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Holiday Tips: Cleaning & Organizing Your Home Before The Holidays

It is safe to say that most people want to get their homes cleaned and organized before the upcoming holidays. II is best to start now to avoid extra stress during these busy weeks. For parents with young children, it is a terrific idea to help kids sort through their toy collection. Things that are broken should be discarded. Anything not played with but still in good condition can be given to local charities that find presents for kids. This is an excellent time for women to organize their closets. Put aside stained or in bad shape clothing. These can be used as rags or discarded. Garments that are out of style, clothes that no longer fit, and wardrobe pieces that have gone unused can all be donated to organizations that give away clothing.

Find laundry baskets and place them in the main rooms. Each day place items found in the wrong spots into a basket. When baskets get full, put away things where they belong. Anything found that is broken, not needed, or too old should be thrown away. Try to do short cleaning bursts on a regular basis. Get to those areas not normally cleaned often. Sort junk drawers, go through the mail, organize shoes, dust corners and baseboards and take a long duster or clean wring mop to ceiling fixtures.

Wash curtains, vacuum mattresses, dust pictures and throw out those unused bathroom items. Nobody really needs 25 bottles of lotion. Go through dresser drawers, wash company dishes, polish silver, and organize kitchen cabinets. Try to clean small areas to keep from becoming too tired. As things start looking better, your momentum is bound to kick in. Remember to figure out where the Christmas tree will be. Rearrange the furniture to suit your holiday decor. Wash the winter bedding and get the dust out from under the beds.

Clean the refrigerator, stove, microwave, and toaster. Get those appliances typically not wiped down. Bring out the holiday towels and clean the carpets. Give the bathroom a thorough scrubbing. Try to find places for everything. Get creative with baskets, shelves, and containers to store items neatly out of sight. Enlist kids to help. It is amazing what they can get done. Consider offering a small allowance to be used for their Christmas shopping. Make the job fun, turn upbeat music on, and don’t overdo it. Follow up cleaning day with hot chocolate and a family movie.

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