Many families around the Valley are currently preparing to host events at their homes throughout the holiday season.  Although Thanksgiving and Christmas are meant to be joyous and spent with loved ones, hosting a holiday soiree often becomes overwhelming and sometimes tedious.  From planning and cleaning to shopping and cooking, it may seem like the tasks are never-ending.  And during your party, you’ll probably be extremely busy managing and executing all of the details.

Cleaning can be one of the most time-consuming and challenging aspects of event-planning.  This year, we talked to Handy, the online source for professional cleaning services.  With Handy, all cleaners are experienced, friendly, background-checked and insured. They also offer online management of your account, so consumers can book services, leave instructions, ask questions, pay and change account details from their smart phone or computer.  We streamline everything else in our life and now we can finally do the same with home maintenance and cleaning.

Here are recommendations and tips from Handy to help keep your home in tip-top shape throughout the most wonderful time of the year.

Tips to keep the house clean throughout the busy holiday season:

• Before the holiday rush, get rid of or donate anything you might not need or know you’ll be getting rid of during the holiday season. This will help your home look more organized and help you get rid of unnecessary items.

• Doormats are very crucial during the holiday season. Be prepared to have a lot of dirt, ice, snow, and salt in your hallways and doorsteps. To help prevent this from happening,  put a mat on BOTH the inside and outside of every entrance point to your home to trap dirt

• Set up a command station for any holiday mail you may receive.  Grab bins to help separate holiday cards, action now/bill items, and anything else like magazines or coupons you actually think you’d use. Make sure to throw out the unnecessary junk mail as well. Setting up a command station will help you be more organized and prevent email from stacking up and creating clutter.

Handy says that when you’re having company over, the most important room to in the house is the bathroom. Many hosts overlook the bathroom and do not clean it 100%. Below are some easy steps to make sure your bathroom is clean:

• Put a toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet and spray down all of the surfaces first and let the cleaning solution sit for a few minutes.

• Make sure to clean the tub/shower doors and walls.

• Wipe down the counters & mirrors, the floor and clean any other dirty areas.

• Hang fresh hand towels and make sure to have plenty of soap & toilet paper.

• Do not forget to clean and organize your medicine cabinet in the restroom guests will be using -- yes, they’ll look! It’s also a good time to check expiration dates for all the products in your cabinet.

 

It happens all the time; your last guest leaves and you want to relax and unwind.  Handy let us know what to clean immediately vs. what can wait until the next day.

• Immediately – Throw out the trash to prevent odor creeping throughout your home. Put away leftovers to avoid food going bad. Soak larger pans overnight to help remove any stains.

• The next day – Putting away unused and / or clean dishes (which could have been drying overnight.) Cleaning the bar or bar cart. Tidying the couches.

If you want to learn more about Handy, or to schedule your service, view them online at https://www.handy.com.