It’s After Holiday Cleanup Time

It's After Holiday Cleanup TimeSure the holidays are a festive time full of family and friends, but they can be one messy time as well. You’ll have to do some heavy duty cleaning before and after, and perhaps some tips can help you enjoy it.

That’s the keyword right there, joy. It’s more fun cleaning up after a good time or before a good time than the regular routine regimen. As we prepare for holiday revelers or clean up after them, we remember the good times had and there’s a smile on our faces as we sweep and dust and generally clean.

That being said, before the fun begins, you might have to clean up stored decorations from the previous year. Dust them off if need be and wipe them off to get that fresh look. For non electrical things you can use simple homemade solutions like dish soap and warm water or vinegar and water. Some ornaments might have been stained for any reason and a quick inspection will reveal them and you can set up a good time to clean them up. If you use the same artificial tree, inspect it for pet play as the critters have a tendency to sneak in boxes and play around when you don’t know it. Same goes for bugs and maybe a mouse or two. A good inspection will tell if cleanup is required.

Of course the guest room or rooms will need a good going over if they’ve not been used for a while. Clean sheets and covers, pillows, wipe down the walls, change light bulbs, clean wastebaskets and if there’s a connecting bathroom that too will need to be taken care of. All these guest cleaning chores can be done with average household products. Even after the holiday fun, a good cleaning is in order. What’s important is to look for errors such as left plugged in chords from cell phones and computers, perhaps left over equipment or personal items. Just collect them and mail them to the owners and you should be okay.

If you’ve pets, that means triple checking your regular pet cleaning regimen. The reason for this is because pets become extra active during festive times. The excitement translates to them that they can play more and associate more. With extra people in the house the more interaction can occur and that means more fur flying as well as wear and tear on household objects. At the end of each night do a quick check to look for fur or hair or pet toys laying about and any times that met with some extra chewing need to be discarded as well as any other messes that may have come about.

Finally, packing everything away should call for order. Clean and itemize each item and if you can, wrap them in plastic to keep dust off. If you haven’t yet done so, add tags to things so you can easily identify them.
If you use a real tree for Christmas as well as other plants, you’ll have to clean up after them as well and dispose of them properly. Trees will drop needles on the curb or front lawn waiting for pickup so you’ll have to go out there and clean that up as well. If you’re throwing away decorations make sure they’re in bags and secured so that the wind won’t blow them all over.

All in all, cleaning for the holidays is going to be a chore but you can have fun by playing holiday music while you do. It makes for a responsible and fun time all in one.

Image credit: vanilladesign

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