The holidays are typically a fun but stressful season. When it comes to your family's Christmas celebrations, surely you'd like a clean, stress-free environment to eat yummy sweets, watch holiday movies, laugh, drink hot cocoa, and open presents in. December will be here before you know it. Here are some tips for tidying up your home that your entire family can be involved in before Christmas arrives.
Perform a Deep Clean
First, deep clean your home. Perhaps give each family member a task or a room to clean. Be sure you have your broom, mop, vacuum, and duster ready to go. Make sure you have disinfectant wipes to get rid of scut on countertops and sinks, too. A deep clean includes cleaning your toilets, showers, and perhaps your fireplace and chimney as well. You may consider cleaning out appliances and being sure all of your sources of heat are clean and working properly before colder weather swoops in during the holiday season.
Did you know that, on average, Americans argue 19 times per month? Don't let your family squabble about who cleans what. Instead, put on some fun Christmas music and clean together as a family. Giving your kids some responsibility in cleaning will allow them to learn how a clean home will positively affect the entire family and what activities you can do as a family once Christmas arrives. Your kids will learn to appreciate some hard work, and perhaps their Christmas presents will reflect what they put into making your home a wonderful place to be during the holiday season. Even if the holidays only consist of your family, you will be pleased that your home is clean once the holidays roll around and more time is spent at home cooking and spending time together.
Get Organized
Households in the United States have, on average, 300,000 things in them. This sounds crazy, right? It must be too many. However, you'd be surprised by how much clutter you have accumulated in the past year, five years, or even the past decade. Perhaps things have gotten stuck in storage bins in your basement, garage, attic, or crawl space that you forgot about. Whether you've started decorating for the holidays or not, consider this your sign to get started on decorating as well as cleaning out your storage of items you truly do not need to have anymore.
First, go through and find your holiday decorations. After setting them aside or using them to decorate your home, get into your other items. Ask yourself, have I used this in the past year? The past five years? It may be time to toss things that will continue to sit in storage. If a piece of decor hasn't seen the light of day in five years, it's probably something that's not your style anymore or doesn't belong in your family home. It may be difficult, but try to toss items that fall into this category.
Next, if you have seasonal decorations and knickknacks in storage, get out your label maker or some tape and a permanent marker. Label your storage bins, and find a spot for them in your basement, garage, or another area in your home that you've designated to hold storage. You may even consider finding a new way to organize, such as investing in some new shelving or storage containers. Either way, decluttering your storage and reorganizing it will give you an idea of what your home does or doesn't need for the holiday season.
Finally, consider decluttering the bedrooms in your home. Have your kids go through and get rid of or donate old clothes, toys, and other knickknacks they've grown out of or don't use anymore. This is a great way to see what your kids may enjoy receiving as Christmas presents as well as what they don't need. Reorganize your bedroom, too. A master bedroom can sometimes accumulate your kids' stuff and other odds and ends that need to find new homes in your house. Perhaps it's time to pull out the trash can or a new storage bin to put these kinds of items in.
Clean Up Your Landscaping
After cleaning and getting organized inside your home, consider fixing up your landscaping, too. Depending on the winter weather you've received, perhaps it's time to get rid of some dangerously positioned trees. A single tree can weigh up to 50 tons or even more - so be sure to get professional help with cutting down big, heavy trees on your property. If you have a garden, consider cleaning out your flower beds as well as taking care of any winter pruning that needs to be done. Once spring arrives, you'll be happy you took the time to perform these useful tasks.
Don't let the stress of the holidays ruin your celebrations. Instead, get the entire family involved in a few winter tidying-up sessions so you can enjoy your clean and organized home when the holidays arrive. Get the hard work done now so you can celebrate holidays in your home with your family stress-free this winter season.
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