100 Days to Christmas » holiday cleaning

Cleaning for Christmas

listmama — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:01:30 +0000

Once again, we have reached a crucial cleaning time of the season. Christmas is officially THIS WEEK and there is still much to do to be ready for any Christmas festivities you may be having in your home. This week we will be focusing on cleaning different areas, beginning from the top.

The Countdown to Christmas Challenge for today is to plan your cleaning schedule using your calendar or ListPlanIt’s Week of Christmas*. Pencil in the remainder of your Christmas obligations to coincide with dinner preparations, houseguests, end-of-school
happenings, and everything else that takes place during the last week before Christmas. While it’s not necessary to spring clean, some tasks to include are dusting, cleaning bathroom(s), vacuuming, mopping, changing sheets for guests, and cleaning out your refrigerator to make room for make-ahead dishes and holiday leftovers. Are visions of a clean house for Christmas dancing through your head?

* Available as a download in the 100 Days to Christmas 2011 eBook. Members to ListPlanIt.com can print or download a Week of Christmas worksheet in Holidays & Occasions.

How do you build in cleaning to your busy holiday schedule? Visit the 100 Days to Christmas Facebook page and let us know.

So Clean You Could Eat Off Them

listmama — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:01:38 +0000

We have reached the bottom of the house. I would love to be able to put a positive spin on this one, but this is just one of those household jobs that I have to work very hard to commit to doing it.

Today’s Countdown to Christmas Challenge is to tell yourself that there is no time like the present to get an unpleasant task out of the way: mopping. I’ve always been a hands-and-knees- kind of mopper, but I bought a Shark steam mop this year and love it. I never did like the idea of sloshing dirty water around on my floor and I prefer to use fewer chemicals. Do you have a method of mopping that works? I would love to hear your ideas.

Visit the 100 Days to Christmas Facebook page and tell us how your cleaning went for the week. Are you ready?

Hit the Floor Running

listmama — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:01:12 +0000

As we’ve been working our way down in cleaning this week, we are now ready for the floors. The only equipment you will need today is a broom, a dustpan, a vacuum cleaner, and some muscle. We’re going to get a bit of a workout today!

The Countdown to Christmas Challenge for today is to sweep your hard floors and vacuum any carpets and rugs. Start with an attachment and go over the windowsills and baseboards. Don’t forget to get the corners and stairs. Hand one child a broom and the other one the dustpan and set them to work. Make it a group effort!

The Powder Room

listmama — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:01:51 +0000

Still working from top to bottom, nothing makes a house feel clean like clean bathrooms. You may need to spread this one out if you have two or more bathrooms in your home.

The Countdown to Christmas Challenge for today is to give your bathroom a good deep cleaning! Clean the surfaces you haven’t thought of in a while. Because this challenge comes a week before Thanksgiving, you may need to touch up closer to the day, but this will save you from having to bake pies the same day you are scrubbing your toilets. Eww!