Holiday Cleaning Tips for on the Fly

When you get the call from your real estate agent saying they have a potential buyer who would like to see your home in about an hour, what do you say?  

Well, I always said, “sure, no problem,” then hung up the phone and went into Commander mode!  My three younger children became my little soldiers and we went into action! 

Each person had a position post to control.

My oldest son got the bathrooms as post.

Job details:

Straighten the room.

Clean the toilet (all visible parts) with paper towels and Harmony Bathroom Cleaner.

Wipe down sink & tub/shower with Harmony Bathroom Cleaner and a cloth.

Sweep the floor.

(Harmony Cleaners are 100% all natural, non-toxic and aromatic cleaners, making them very safe for children to use!  Yeah -for moms and dads!)

My second son got the living room/family room post. 

Job details:

Pick up anything on the floor and put it away. 

Fluff throw pillows.

Vacuum the floor.

Both boys:

Straighten their bedroom and tidy their beds

My daughter (being the youngest and a preschooler) had her bedroom as post.

Job details:

Pick up her toys.

Make sure her bed was neat and tidy.

I had the kitchen post:

Clear tabletop and countertops.

Spray & wipe countertops with Harmony Granite and Tile Cleaner.

Spray and wipe stovetop with Harmony Multi-Purpose Cleaner.

Did I mention that using Harmony Cleaners with their all natural essential oil scents added a natural, fresh fragrance to the home?  Well they did!

We became so efficient at this on-demand green cleaning that we could do it within a half hour! Sometimes if the call came after a meal, I would throw dirty dishes in the oven (we did not have a dishwasher).  I just had to make a note to myself to check the oven when the potential buyers left!

So, what does this have to do with green cleaning for the holidays?

This same type of on-demand green cleaning works for any crunch-time scenario and the holidays certainly qualify!  We can have a perfectly clean home at the beginning of the week, but as parents with small children know, clean homes don’t remain in that condition for very long! 

Create your own cleaning on-the-fly job details and don’t stress about the small stuff! 

As with the above job post details, the important things to nail are the ones obvious to the visual eye.  You don’t need to cross every “t” and dot every “i.” For example; if I draw a smiley face on my TV stand but I can’t see it, I am not going to dust the TV stand.  If I sweep the floor and it does not feel sticky or look dirty, I won’t mop it.  Your guests will be paying attention to you and not to your home! 

Get your home in quick green-clean shape and ENJOY the holidays!