The holidays fill a house swiftly. The kitchen gets busier and busier, the dining room is fuller and fuller, kids are bringing in friends from school, and pets are everywhere when the food starts cooking! It’s easy for a well organised house to feel overrun by the addition of visiting family members, more shoes at the front door and a few spilt drinks.
The great news is that it’s not a tidy house that’s required when hosting a holiday. It needs just a plan that will allow the busiest parts of the area to remain accessible, ensure cleanup is easy, and provide extra time for those gathered around the table.
A week before visitors come, the same
The optimal time to do tasks that can be a source of stress later is a week before guests are to arrive. The first room to look at is the entry room because this is the first room you will encounter when you enter and where shoes, coats, bags and dirt from outdoors can be left.
Clear the hallway of any clutter, designate a space to hang coats and install a mat to encourage people to remove their shoes. If pets are present in the household, look for muddy paw prints, hair and food scattered around their resting places.
Clear away mail, school papers and other appliances that are not needed for holiday cooking from counter tops in the kitchen. This will allow you to prepare your meals and will make it easier to clean up spills as they occur.
Guest bedrooms and shared living areas, as well as bathrooms, can also be given a quick boost. The intent is not to clean every nook and cranny but to make rooms that guests will occupy feel comfortable and welcoming.
The spill plan for the kitchen and dining area
Cooking during the holidays makes for a special type of mess. Counters get dusted with flour, there are sauces splashing around the kitchens, crumbs can be found under the table and drinks sometimes fall on the ground. It’s better to learn how to clean up spills in little bits than a large block.
Wipe counters when cooking, clean counters after meals for larger crumbs, and clean sticky counters before they dry. A wet dry vacuum may be helpful to sweep up dry debris and light moisture in one sweep for compatible sealed hard floors, particularly after the family meal.
A wet-dry tineco s7 FLOOR ONE S7 Stretch Steam is one of the floor steamers that can be used for daily use in a family household for hard floors. Like any other type of floor cleaning machine it is best used on floors that the floor manufacturer states are suitable for water or steam.
Dried-on kitchen messes can be more challenging. Please refer to the type of floor, finish and manufacturer recommendations prior to using any steam function. Steam can be used in some acceptable hard floors but not all floors.
Footprints in the entry way and overnight animals
The entryway is very busy during the holidays! Shoes are trudged in by guests, children tramp in and out and the pets follow the parade in between the garden, the kitchen and the living room. Most of that traffic can be kept from working its way throughout the house with a few simple habits.
Have mat outside and mat inside door. Designate an area for shoes and coats. Place a towel at the door for when you are going out for a walk after it has rained. Have a small basket or tray at the front door to put boots and wet things in.
In group meetings, monitor the entry way several times throughout the day, not just at the end of the day. Quick sweeping or spot cleaning can prevent dirt from making its way into the main living areas.
The tineco s7 FLOOR ONE S7 Stretch Ultra is one of the models that is made for low-clearance cleaning and collecting crumbs and debris. It can be helpful to measure any bed or sofa prior to purchase to see if the device will fit under it.
Different tools are needed for rugs, sofas and upholstery
Rugs, sofas and upholstered chairs are used more than they normally would be in the living room during holiday gatherings. These spots catch crumbs, pet fur, dust and even occasionally a dropped snack!
Hard floors are not intended for hard floor cleaners. Rugs and upholstery do not require wet cleaning – their cleaning should be done by dry pickup. A vacuum cleaner with debris attachments and a cordless vacuum is useful to clean cushions, rugs, stairs, corners to remove hair and debris.
Vacuuming of sofas and rugs before and after guests are present may be possible for these households that have pets. This helps to maintain a pleasant environment without making cleaning a big job.
After-party 15-minute cleanup
After everyone has gone home, there’s a tendency to do all. The alternative is a quick 15-minute reset to avoid the mess getting out of hand.
Begin picking up cups and plates and any easily seen trash. Put any cushions or blankets back where they belong. Scoop up or use a wad of paper to gather any large crumbs on the dining surface and kitchen. Clean tables, counters and take care of any dirt on tables if there is some.
The tineco s9 FLOOR ONE S9 Artist Pro is a wet-dry vacuum model that families can use for holiday hosting vacuum hard floors compatible with sealed hard floors. It’s a tool that should be viewed in the context of a routine, rather than a requirement to hosting success.
When you’re done, open a window for a few minutes, dust the entryway mat and put away all items for the next day. The next morning is a lot easier with a short respite.
How to select tools without getting carried away?
Those who are thinking about hosting a holiday might think that the hosting home will need to buy new equipment, but most homes already have a lot more cleaning tools than they use. Before putting anything, take the time to reflect on where messes occur.
If a large number of spills are occurring on sealed, hard surfaces, a dry/wet floor washer might be optioned. A cordless dry vacuum can be more helpful if pet hair on the sofas and rugs is the more pressing problem. Steam might be useful in the kitchen if dried-on residues regularly accumulate there; however, steam may only be used if the flooring surface is capable of being used for steam.
Storage, brush cleaning and charging and an emptying of the storage tanks are important as well. Even with a lot of features, a difficult-to-maintain device can be not used much.
