Total Free in Holiday Home Entertaining

The key to entertaining company for the holidays is preparation. Certainly, you can't predict what will happen once your friends and family walk through the door, but you can, at least, welcome them into a cleaned and organized home. Use these tips from Carvalho's Cleaning to make sure that your holiday plans go off without a hitch.

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Total Free in Holiday Home Entertaining

The holiday season tends to be one of the busiest travel times of the year. And if you’re not battling security lines at the airport or interstate traffic you are probably preparing for those who are.

The key to entertaining company for the holidays is preparation. Certainly, you can’t predict what will happen once your friends and family walk through the door, but you can, at least, welcome them into a cleaned and organized home. Use these tips from Carvalho’s Cleaning to make sure that your holiday plans go off without a hitch.

Launder and press bed dressings for any overnight guests. Leave clean towels in each guest bedroom and top with a piece of holiday candy to make your guests feel pampered.

Clean out your refrigerator to make room for leftovers. Make sure you have adequate storage containers and space for the extra food before the meals begin. Leave an open box of baking soda inside to absorb any odors your holiday goodies might leave behind.

Clean the inside of the oven and the top of the stove. You don’t want the smell of roast turkey, ham or chicken to be overshadowed by the smell of last Thursday’s meatloaf surprise.

Empty all trash containers. Clean and disinfect inside and out with warm, soapy water and a neutral disinfectant. Drop several extra trash liners inside each container before relining for a quick and easy way to remove future trash when it really starts to pile up.

Clean the tops of ceiling fan blades and inside ceiling lamp globes. Nobody wants to wake up to a plummeting dust bunny!

Dust all surfaces, including areas such as baseboards and windowsills. Pay attention to items you’ll want to show off to your holiday guests, like collectibles and picture frames.

Vacuum your home from top to bottom, paying attention to areas such as the dining room, living room and kitchen, where people will congregate the most. Don’t forget about your upholstery and hard-surface floors. They collect dust and dirt too!

Make room in your coat closets for your guests’ outerwear. Consider donating any outgrown apparel to a local charity organization.

Have a big family? Plan ahead by moving furniture like small end tables and large potted plants to a spare room to allow for extra chairs and sitting space. Be sure to dust and vacuum the new furniture ” especially if it hasn’t been used in a while.