Holiday Home Entertaining: Hip and Hassle-Free
(ARA) - The holiday season may be one of the busiest travel times of the year, but a growing number of people are choosing to skip the family road trip in favor of home-cooked meals and family nights by the fireplace.
According to Marketing to Women and The New York Times, since the events of 2001, people feel safer and more comfortable at home, making a night at home the new form of "hip entertaining."
If you're one of those who crave a cozy family get-together but worry about the mess and anxiety that comes with planning such an affair, The Maids Home Services, a residential cleaning company, offers the following tips to help your holiday plans go off without a hitch:
* Clean the tops of ceiling fan blades and inside ceiling lamp globes. Nobody wants to wake up to a plummeting dust bunny!
* Vacuum home from top to bottom, paying attention to areas such as the dining room, living room and kitchen, where people will congregate the most. Don't forget about your upholstery and hard-surface floors. They collect dust and dirt too!
* Dust all surfaces, including areas such as baseboards and windowsills. Pay attention to collectibles and picture frames -- items you'll want to "show off" to your holiday guests.
* Empty coat closets of extra outerwear like spring jackets and sweatshirts to make room for your guests' outerwear. Consider donating any outgrown apparel to a local charity organization.
* Launder and press bed dressings for any overnight guests. Leave clean towels in each guest bedroom and top with a holiday candy piece or two to make your guests feel pampered.
* Clean out your refrigerator to make room for leftovers. Make sure you have adequate storage containers and space for the extra food before the meals begin. Leave an open box of baking soda inside to absorb any odors your holiday goodies might leave behind.
* Clean the inside of the oven and the top of the stove. You don't want the smell of roast turkey, ham or chicken mixed with the smell of last Thursday's "meatloaf surprise."
* Have a huge family? Move furniture such as small end tables and large potted plants, to an extra room to make space for extra chairs. Be sure to dust and vacuum the new furniture -- especially if it hasn't been used in a while.
* Savor smells of the season -- welcome your guests with an inviting home aroma. Simmer hot tap water, apple cider and cinnamon in a saucepan for 20 minutes. The enticing smell will put everyone in the holiday spirit.
* Empty all trash containers. Clean and disinfect inside and out with warm, soapy water and a neutral disinfectant. Drop several extra trash liners inside each container before relining for a quick and easy way to remove future trash when it really starts to pile up.
The Maids Home Services is one of the oldest and largest residential cleaning companies, serving more than 500 locations through the United States and Canada. For more information, including tips on handling unexpected holiday guests, visit their Web site at www.maids.com.
|
10-Hours (or 10-Days) To A Spotless and Organized Kitchen
Written by: Maria Marsala
Sometimes it helps to organize a room all at once. However,
for home-business owners, spending another entire day in the
house isn't always a desirable thing. What may be more
desirable is to spend 60-minutes each day working on a
project. The steps below will assist you (as they have me)
to reorganize your kitchen.Having your favorite janitorial supplies handy makes it easier.
Day 1
if you don't have a pad on your refrigerator, set aside a
piece of paper somewhere in the kitchen for the next 10
days. Use the top part of the page for "things to buy" and
the lower half for other notes.
put a chair in the middle of the kitchen floor and assess
what needs to be done. Make a list.
start to pay attention to where you are placing things
that are in the dishwasher. Take a mental note of what items
are in cabinets that would be better off somewhere else.
take your step ladder out, clean the light fixtures and
change any bulbs that aren't working.
Day 2
Question: What does an empty box, a step ladder, a
telephone book, a cloth, a car and one hour have in common?
Answer: They're what you'll need to clean the pantry or if
you don't have one, your food cupboards. Remove allitems you
haven't used in the past year... or won't use in the next
few months. Make sure everything is packed properly for
storage. Then you can put unused/unwanted food in the box,
contact your local non-profit food pantry, and put the box
in your car (for now).
Day 3
If you have a self-cleaning oven, turn it on when you wake
up. If not, spray or clean the inside of the oven. Then
later, rinse it off.
Defrost the refrigerator. It's good to put everything in
coolers then clean when everything is defrosted. Even
frost-free's need cleaning every now and then.
Day 4
Put the stove burners, other stove and fan parts in the
dishwasher. Clean the top of the range and fan.
Clean the inside of the dishwasher and outside of all
appliances. Add jet dry to the dishwasher.
Day 5
By now you should have a nice list of items you may want
to purchase... such as new shelving paper, food or
containers, cleaning supplies, ect. So go out, buy yourself
lunch, go shopping, and bring the box of donated food to
your local food pantry.
If you don't have a shopping pad on your refrigerator,
consider adding "small pad and magnetic strip" to your
shopping list. Then when you get home, glue the magnet to
the back of the pad.
Make your life easier in the kitchen. Purchase two
inexpensive and dishwasher proof items - a bag of plastic
clothes pins and a pair of scissors. Use the clothes pins to
close bags of chips, cereals, pasta, etc. Scissors that stay
in the kitchen come in handy for many things.
Day 6
Spend an hour cleaning the cabinets closest to the
dishwasher. Reline them with new shelving paper, if
necessary.
Find covers for any pots, pans, Tupperware and the like.
Put any object that doesn't have a cover in a bag.
Day 7
Find a piece of paper and take everything out of the bag
you've saved from day six.
Write down the name of the product (Revereware,
Farberware, Tupperware, Rubbermaid, etc.) and measurements
(2 quarts, 8 inches, etc.). Or do what I prefer. Draw the
outline of the pot, cover, or container on a piece of paper
with the product's name in the middle of the circle.
Spend the rest of the hour cleaning and reorganizing the
cabinets.
Day 8
Today is Kitchen Floor Day. 'Nuff said
Clean the windows. Take measurements for a second set of
curtains.
Day 9
Make a trip to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or your favorite
thrift store to find the covers (or bottoms) of pots, rubber
goods, etc. You'll be surprised what you can find for
between 69c-$2.00!
And look for a second set of curtains to use, too.
Day 10
~~Go to the store. Buy yourself some flowers, a candle, or
something to celebrate!
~~Go home, place a chair in the middle of the kitchen floor
and enjoy all you have accomplished!
© Copyright 2002 All Rights Reserved. Maria Marsala,
Business & Life Coach-Consultant. Maria works with
successful individuals as they take their success to an
even higher level. They're designing, and grow their lives,
professionally and personally around what they love to do.
Subscribe to "Helping You and Your Business Grow"
our free weekly online newsletter.
CoachMaria.com
|
|
Cleaning time |