Holiday Cleaning Tips with Dyson

This post is sponsored by Dyson Canada.  As always, opinions are 100% mine.

As wonderful as the holidays are, they are definitely a busy time and can create a lot of added stress if you are not careful.  With all of the extra activities and things to do, it can be difficult enough to keep up with the daily housework, let alone get things extra clean for holiday entertaining!

With just a little discipline and some easy tips to help you stay on task, you can get {and keep!} your home clean in about 30 minutes per day.  Just one less thing to stress about during the holidays!  Here are my top 10 holiday cleaning tips…

1. Have a daily plan.
Having an established morning and evening cleaning routine will definitely help out with keeping things relatively tidy.   Bedrooms look 10 times neater if you just take a few minutes to make the bed each morning, and a 10-15 minutes family clean-up at the end of the day can go a long way in keeping all of that daily mess under control.  I try to stick to my quick daily cleaning schedule as much as possible through the holidays.  Even if I don’t have time to get to all of the more deep cleaning tasks, the house still looks presentable if any guests drop by!

One of my big cleaning time savers this year has been my new Dyson DC72 Animal.  It is super light weight, works on both carpets and hardwood, and is cordless.  And, it still has all of that awesome suction power that you expect with a Dyson.  With my Animal, I can have all of those little messes cleaned up in about the same amount of time that it would take me to get my full sized vacuum out of the closet and plugged in.  As an added bonus, it is so light weight and portable, that my kids can easily use it too!  I will usually go around my main floor for about 5 minutes each night and vacuum all of the little problem areas like under the kitchen table and by the front door.  The Dyson will also go down completely flat against the ground so you can vacuum right underneath sofas and other furniture.  It keeps the house looking clean and tidy with very little time investment!

2. Prioritize
The holidays are probably not the best time to go on a major organization spree in your home.  Instead, focus on those areas that you will be using the most and those rooms that  your guests will see – the rest can wait until January!  Generally speaking, the kitchen, guest bathroom, front entry, dining area, and family room {or living room} will be the most important areas to keep clean.  Don’t worry about cleaning all of the little details that your guests will probably not even notice and save your deep cleaning for after Christmas.

3. Make a To Do List
If you are feeling panicked, write out a quick to do list with all of the tasks that you would like to get done {you can find my To Do list printable and more tips on creating a To-Do list here}.  Try to be realistic here and do not place too much pressure on yourself!  I find that once I have things written down, I feel a little calmer with a plan in place.  Once you have prioritized your tasks, place the most important tasks first and leave the less important tasks for a less busy time.

4. Get your least favorite tasks done first.
I am a huge procrastinator by nature, so I find that I often stall when I know I have a task to do that I don’t like or is hard for me to do.  Place your least favorite tasks towards the top of your list.  You will feel so much more relaxed and lighter if you get those out of the way first!

One of the things that I have always hated to clean is our stairs.  It was always such a hassle to lug our vacuum up and down them and it was so hard to get in between the spindles.  With just a quick attachment change, the Dyson easily converts to a portable hand-held vacuum and it is great for picking up all of the fine particles that settle on our hardwood floors {especially all of the glitter and little faux pine needles that tend to be everywhere at this time of year!}  Depending on your preference, you can either leave the long attachment on {so you don’t even need to bend over} or remove it and click the attachment directly to the motorized unit.

I have also loved using my Dyson to clean our baseboards.  Just a quick sweep over them and all of the dust and particles are gone!

5. Never Leave a Room Empty Handed
This one is a big time saver for me and is now just a habit that I do automatically.  Every time I leave a room or go upstairs/downstairs, I will just quickly glance around to see if there is anything that does not belong in the room that needs to go with me.  I only take a couple of items so I will actually put them away where they go rather than just transporting them to another room.

6. Keep up with the little things.
It is always much easier to clean as you go than to go back  and deal with a huge mess later.  Get in the habit of putting those little items {like your coat or drinking glasses} away  as soon as you are done with them {and get the rest of your family to do the same!}  Really make an effort to do all of those little tasks that only take one or two minutes as you see them.

7. Keep Your Cleaning Supplies Handy
Keep a basic cleaning supply kit handy in a portable bin or bucket so that you can easily get your supplies around to any area of your house that is need of a quick clean!  {You can find more information on organizing your cleaning supplies here}  Try to purchase more “mulitple use” cleaning items rather than using a different cleaning product for each task.

8. Find a “Put Away Bin”
For those times when you really need to do a quick clean up, have a “Put Away” bin or basket that you can use to place items in that you do want to keep but belong somewhere else in your home.  Quickly go from room to room, placing items in the bin that need to be put away elsewhere.  You can then store the bin out of sight until you have some extra time to put the items in their proper place.  Just make sure that you don’t abuse this and do schedule in some time later to actually put things away!

9. Get the whole family involved.
Remember that you don’t have to do it all!  If your kids are old enough, assign small cleaning tasks to them that are do-able in about 10-15 minutes.  I find if it is any longer than that, my kids lose their attention and it doesn’t get done.  Maybe your kids are better at cleaning than mine, but that is all I get!  Get your family in the habit of putting their own items away {like shoes and book bags} as, collectively, that can make a big difference in how tidy your home looks.

10. Take a Deep Breath
If you are feeling stressed, just stop for a minute and take a deep breath!  Remember that your guests are coming to see you, not to inspect your home!  The holidays only come around once per year, so you don’t want to miss out on all of the wonderful things that the season has to bring!

Whew!  Hopefully those little tips will help you stay organized with your cleaning this holiday season and allow you to enjoy a little more family time with a lot less stress!

If you are looking for a practical Christmas gift this season, the Dyson DC72 Animal can definitely help to make your life easier.  I have loved mine and have pretty much used it every single day since I got it.  It really is one of the most adaptable cleaning tools that I have!  You can read more about the Dyson DC72 Animal features here or let me know if you have any specific questions.

Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season!