Could your home be labeled a holiday disaster zone? Is your floor hidden under a mess of wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, and pine needles? Have you lost track of the carpet stains because of all the holiday parties? Once the holiday cheer is done—or at least the family gatherings are—it can seem impossible to take back your house. Don’t get overwhelmed. There is hope, and a few tips you can use to conquer the holiday mess after all the fun is done.
Divide and conquer
If you have a family of helpers, take advantage. Make a list of cleaning tasks that need to be done, divide the tasks, and designate a day to get to it. Or split up your house by rooms and have each member of your family get it back in order.
Carry your cleaning tools around for fewer interruptions
When you start cleaning your home, gather all your supplies before the cleaning begins. If you do so, you won’t have to stop your cleaning to go after another bottle of cleaner. You can just keep moving from room to room, cleaning as you go—and finishing your holiday cleaning sooner.
Schedule a carpet cleaning
Did an overexcited relative accidentally dump wine on your carpet? Did one of your youngest guests drop their dinner on your new rug? If you have too many stains on your carpet to count, or you’re worried that you’ll never get a serious stain out, bring in the professionals to give your carpet a deep clean.
Disassemble your tree with care
Don’t just pull all the lights off the tree, and throw the ornaments in a box. If you have a real holiday tree, take care when you remove garland, ornaments, and lights off your tree to minimize the amount of needles that hit the floor. As a preventative measure, test your lights to make sure there aren’t any lights out, and wrap them carefully so you don’t have to deal with a tangled light strand next year.
Sort before you store
Try to avoid throwing a pile of presents into a room and closing the door. Sort through your holiday gifts, organize them, and put each gift in a designated place.
Call in the professionals
If you don’t have time to divide and conquer, contact a professional cleaner to get your home under control. You don’t have to pay for a cleaning service doesn’t have to clean your whole home (unless you want them to). Instead, you can give them a list of tasks you don’t have time (or want) to do. The result is a clean house—a true (after) holiday gift.
