The holidays are in full swing, and visitors naturally come along with the holidays. Whether for a week-night family meal, weekend gathering, or small group Bible study, it is a privilege to host others in our homes, but guest planning may often become stressful or overwhelming.
We get the impression that before our visitors come, we need to get the house completely clean and put together, or we find out that the guests are coming over on short-term notice, and we give a glance to our house and say, the house is not ready.
To cope with this situation, I have created a list of last-minute tips to pull the house together.
Light A Candle
For a reason, this is at the top of the list. There will not be enough time to let the fragrance fill the room/house if you hesitate to light a candle as a last touch’. Have the thing burning as you clean, and it should be “seasoned” well by the time your guests arrive.
Don’t Go For Deep Cleaning; Tidy Up
Don’t worry too much about this one. I don’t talk of a deep clean, but put the stray mail away, straighten the towels in your powder room, wipe the counters down. Think of easy tasks that have a major payoff. Don’t get your vacuum out. It would help if you fluffed the pillows on your couch, clear the coffee table, clean out the powder room sink, and fold bath towels to make them look clean.
Make Your Entryway And Living Room Clutter-Free
When visitors arrive to see your entrance, and then you’ll most likely lead them to the living room or whatever other space you’ve allocated to entertain them. Be sure to clear the clutter and excess stuff from these places, where they can enter and walk around your dwelling to make sure you give a great first impression.
If it’s cluttered outside your house, this will entail decluttering your front porch, but more likely, it will require you to declutter your entrance inside your home because the inside is what tends to get more cluttered with daily use.
Tidy Up The Kitchen
You might be tempted to neglect the kitchen if you are expecting formal visitors. Especially if you don’t have an open kitchen or don’t think that your guests are coming in, getting your kitchen clean is something that you should remember. It gets rid of the scent of dirty dishes and trash that could come from it. Empty the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and scrub the surfaces and the cooker’s top to finish the last minute house cleaning. Using a mop or vacuum cleaner, do a simple sweep of the house. It takes just a few minutes to do all these things, but with a clean kitchen counter, you’d be pleased with the result and how much better your home looks.
Next Comes The Bathroom
The bathroom will now be the easiest of them all. Turn the fan on to get rid of odor while you vacuum, to do a quick clean of the bathroom. Clean the toilet bowl with any toilet cleaning products and wait before you wash it off. Wipe the table, the tub, the shower door, and the sink while you wait. Please flush the toilet and turn the fan off. A good freshener will cap your cleaning effort at this stage.
For Coats And Bags, Clear A Spot
If your entryway has a coat rack, empty it to make room for your guests’ belongings. Or, set up the patch for anyone to drop their coat and bag in your bedroom or a guest bedroom.
Turn On Some Music
Switch on some Fairy lights and classic holiday music and cut off the harsh overhead lighting. It’s not only welcoming to set up a cozy, festive atmosphere; it makes your visitors feel like you’ve enjoyed your own time at home. During the holidays, you can get away with making your home a little dimmer, and people attribute that to having to see something in the glow of Christmas lights. Plus, holding those overheads off, along with upping the atmosphere, can help hide imperfections you might have skipped over/missed.
What can help?
Pulling your home together is a job that cannot be done alone, you will need all the help that you can get. Home remodeling companies provide many different services to help cope with the holiday season hustle and bustle in the holiday season. Like you can ask for handyman services for the last-minute repairs that are pending, you can ask for maids and snow removal contractors. You can also ask for home addition services to add a little something more fascinating to your home. Like adding a decorative deck to your lawn to make your lawn look more beautiful this festive season.
If nothing works, you can finally seek help from a property management company. With their help, you could find a new place to rent or buy and then start with building your dream house from the core.
About The Author
Freya is a Math teacher, Yoga enthusiast, and a beloved mother of three lovely daughters. She is always looking for ways to grow and help others around her thrive through self-learning, meditation, and physical fitness. When she is not teaching or spending time with her family, Freya regularly writes on topics related to self-improvement and women empowerment.