When it comes to getting ready for the holidays, a home cleaning schedule is a great way to ensure you get everything done in a logical order so you won’t be faced with an overwhelming task a few days ahead of Christmas.

Today I’m sharing my 3-week home cleaning schedule for getting ready for the big day. This room-by-room Christmas cleaning checklist can be used for yourself or to guide any hired help. It’s especially useful if you’ll be having guests stay with you over the holidays as you’ll need to do some additional tasks you wouldn’t normally do as part of your regular cleaning.

Feel free to use this list earlier if you want to do your big clean to be ready earlier than Christmas Day!

Week 1 (3 weeks until Christmas!)

On the first week, you’ll want to get those bigger and deeper cleans out of the way and worry less about areas that will get dirty again quickly. 

Living Room:

  • Treat any stains on your rugs, sofas and curtains
  • Vacuum your soft furnishings like sofas and upholstered chairs
  • Launder your cushion covers
  • If you have a fireplace, clean it out
  • Wipe down the baseboards or mouldings

Dining Room:

  • Wash the table linens you’ll be using during the holiday season
  • Check on your Christmas crockery and glassware and make sure everything is in good shape and fully cleaned and polished
  • Make a plan for any extra chairs you’ll need if you don’t have enough seating for all your guests for any Christmas festivities at home
  • Wipe down the baseboards or mouldings

Bathrooms:

  • Take care of any broken faucets or handles
  • If you have a shower curtain, give it a deep clean

Bedrooms:

  • If you’ll be having guests over, wash the bed linens
  • Wipe down the baseboards
  • Launder your curtains or clean your blinds

Kitchen:

  • Give your fridge and freezer a deep clean
  • Clean out your garbage cans and recycle bins
  • Clean off any built-up grease from your oven hood and backsplash
  • Deep clean the oven
  • Tidy up your cabinets and wipe down all the surfaces and shelves

Outside:

  • Pressure wash your patio floor
  • Wash your windows inside and out

Entry:

  • Wash your doormat
  • Clean your front door inside and out

Week 2

With just two weeks to go before Christmas, you can start doing the bulk of the cleaning so you’ll only have to worry about touching up as Christmas draws closer.

Living Room:

  • Dust the entire room, top to bottom
  • Clean and polish your coffee table, end tables, and bookshelves
  • Wash your throw blankets

Dining Room:

  • Dust the entire room, top to bottom
  • Clean and polish your dining room furniture
  • Iron your table linens
  • Wash your serving dishes

Bathrooms:

  • Clean the floors
  • Descale your shower door, if needed
  • Make sure you have extra toiletries for guests

Bedrooms:

  • Dust the entire room, top to bottom
  • Clean and polish the furniture
  • If you’re having guests, remove your personal items from the guest room

Kitchen:

  • Dust the shelves and on top of your fridge
  • Sweep and mop the floors
  • Clean your dishwasher, microwave, stove and other appliances thoroughly

Outside:

  • Give your outdoor furniture a thorough cleaning

Week 3 – Christmas week!

With the big day right around the corner, you’ll be glad you already got all the big stuff out of the way! By now, your house should be in a state where you just need to do some freshening up from room to room.

Living Room:

  • Give the furniture a quick dusting
  • Organise your coffee table and put any clutter away
  • If you have pets, use a lint roller on your sofas and chairs

Dining Room:

  • Set up your centrepiece

Bathrooms:

  • Clean your showers and toilets
  • Clean the mirrors
  • Declutter the countertops

Bedrooms:

  • Make your guests’ bed(s) and set out towels for them

Kitchen:

  • Wipe down surfaces
  • Mop the floor

Outside:

  • Wipe down outdoor furniture
  • Sweep the floor
  • Put away yard tools, bikes, etc.

The day before Christmas

  • Clean mirrors and countertops
  • Empty trash
  • Declutter countertops
  • Sweep floors

Whether you follow this home cleaning schedule religiously or you use it as a loose guide, your home should be ready to sparkle for the big day!

Love,

Nakita xxx