Best Post-Holiday Clean Up and Organization Tips
Holidays are over, and your home might be a bit messy. However, you shouldn’t despair because this means you can reorganize your home a little. Get your cleaning gloves on, involve the whole family and start bringing your precious home back into its previous state.
Take off the Decorations
You have put in a lot of energy and time to put up the holiday decorations, and you should invest equal care and energy into taking them off. Otherwise, you are facing an annoying headache next year. So, to neatly organize and clean up the decorations you should keep the Christmas lights from tangling by nicely wrapping them around the empty tubes of wrapping paper. Also, you should carefully take down all the other ornaments into a box, instead of just tossing them inside. As far as wrapping paper is concerned you can always repurpose it and use it for wrapping the ornaments to keep them safe, or simply recycle it.
Check for Stains
During the holidays, there was a lot of food in your house and probably a lot of people. This combination can leave a lot of stains. However, as soon as you are left alone, make sure to check for any stains on your furniture and carpeting. If they are left to sit for long, it will be more difficult to get them out. On each stain, you should use a spray bottle to lightly spray the mixture of mild dishwasher and warm water. Blot the stain with a paper towel and continue spraying and blotting until the stain is gone. After, rinse the spot with clean water and blot dry it. For some tougher stains, such as those caused by candle wax, put a brown paper bag on the tablecloth and iron it; the heat will remove the wax. Lastly, for any red wine stains pour some white wine on it and wash with cold water and ammonia.
Clean the Air
A lot of guests means a lot of stuffy air in your home, and there probably were some smokers. That is why you need to air out the house and do your best to restore the air quality or even improve it. Start by opening up all the doors and windows to get the bad air out. However, if it is too cold outside you can do the same by turning on some fans or AC. For better effect, you should invest in some of the best air purifiers on the market and improve the quality of the air in your home in no time. Plus, because of the variety of their sizes and designs, you can easily improve the interior décor and the mood of your whole family.
Bathroom Scrub
You might find a big mess in your bathroom, but if you give it a good scrub, you will feel rewarded since the difference will be so obvious. Use your homemade toxin-free cleaning products and scrub the shower, bathtub and the toilet. After everything is rinsed, wipe down the sink and the mirrors and thoroughly wash the towels. At the end, wipe the floors with the mop and light a scented candle to create a soothing environment.
Ditch the Unnecessary Stuff
You probably got plenty of presents during the holidays, and that means that you can get rid of some of the old stuff. Replace any old kitchen utensils and appliances with the new ones you got. Also, any old clothes can be easily recycled or given to the ones less fortunate. Additionally, this post-holiday cleaning is a perfect time for going through all of your things and your kid’s toys and deciding what you can throw out or give away. What’s more, this is a perfect project for the whole family to enjoy.
As you can see, the end of the holidays doesn’t have to be bad. Use your creativity to reorganize some things in your home, give away some of your old things and make someone else happier. A clean house puts everyone in the right mindset to start this new year, so enjoy it.
