8 Cleaning Hacks to Get Your Home in Shape for the Holidays

Take a tour around your home — especially the entertaining spaces — with a visitor’s eye. See the space as they would and note anything particularly pressing. Do you have a mostly-dead houseplant? Toss it. A pile of mail you haven’t touched in weeks? Take a deep breath and find a good place to hide it. It’ll wait.

If you’re short on time and can’t dig into decluttering, place any random items in a laundry basket and tuck the whole thing in an unused space like the attic. Just be sure to set a reminder to fetch them out after the partying is over — you don’t want them sitting there until the next holiday season.

When you’re playing the part of the holiday host, your refrigerator is going to see a lot of action. Take everything out and toss any expired food. (Pro tip: It’s a good idea to do this right before your weekly shop since there will be fewer items inside.) If you have duplicates — say, two ketchup bottles — combine them to conserve space.

Before you put everything back, give shelves and drawers a quick wipe-down. All it takes is a no-scratch sponge dipped in warm water with a touch of mild soap. Then, do one final pass with a clean, well-wrung sponge or cloth.

Make sure your guests’ living quarters are ready for them. Even if the bedding hasn’t been used in months, give it a quick wash (it may not be overtly soiled, but it can still be dusty). Send them for a spin through a washing machine like the Good Housekeeping Seal-vetted GE Appliances front loader with its UltraFresh Vent System with OdorBlock. It’s specifically engineered to prevent odor-causing bacteria, which means you can keep the door shut and not have to worry about smells building up on your sheets and clothes as you tend to your guests.

For an extra-special touch, put a drop of lavender essential oil on a wool dryer ball and send it for a tumble with the bedding — it gives sheets a lovely, relaxing scent to lull your guests to sleep.

Scuffs and marks on the wall will make even the cleanest spaces look and feel dingy. Luckily, there’s an easy solution: a cleaning eraser. Just rub the wall with one of these small white sponges, and — like magic — it’ll be as almost good as new. They also work well on the scuff marks that inevitably sully stair risers. Got the same issue with wood? Gently rub a whole unshelled walnut — yes, a walnut — into scratches as a temporary fix.

Of course, you’ll want to focus on the dirtier spots, like the toilet. To make the porcelain throne sparkle, measure out half a cup of bleach and pour it in. Then, use your toilet brush to scrub it into the bowl and beneath the bowl’s rim. Let it sit for five minutes and flush it away.

If you have time, you can also make a baking soda paste (three parts baking soda to one part water) and use a toothbrush to buff out any dirty grout around the sink or tub. Then, take a dry cloth and wipe it all off. Just as you did with the sheets, give any hand or bath towels that live in the bathroom a tumble in the washer and dryer.

The holidays present a great excuse to clear out your front hall closet. Take everything out and place items into one of two piles: keep or donate. As a nice bonus, the latter will help make someone else’s holiday a little merrier.

Once the closet is empty, give the floor a thorough vacuum. Put as little as you can back, saving a good number of empty hangers on one side. Once done, there’ll be no need to direct guests to your bedroom to toss their coats on a confusing pile on your bed.

Whether it’s your uncle sending his glass of red flying or someone dropping a cocktail meatball onto your white sofa, spills are going to happen. So you don’t have to raid your closet for the right remedy in the middle of the party, put together a small basket of stain-busting supplies before the festivities begin. Stock it with disinfecting wipes, an all-purpose spray, microfiber cloth, a stain-remover for clothing, and white vinegar and dish soap for spills on carpets, upholstery, and linens.

Now that you’ve tidied up the house and even assembled your emergency cleaning kit, it’s time to welcome your guests with open arms. Before you kick back and pop open the first celebratory bottle, get a simmer pot — a saucepan full of warm water, herbs, and other aromatics — going to fill your home with the nostalgic scent of the holidays.

There are, of course, kits you can buy, but it’s relatively easy to DIY: place 2 cups of water into a saucepan with 1 cut lemon, 3 sprigs of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, and a cinnamon stick. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Just be sure to keep an eye on the water levels and add more as necessary.

Now you’re all set for the invasion. Is that the doorbell?