November 12, 2021

Thanksgiving Cleaning: Preparing For a Holiday

Usually, people think that you are tired after Thanksgiving because of eating too much turkey. However, the real cause of tiredness is Thanksgiving Cleaning.

There is one hack on how to make it much easier – you just need some preparation. Our NYC cleaners prepared a special Thanksgiving checklist to help you leverage the stress of post-holiday cleaning.

Prepare for a dinner

You should prepare even before dinner because when it will be ready, you will be welcoming guests.

Start from washing holiday-specific items like placemats, napkins, silverware, and special dishes. Make sure you cleaned all large cookware, for example, you may have stock pots or roasting pans that weren’t used for some time – make sure to wash them.

Organize, prepare, and clean your kitchen – it should be ready for huge amounts of cooking. Of course, your fridge should be cleaned and prepared to store a massive amount of ingredients and also for leftovers after dinner.

Prepare your dining table, wash it, get a fresh tablecloth, and wipe dishes and cutlery before placing them on a table. Polish your silverware using baking soda, or toothpaste, you may polish silverware by boiling it with baking soda and pieces of foil. It will bring each one back to a brand new state by getting rid of grease, and stains. Decorate the table with flowers, or holiday-related things. 

Dust and vacuum main areas like the dining or living room, before guests, are coming. Also, make sure you have plenty of seating places, you may need to get additional chairs from the garage, warehouse, or maybe even ask neighbors to borrow you a spare chair.

Prepare a guest room for Thanksgiving guests

If you have a guest room and you are waiting for guests to stay, prepare the room. You should vacuum it, tidy the floor and get fresh linens and towels. Add some vinegar before running a washing machine it would help to intensely wash and purify a fabric. Also, such Thanksgiving cleaning must include cleaning the guest bathroom and toilet. Provide toiletries and must-have supplies that your guest may need.

Dust and vacuum main areas like the dining or living room, before guests, are coming. Also, make sure you have plenty of seating places, you may need to get additional chairs from the garage, or warehouse, or maybe even ask neighbors to borrow you a spare chair.

Free some space in your closet and the same for a coat hanger, they are popular in New York. Yes, you should do this even if you will need to put your own outfit and shoes in a box in the basement or attic.

Clean a bathroom and other rooms

Besides guest bathrooms, you of course have a master bathroom, so don’t forget to clean it thoroughly. Wipe a mirror, sink, and accessories. Check if you have enough toilet paper, soap, and toothpaste, or maybe you need to refill the stock. Basically, bathrooms need to be cleaned every, or more often if it’s dirty. Each time you are flushing, all these bacteria are spreading around the room. The problem is, that such bacteria are getting onto everything from a toothbrush to a tampon. So professional deep cleaning is a must especially if you are waiting for guests for Thanksgiving. A day or two before Thanksgiving day, give your bathrooms a good deep clean for you and your guests!

It’s important to clean all the windows at home especially if you are going to decorate them after. Same as we did during a Halloween cleaning.

If you haven’t enough time to clean all the rooms. you may close them so that guests wouldn’t see a mess in your home, you also may don’t want your guests to enter some rooms, like kids’ rooms or offices. We call that an express cleaning. Maybe you have a special corner at home where junk lives? Put everything away. This way you will free up some additional space, additionally, you’ll avoid inconvenient questions from your auntie about why the sweater she presented you is in a box between the broken microwave oven and car parts. 

Don’t forget to clean all the doors, especially the entrance door. They could get really greasy. They’re swinging back and forth all day, with multiple people touching and leaning on them. Give all your doors and doorknobs a good wipe-down using a surface cleaner.

Cleaning a house with pets requires special attention because if you have a pet you should take care of fur that loves to stick to rugs, sofas, and clothes. Some of your guests may have allergies to fur, so vacuum your rugs properly.

If you have your own home or townhouse, you should clean the entrance, driveway, and sidewalk, and also blow the leaves off. Put a clean mat near the door.

We hope that your Thanksgiving day would be wonderful, such a day reminds us how good is to be thankful and happy.