Friday, December 11, 2009

Household Cleaning Tips for Christmas

Since Christmas is just around the corner....who doesn't need a tip on tidying the house throughout the holidays? Here's a few suggestions from English media personality Anthea Turner, best known for her role in Perfect Housewife, where she taught disorganized housewomen and men how to clean and run their houses.


Anthea's Christmas Cleaning Tips for a Pristine Home


De-clutter

If it is not beautiful, useful or seriously sentimental – get rid of it! Invited a friend who can be ruthless and rid you of things you do not need.

Recycle old magazines, use a lever-arch file to store recipes and magazine articles you want to keep. Tear them out and recycle the rest.

Get rid of the piles of papers and junk sitting on your dining table to let you actually use it for meals with the family.

Clean

Do not let the little jobs build up such as cleaning under the bed, tackling the shower curtain, and cleaning the grouting - old toothbrushes are perfect for scrubbing at those stubborn marks between tiles.

Have cleaning wipes to hand for last-minute clean ups. From the telephone to the bathroom sink, a quick swipe will do the trick.

Wipe dirty marks off the painted walls and skirting boards by gently wiping with a damp cloth and a little all-purpose cleaner.

Ensure your oven is prepared to deal with the Christmas turkey and all the trimmings. Tackle stubborn marks on the grill.

Stainless steel can often look dull with watermarks and sticky fingerprints. Create a Christmas sparkle on your appliances by using a special stainless steel cleaner, which will clean away the sticky finger marks whilst still being gentle on the surface.

Try to do a little cleaning every day up towards Christmas to ensure it does not turn into a mammoth task that you have to tackle the night before.

Organize

Organize yourself by putting systems in place that will help things run more efficiently so you can keep your home looking sparkling clean.

Have filing trays for post coming in and shred all confidential statements that are not needed but taking up space.

Invest in clear storage boxes so items can be filed away but easily located. Anthea’s Christmas Cleaning Crack-down tips

Anyone else have a holiday cleaning tip?


Marin
A Cowboy Christmas *in stores now!*
http://www.marinthomas.com/

6 comments:

Linda Henderson said...

I always appreciate the cleaning tips. I don't have any new ones to add, the decluttering is a good idea for the holidays, or any time for that matter. Happy holidays.

Anonymous said...

Great tips. I like saving recipes and articles before recycling magazines...but what's a lever-arch file?

Also, don't forget to thin out/clean out your coat closet to make room for the guests' winter coats.

Gillian Layne said...

Yes! I am tackling this chore this weekend, and so happy to see your list.

Is gathering items to give to goodwill for a 2009 tax deduction on the list? If not, then that would be my suggestion. It's plenty of motivation to tackle the project now, instead of waiting for January.

Oh my goodness, I just saw who posted this! I bought A Cowboy Christmas a few days ago, and just finished "part one". :) I keep the book in my bedroom so I can hide away and read a bit at a time. Just loving it! :)

Marin Thomas said...

Hi Ladies

lots of good suggestions--I think I have the American Vets # somewhere on my desk and I will give them a call and have them pick up a bag or two of clothes and coats no one wears much anymore--great idea! And great advice to get this done for a 2009 tax deduction.

Gillian--Writing shorter stories is always a challenge so I'm glad to hear you're enjoying A Cowboy Christmas!

Marin

Gillian Layne said...

Hey, I finally finished book--loved it!!!

Marin Thomas said...

Ah, Gillian, you're so sweet! I'm glad you enjoyed A Cowboy Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Marin