go together. And sometimes, guests show up on short notice. It’s part of the fun and excitement of the season. Beezy Bee Maids is here to share ideas for how to quickly get your home ready when family members, friends or neighbors drop by on short notice.

• All hands on deck! Mobilize the whole family in the kitchen, and hand out cleaning/decluttering assignments. Focus first on high-traffic, visible areas.
• It’s the holidays, so have snacks available. How amazing would it be to have cookie dough on hand to pop in the oven? Fresh cookies straight from the oven, and the amazing smell that comes with them, are incredibly welcoming.
• Be sure the family is presentable. Who needs a new shirt? Who has a stain on their pants? Who’s still wearing pajamas? No one expects you to be dressed up for a pop-in visit, but a hat or a ponytail holder can do wonders for unwashed hair!
• Hit Play, and have Christmas music in the background.
• Almost done. Finally, do a quick walk-through of the house. Do the bathrooms have clean hand towels and toilet paper? Are there any messes or tripping hazards left, like kids’ toys in the hallways? Coffee table organized? Carry a laundry basket around to quickly collect stray items, and stash the basket in a closet to address later. Lastly, check on those cookies before the doorbell rings!