The holidays have finally come and gone, and now you’re left with one item on your to-do list: Get the house back in order. Though this seems easier said than done, a little pre-planning will help you get through the holiday clean-up process like a champ.
Here are our top five ways to quickly take back your home, inside and out:
- Carefully box all your holiday breakables. No one wants to open a box of decorations next year only to find shattered Christmas balls, broken antique bells and destroyed baubles. Put these items away first. You may even want to invest in plastic containers just for the items that are most breakable.
- Check all the holiday lights and then coil them carefully for storage. Who wants to open up a box filled with knotted holiday lights next year? Coil them around a tube and they’ll be less likely to tangle. Before you put them away, make sure they still work. There’s no use holding on to holiday lights that have met their end.
- Take down your artificial Christmas tree OR take out your natural Christmas tree. You don’t want to be the only person on your block who still has his or her tree on Valentine’s Day. Say goodbye to this year’s tree and either put it into storage, or put it out for the garbage collector. Many municipalities will pick up real Christmas trees on specific days only — contact yours to find out how best to dispose of your greenery.
- Clean your windows and doors. Any place that’s been decorated should be scrubbed down to remove any adhesives, mildew, cobwebs, pine needles and other items. This includes your Harrisburg home windows. If you have Harrisburg replacement windows that open from the inside for easy cleaning, you won’t have to spend much time performing this task.
- Consider having your rugs cleaned. If you had many guests in your home during the holidays, it may be a good idea to get the carpets professionally cleaned. You could also consider renting a rug cleaner and do this yourself. Either way, all the grime that’s been tracked in for the past month-and-a-half will be removed from your house, lessening the chance of allergic reactions, dust, mold spores and other unwanted items getting into your home’s air.
Though it might seem bittersweet to remove everything that reminds you of your wonderful holiday season, remind yourself that it won’t be too long until the next holiday season is here. Until then, enjoy the newness of a beautiful, spotless home and the wide-open possibilities of a new year.
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