These holiday cleaning tips post are brought to you by Swiffer® as part of a Type-A Parent Community Sponsored Post.
Holidays are stressful. Whether you are hosting or traveling for them, cleaning is one of the last things you want to worry about. I know when I’m traveling, I like to leave the house spotless, so I can come home to a spotless house and just relax at the end of a trip. If I’m hosting friends and family, then again, a spotless home is something I hope to achieve before the guests arrive. However, with three boys and a husband who works crazy hours, this is hardly the case for me.
I have found a few tips and tricks over the years from friends, family and even the beloved website Pinterest, that have helped me cut the cleaning time without cutting corners. Here are five of those tips I’ve found that I want to share with you.
#5 Hire Help
No really. Most maid services are actually quite reasonable. As a gift from my husband, many years ago, he hired a couple of amazing women to come help me clean twice a month. They have been sent from heaven above! I cherish every other Monday when they arrive, and bask in the cleanliness of my home for the few hours before the boys come home and disrupt it all again. I think my husband thought it was a short term gift, but 5 years later and I won’t let them leave. (It’s not like I have them held hostage, although I’ve thought of it!)
#4 Use Gadgets
There are so many products on the market that have been created to help you cut your cleaning time. Robot vacuums that go about the house, scaring cats and small children. Extension poles galore to help you dust, wash, wax, dry everything out of reach. Special nozzles and sprays, putty and microfibers, gizmos and gadgets galore! I’m a swiffer gal myself and love using their dusters. I recently received a Swiffer Bissell Steamboost Mop. It’s the best of both brands, combined into one gadget! Mop the floor with the Swiffer steampads and use the bissell steam to help with the tough spots. It works perfectly! (or so my cleaning gals said 😉 )
#3 Enforce Rules
My kids know when it’s time to chip in and go above and beyond their normal chores. It might be the twinkle in my eye or the loudness of my harping, either way, it’s gets them to get in on the cleaning fun. (hahahaha I said cleaning was fun. Surely I typed this while sipping coffee on a Monday when my cleaning gals were here.) My kids also know when we are getting the house is tiptop shape for any occasion, special rules may follow. Use a coaster, no food in the family room, no sneaking snacks in your bedroom, take out the trash when full and don’t try to just carefully balance the new piece of trash on the heap. Rules like these will help!
#2 De-Clutter First
You know those piles of papers you promised yourself you’d get to eventually? Or the stack of toys on the stairs waiting to go to the kids rooms? Yeah, I have those too. When starting to clean, I tackle the clutter before getting to the scrubbing. That way I’m not just moving piles, cleaning and moving piles back, only to have the house look exactly the same as it did pre-cleaning. Every night I try to do a 10 minute clutter cleanup. I set a timer and go to one of the hotspots in the house (usually the kitchen island) and find homes for everything I can in 10 minutes. Most of the time, when the timer goes off, I’m in such a groove I just keep going, but it’s nice to know I can stop at the 10 minute mark and just set a new timer later if everything hasn’t been dealt with.
#1 Keep Your Cleaning Arsenal Handy
Whether it be a spot under the sink or in the laundry room, having a “one stop shop” for all of your cleaning supplies makes it easy to find what you need, when you need it. I have two oblong buckets that hold various cleaners, dusters, sponges, etc. and a tall closet that holds all of the Swiffers and sweepers and mops, etc. When I’m making my shopping list, I go to that spot and make sure we have enough dish soap, the sponges aren’t funky and the Method window cleaner is full and minty fresh (is there anything better than mint scented cleaner?!). That way I’m never in my cleaning groove and find that I can’t finish because we are out of something.
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The Swiffer BISSELL® SteamBoost
is a steam mop that deeply penetrates dirt and helps remove messes mops can leave behind. Fill it with water, attach a Steam Pad and plug it in. No other cleaning solutions are needed.
The special Steam Pads have a steam-activated, dirt-dissolving cleaning solution that pulls dirt from surfaces and locks it away. SteamBoost is light, easy to use and safe on tile, finished wood and laminate floors.*
*Do not use on waxed or unfinished wood floors.
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This sponsored post was brought to you by Swiffer®. For a limited time, get a $15 prepaid card when you purchase a SteamBoost Steam Mop Starter Kit between 11/24/13 and 12/31/13. Swiffer BISSELL® SteamBoost combines a dirt-dissolving cleaning solution with the power of steam for a deep clean that gets messes mops can leave behind. Also be sure to like Swiffer on Facebook and follow @swiffer on Twitter.
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disclosure: This post is part of a campaign with Type-A Parent and Swiffer. All thoughts, opinions and tips are mine and honest.