Cleaning for Guests

THE INLAWS ARE COMING, THE INLAWS ARE COMING! It’s the holiday season, a time for joy and family. That’s right, I said family. The beginning of holiday season marks the beginning of family flocking from wherever they usually dwell to your house for whatever you celebrate. Which also means it’s time to get your house so clean that it looks like nobody else lives there the rest of the year. But how do you avoid the running yourself ragged trying to get the house ready and eventually giving up and resort to throwing the stuff you don’t know what to do with in some closet?

First, start early. Figure out whatever is going to take time or professional help and do it NOW! Do you need to exterminate? Deep clean the carpets and upholstery? Replace light bulbs that you can’t change without special tools? Replace appliances so your mom doesn’t think your poor when she sees that your toaster’s half broken and your microwave barely works?  Get on that stuff as ASAP. Your house could be spotless but if there are things that aren’t working properly in your house that’s the fastest way for you to receive familial side eye.

The next step is to start the next most difficult and time-consuming projects. Start decluttering, go room by room and give everything you need to keep a place to belong, so it’s not just scattered around trying to belong. Do the little detail things. Clean surfaces you don’t usually think about, the walls, baseboards, windows, shower curtain, ceiling fan blades, doors, etc. 

Then I would focus on the kitchen. This room of the house tends to take a good amount of work and take a good amount of time. Clean the oven and all other appliances, kitchen cabinets, the fridge (inside and out), and polish surfaces.

We’re getting down to the smaller things. Focus on all the floors, sweep, mop, vacuum. Clean and sanitize garbage cans. Clean bathrooms, wash all guest towels and linens.
Finally, do the finishing touches. Go over anything that has had a chance to undo itself during this process. Sweep the porch and walkway, do a last wipe down of surfaces, make sure guests’ rooms are put together and tidy.