6 Christmas Speed Cleaning Tips

The to-do lists this time of year can be overwhelming.

Between last-minute gifts, party planning, end-of-year school events, and the rush to tie up work tasks before the Christmas break, you’d be forgiven for not finding the time to give your home a thorough clean.

Get your home guest-ready with our 6-speed cleaning at Christmas tips.

How To Quickly Clean Up Before Christmas

1) Preparation is key

First things first. These are a few tasks you should do before you start cleaning. A speed clean shouldn’t take any longer than 2 hours, otherwise, you can split the cleaning up into rooms – whatever works best for your routine.

• If you have children, try to send them off to the grandparents or on a playdate for a couple of hours. Trust us, the process will run much smoother without the little (or big) ones around.

• Ensure that you have all the cleaning supplies you need. There’s nothing more frustrating than setting aside time to clean and not having the tools or cleaning products required.

• You know your house better than anyone else so create a bit of a checklist of what you need to clean – this will make it easier to ensure you don’t miss anything.

• Try to enjoy the process. Pop some Christmas music on, light a candle and get moving. Who says cleaning can’t be fun?

2) Essential Rooms Only

If the whole house is in chaos and you have limited time, you’ll need to prioritise which rooms or areas to focus on.

As a general rule, your best bet is to focus on the bathroom, kitchen, and living areas – these are the areas people will most likely see.

Spend minimal time on bedrooms. Make sure beds are made, clutter is put away, and give surfaces dust or even a wipe with disinfectant wipes if you’re really pushed for time.

3) Bathroom First

This really shouldn’t be too tough if you generally keep your bathroom pretty tidy. Here are the four key things you need to do, which should have you out of there in 15 minutes if you move swiftly.

• Clear everything out of the room, squirt some toilet cleaner around the rim and in the toilet bowl and give it a good scrub.

• Spray and wipe down all surfaces, such as the vanity and the toilet.

• Clean mirrors and the shower screen. Remember you don’t need to scrub too hard. Flush the toilet.

• Give the floor a quick mop.

4) Clean Kitchen

Did you know that you can get your kitchen tidy in just 10 minutes?

Have you tried our 10-minute kitchen cleaning challenge? You can check out our article for more details but here’s a quick rundown.

Sanitise Sponges

Sanitise sponges by soaking them in water before putting them in the microwave for 2 minutes. Wait a further 2 minutes before getting them out.

Chopping Boards

Fill the kettle with equal parts vinegar and water (I added a bit of lemon) and turn it on.

Sprinkle salt on a lemon half and scrub your chopping boards, then rinse. For wooden boards, coat with coconut oil to protect and preserve the board.

Glassware

Gently place any glassware with hard water stains into a bowl with vinegar and water mix for a couple of minutes.

Take sponges out of the microwave and replace them with a bowl of water with half a lemon. Run the microwave for another 2 minutes.

Dishwasher

Empty the kettle, refill it with just water and switch it on again to rinse out the vinegar.

Fill a dishwasher-safe cup with vinegar, place it in an empty dishwasher, and run a hot cycle.

Surfaces

Use oven mitts or a tea towel while you’re taking your lemon/water bowl out of the microwave and wipe the interior down.

Spray and wipe all of your surfaces. You’re done!

5) Final Finishing Touches

If you’re really short on time, and it feels like there is mess everywhere, here is what you do. Grab a washing basket and do a scan of the house, picking up toys and anything that doesn’t belong and popping it into the basket. Once full (it won’t take long to fill up!), hide it away in the garage or similar to deal with later. If you don’t have time to do a full sweep/mop/vacuum, just grab a dustpan and brush and pick up any loose debris or visible dust.

Since it’s Christmas time, it’s worth checking under the tree for any tinsel pieces, etc. As a final act, grab a cloth and cleaning mixture and give surfaces around the house a quick wipe down.