Easy, Quick Holiday House Cleaning

The holidays are quickly approaching...before you know it Jack Frost will be nipping at your nose. The holidays have a funny way of sneaking up on us. Soon your house will be filled with guests, covered in decorations and stuffed with food and presents. Now, all you have to do is cook, decorate and CLEAN. So where do you begin? Here are some easy, sneaky tips to get you house clean fast!

First, you need to dust. Start with all the light fixtures and ceiling fans, since you're starting top first, you can quickly wipe the dust straight to the floor (we'll vacuum later). Next, do knickknacks and holiday decor... an easy way to clean fast- put all porcelain, glass, and china into the sink, spray with glass cleaner, and wipe. Lastly, on to furniture. Cleaning wipes are a cheap way to get the job done faster, and becomes more manageable when you're cleaning candle holders and little Santa's.

Now, you're onto the floors. Start with the Vacuum- vacuum everything carpets, wood floors, tile, bathrooms, couches, EVERYTHING. You don't want dust in your house on party day and you don't want guests sneezing over your hairy Golden Retriever. Then, mop, polish, scrub, and dry. Start with scrubbing tiles with a push scrub brush to eliminate stuck on particles. Mop with a squeezable handle and rinse every 5 strokes, the last thing you want is dirty, black streak marks on your floor. Hardwood floors- Murphy's Oil works wonders! *Holiday Hint*- use a 1/2 cup peppermint in your mop water to add a fresh smell that lasts all night.

Quickly let's run through the bathrooms- TAKE EVERYTHING OUT. You don't need knickknacks or rugs in your way. The, spray, spray, spray. Start with the walls, inside the toilet, outside of the toilet...you get the hint, then scrub and dry.  Replace all your old, dirty hand towels and replace them with easy clean up, sanitary paper towels. 

We're almost done...let's run through the kitchen. Load and set the dish washer, and again take everything off the counters. Spray scrub and dry. Be sure to wipe and sanitize all appliances before returning them to the counters. Wipe cabinet doors Goo Be Gone is great for stuck on grease. Clean the stove- doors, handles and
all. Take coupons, hand drawn pictures and magnets off your cluttered refrigerator doors, wipe and dry.

You're all done! Now simply empty the dishwasher and get ready to wrap...presents that is!