Holiday Cleaning Checklist: What I Actually Clean Before Guests Come

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We don't have people over a lot. Our house is a 1950s house with eight people, five cats, a dog and one bathroom, and it looks like it. When my sister comes for the holidays, I don't try to make it look like somebody else's house.

I clean the places guests will actually use, and I let the rest go. That's the whole holiday cleaning checklist. Here's exactly what's on it, and what isn't.

The rule: clean what guests use

Guests use three things in your house: the kitchen, the bathroom and the floor they walk on. Nobody opens your closets. Nobody checks the baseboards. If those three are clean and the house smells good, it feels ready, even if the laundry pile is still upstairs.

1. The kitchen, deep clean

This is where everyone ends up, so it gets the most time. I do it two days before, so it only needs a wipe the morning of.

Clear the counters. Mail, backpacks, chargers, the random stuff that lives there. It all goes in one basket for now.

Stovetop and microwave. Scrub the burners and wipe the inside of the microwave. Those are the two things people notice.

The sink. Empty it, scrub it and shine the faucet. A clean sink makes the whole kitchen look clean.

Make room in the fridge. Toss what's expired so there's space for leftovers and whatever guests bring.

2. The bathroom, deep clean

We have one bathroom for eight people. When guests come, it's one bathroom for eleven. So it gets cleaned the day before and checked again right before the doorbell.

Toilet, sink and mirror. Top to bottom, including behind the toilet, which is where six kids leave their mark.

Fresh hand towel. Hang a clean one out, and put the family towels away.

Extra toilet paper where it's easy to see. Nobody should have to ask.

Empty the trash and clear the counter down to soap and one or two things.

3. The floors

With five cats and a dog, the floors are never done. But they can be clean for one day. I vacuum everything guests will walk on, then mop the kitchen and the entry, because that's where the crumbs and the muddy paws end up. A spray mop makes this the fastest job on the list: no bucket, and it's dry by the time you're done.

I do floors last, the day before. Do them any earlier, and the pets will undo it.

4. A nice air freshener

This is the one thing I buy on purpose before the holidays. A house can be spotless and still smell like pets and six kids. The air freshener I use is the finishing touch that makes it feel ready the minute someone walks in.

Get a nice one. It's cheaper than any other thing on this list, and it's the thing guests notice first.

What I skip

The kids' rooms. The doors close. They can wait until after.

Closets, drawers and the garage. Nobody is looking.

Windows and baseboards. Nobody notices those at a holiday dinner.

Decorating the whole house. A clean table does more than a lot of decorations on a messy one.

Give everyone a job

I don't do this alone. The kids each get one clear job: someone takes out the trash, someone clears the counters into the basket, someone puts the shoes away. It's the same way I get my kids to do chores without asking five times: one job, and they know it's theirs.

The holiday cleaning checklist, by day

Two days before: deep clean the kitchen.

The day before: deep clean the bathroom, then vacuum and mop.

The morning of: wipe the counters, check the bathroom, take out the trash, and set out the air freshener.

That's it. The house won't be perfect, and it doesn't have to be. It'll be clean where it counts, and you'll still have the energy to enjoy the people who came.

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