The holiday is fast approaching and so is the anxiety to get the house in order before all the holiday chaos starts. We keep buying random stuff throughout the year and this is a great time to get rid of the junk and only keep the things we want. There are 5 steps that you can follow to prepare the house for the holiday.
Declutter Junk
Starting with decluttering the junk items is the first step in getting your house ready for the holiday. Go room by room with a trash bag and start dumping all the unused, sitting-in-the-dust items that you are never going to use in your life. It also includes furniture and other big or small items that you would like to donate. There is a free service that I use called donatestuff.com and they will come to your doorstep and grab all of your donations for free.
Declutter Toys
Another huge part of getting your house ready for the holiday, if you have small kids, is decluttering the millions of toys all around the house. They are going to get a bunch of new toys for Christmas. You need space for the new ones so the old ones must go. Take your sweet time to go through the toys and only keep the ones that you and our kids like. You can also take it up a notch to get some organizers if you haven’t already and create a clean set for the kids to make all kinds of mess.
Related topic: Toy Organization Ideas
Make Room for the Christmas Tree
There are so many, including myself, who don’t think about the setup or the location of the Christmas Tree beforehand and end up messing with the room organization after all the decluttering is done. Writing a note to myself and encouraging you not to do that this year and to plan ahead for the location and layout of the furniture accordingly.
Deep Clean the House
Once your house is free of random clutter and everything has a place to go, start deep cleaning the entire house. You can either hire a cleaning service to clean the big spaces and you can tackle the small spaces or if you decide to do it yourself, follow a cleaning schedule to keep you on track. You can download my FREE THANKSGIVING CHECKLISTS for this step. After that, all you do is maintain cleanliness and do your regular tidy-up at the end of each day.
Setup the Guest Room
If you are expecting overnight guests during the holiday, it might be a good idea to start decorating and put together that room first. Because often or not the guest room becomes the catch-all for the entire house.
Start by ensuring the room is clean and clutter-free, with freshly laundered linens and extra blankets readily available. Consider adding some festive touches, such as holiday-themed pillows or a small tabletop Christmas tree. Ensure there’s ample lighting and provide convenient amenities like a bedside table with water and snacks.
