I’ve spent the last two weeks preparing my home, to be prepared for the holidays. Did that make sense?! I want my house to be clean and orderly as we enjoy the holiday season. But holiday joy for me, is not scrubbing floors or toilets!
So I’ve been busy getting it clean – even though Christmas is a full 3 weeks away. Last week I spent the better part of 2 days cleaning – we’re talking deep cleaning! I wiped down baseboards, got fingerprints off the walls, dusted the photos on the walls, got every surface in the bathrooms… This may seem contrary to my previous posts about keeping perspective, but actually I don’t think it is.
You see, I would love to have all of these tasks completed within a few days of guests arriving, but that’s not going to happen if I’m going to have any fun – or sleep for that matter. I’ve learned to do a deep clean in advance, and then let it go. I won’t be dusting or vacuuming our upstairs again until January, let alone baseboards, walls….. Now let me clarify that we have no pets, and don’t wear shoes in the house which goes along way in making this possible. But, I’m the only cleaning lady this house has and she is taking some time off for the holidays!
I’ll still do some routine cleaning on the main floor, and clean the guest bath (aka the kids bath) another time or two – otherwise it could get scary in here! But if I do a good cleaning of the whole house a few weeks before, quick cleaning is sufficient from there on out. This allows me time to enjoy cooking and pulling together the other last minute holiday details that I enjoy so much more!
A few helpful things in accomplishing this are Clorox Wipes, and a bottle of Vinegar & water. I use vinegar and water on almost every surface – except my granite counter tops, and leather ottoman. I don’t have to store it behind a child safe lock, it is safe for almost any surface and even cleans glass and mirrors. For those of you that don’t like the smell, when diluted with water – I use about 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar – it really doesn’t smell very strong, and fades quickly. Before guests arrive, or when it is just time to spiff things up a bit for the fam… I grab my vinegar bottle and paper towels and am done in no time.
Let me say… This post is not about encouraging you to add any deep cleaning to your “to do list”. It is really the opposite, it is about letting go. No one sees the dirt in your house that you do, and if they do they don’t care nearly as much as you do. People comment on how clean my house always is. They are comparing my highlight reel to their daily reality. And, let me tell you I can always point out some seriously NOT clean spots in my house – like the toothpaste on bathroom cabinets, milk below the bar stools where my kids eat most of their meals, and the crazy spots in the bathroom that my 2 boys seem to “spray”! I can always show you things that need cleaning in my house, just as you can find them in your house. Do a good cleaning, and let it go – take a vacation!