5 Tips to Deep Clean and Declutter Your Home for the Holidays

The holidays are approaching, but is your home ready for them? Along with the shopping, wrapping, and holiday recipes, take a look at your living spaces. Clutter, untidy spaces, and debris buildups can bring down the look of any home. If you’re not completely comfortable in your abode, it might be time for a deep cleaning and decluttering spree. 

When you’re living in a place with suburban vibes like Lake Charles, LA, the holiday season has a special charm. The residents here are a fair mix of family sizes, from young professionals to growing families. With the median age being quite young, around 35.5 in 2020, most individuals can get quite active around the holidays. If you fall within this age bracket, you might be actively preparing for several guests to come over for a meal or looking forward to some family-only time. 

No matter what your holiday plans are, it’ll just be more comfortable and convenient when your home is organized. A deep cleaning session is also a great idea just before the holidays. The satisfaction and ease of a shiny, clean home can elevate your holiday experience like nothing else! Here are some tips to jumpstart the process:

1. Consider External Storage

You can start making everything a lot easier for yourself by placing some of the bulkier unwanted items in a storage unit. With the cost of living in Lake Charles being 15% lower than the national average, renting a storage unit won’t be a financial issue. However, if you still feel uncertain, Google is your best friend. Use keywords like storage units Lake Charles and select the most affordable and suitable option. After making a decision, move your old furniture, seasonal clothing, and other items there. It’ll free up space in no time, and you can continue decluttering for the holidays.  

2. Sort Holiday Decor

Decluttering and cleaning for the holidays should include your seasonal decor too. Many people stow away their holiday decorations and keep adding to them every year or so. Your collection may include handmade ornaments by the kids, family heirlooms passed down through generations, string lights, and more. 

Bring down those boxes of decor and turn them all out. Start sorting through all the accumulated items; you’ll probably find things that aren’t essential anymore. For instance, you may want to consider tossing out or giving away the following:

• A string of lights that doesn’t match the others and has no nostalgic value
• Any cracked, dented, or faded ornaments 
• Anything that looks a little tacky, such as a faded plastic wreath or pumpkin
• Holiday lights that no longer work and can’t be fixed anymore

You may also decide not to decorate for a certain holiday anymore, so those items can go in the ‘don’t keep’ pile. If you’ve recently downsized to a smaller floor plan, you won’t need so many lights anymore. Stay honest and realistic about the decorations you need and want. Take out the rest to make space for your holiday fun!

3. Declutter One Room at a Time

According to Marie Kondo’s decluttering principles, we should tackle one room for decluttering at a time. Instead of organizing all the drawers in the home, for instance, ransack one complete room first. Clear out the clutter; it’ll be easier to give the space a deep clean after that. Move on to the next room when you're done.  

If you start with your bedroom, here are some steps to keep in mind: 

• Empty the wardrobe, closet, drawers, side table cabinets, and any other storage space
• Thoroughly dust, spray, scrub, and clean the insides of these spaces
• Make sure to clear out the space under your bed 
• Sort through the beddings, pillows, cushions, throws, etc.; decide what to keep and what to toss
• Sort through the items in this space and decide what stays; the rest goes in the donate, give away, or garbage piles
• Vacuum the rugs, air out the bed, and sweep out the corners

The exact steps of decluttering and deep cleaning will vary for every room. Go with the flow and see what works for different setups. With just one room in chaos, the rest of the home will be livable throughout your decluttering spree. 

4. Don’t Forget the Nooks

When cleaning any room or space in your home, pay attention to the places that usually get neglected. Weekly dusting might cover the visible surfaces. However, there are many overlooked areas that you should get to during a thorough cleaning. Here are some of them now: 

• Ceiling fans
• Light fixtures
• Crown molding
• Baseboards
• Behind and under furniture, especially the heavy pieces 
• Air vents and radiators
• Behind heavy appliances like the refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, etc
• Light switches
• Hardware like door and cabinet handles

You may want to conduct these cleaning sessions right after decluttering each room. Start from the top of the walls and move downwards. For instance, you may clean the crown moldings, overhead lights, and fan first, then wash the walls, wipe down surfaces, and finally clean the floors. You may want to start the cleaning before putting items back in the drawers and cabinets. 

When you’re done, light some scented candles or simmer some aromatics to get rid of the musty, stale odor. 

5. Reorganize Items

After the decluttering phase, there will be items that survived the purge. Once you have the place as clean as possible, it’s time to reorganize while putting things away. 

One rule of thumb is to pay attention to places and areas with high traffic. For instance, you may have a large desk that everyone uses for various purposes. Add an organizer here, or take steps to make sure it’s clutter-free most of the time. 

You may also try having a focal point for each room. The color palette of the decor can match that focal point, which can be a book collection or some interesting artwork. Match the pillow, rugs, and other home accents with the dominant colors of that piece.

Conclusion

The holidays are a time for fun, joy, and endless laughter, but they also bring high anxiety levels, stress, and an overwhelming load of chores for the hosts. Giving your home a deep clean and decluttering session will help manage the chaos. The pre-organizing, tidying up, scrubbing, and other actions will be both soothing and energizing if you follow the tips mentioned above. With the gleaming results in your home, this holiday season might just be the best one yet!