As you approach the holiday season, prepare your home for guests and celebrations in these 10 ways:
1. Clean and Freshen Up the Kitchen
As you prepare for holiday cooking, it is the perfect time to thoroughly clean your kitchen, including the oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher. You might have your counters, floors, and backsplashes professionally cleaned, to remove stains and prepare for holiday cooking. This is also the perfect time to replace any broken appliances in preparation for holiday cooking.
2. Have Your Carpets and Rugs Cleaned
When your guests look over your holiday home, carpets and rugs may dominate the view, especially if they are stained or dirty. You also want your carpets and rugs to look great for family pictures and photos of gift-opening. This is the perfect time of year to have your carpets professionally cleaned to remove stains, lift odors, and make your carpets look like new.
3. Protect Your Flooring
If you have hardwood, tile, or linoleum floors, these can be damaged by snow and salt tracked in during the winter months. If you plan to have many visitors walking around your home, you will want to protect your floors from damage. Update your entry rugs (or add them) and if your floors require waxing, have this completed before the winter months.
4. Deep Clean Your Bathrooms
Most people think of cleaning their sinks and toilets, in preparation for guests. But your visitor’s attention might be grabbed by a moldy and stained shower, floor and wall tiles, which are difficult to clean by yourself. If your tiles and grout are looking off-color or mildewed, the holiday season might be the perfect time to book professional tile and grout cleaning.
5. Freshen Up Your Upholstery
Just like carpets and rugs, your couches, throw pillows, and curtains can absorb stains and odors over time. You can purchase cleaning agents and take care of this yourself, but it can be challenging work. Home upholstery cleaning can lead to discoloration and chemical residue being left in the upholstery. Save yourself time and risk by choosing professional upholstery cleaning for fresh, clean couches.
6. Child-Proof Your Home
If your guests are bringing small children, you will want to make your home safe for them. To start, put outlet protectors in on open electrical outlets. You may also want to install devices that make it difficult for children to open cabinets, doors, and toilets.
7. Remove Clutter
You want your home to look nice and inviting. Remove unnecessary clutter by consolidating your belongings, and disposing of unneeded items or putting them into storage.
8. Prepare for Emergencies
With lots of cooking, children running around, and new traffic and activity in your home, accidents can happen. Prepare for emergencies, such as injuries, by having a first-aid kit on hand (or re-stocking your existing kit). Put together a Spill Survival Kit to deal with accidental spills and marks quickly to prevent staining.
9. Make Your Home Warm and Cozy
If you have a fireplace, prepare it for use over the holidays. Stock up on firewood, if needed. Purchase scented candles and matches or lighters. These will bring a warm glow to your home. Make sure you have plenty of blankets for guests, who may be staying overnight or those who just want to curl up in front of the fireplace and watch holiday movies.
10. Decorate for the Holidays
This is the fun part of preparing your home for holiday guests! Get your Christmas tree or Holiday decorations and put it in place. Hang garlands on your banisters and set out your decorations to get everyone into the holiday spirit.
With these 10 simple steps, you can make your home warm, welcoming and clean for your guests and family over the holiday season!
