Calling all hosts and hostesses! It’s that time of year when your home becomes a revolving door of spirited guests, arriving for one of your classic holiday shindigs. The holiday season brings many wonderful things like peppermint-flavored treats, nostalgic movies, and wonderful moments of giving to those we love. But, like any rose, it has its thorns—cleaning.
There’s no shame in feeling overwhelmed with preparing the home for your anticipated party guests. Cleaning can be stressful and exhausting, but we’re here to help! Wondercide is dedicated to keeping your home healthy and happy for your family and any lucky friends you welcome in. So, we’re sharing some cleaning life hacks to ease your prep stress.
Why is cleaning so important and how can it boost mental health?
No matter the guest count, a clean home is a happy home, and keeping your space tidy can balance your own peace of mind. Still, cleaning shouldn’t have to feel like a chore. Instead, think of cleaning as a method of self-care that keeps you and your home in a state of serenity.
Maintaining an organized space can positively impact your mental health. Studies have shown that when the home is cluttered, your mind will follow its lead. A messy area can lead to procrastination, feelings of being overwhelmed, and a lower quality of life. In addition, while it may seem like a dutiful task, cleaning can release endorphins which can act as a pain and stress reliever.
Cleaning also gives us a sense of completion and productivity. It’s a project with a beginning and end, with a positive resultsl. Having projects to work on has been proven to help with depression as it gives you a sense of accomplishment. It can offer an opportunity to slow down and focus, which is a strong tool for anyone who struggles with anxiety or has difficulty concentrating. So, while cleaning your house may feel like a troubling task on paper, you’re actually creating less stress for yourself. And it’ll send you on your way to a happier life!
Cleaning life hacks
So how can you enjoy the benefits of cleaning without the stress of getting things done? Enjoy our list of cleaning life hacks to make your holiday prep easier!
Don’t let vacuuming suck the fun out of the holidays
Sometimes it seems like there’s more fur on your furniture than there is on your pet. The LEVOIT Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is designed to eliminate pet hair much more easily. Voted the best vacuum for pet hair on the Buyer’s Guide, this lightweight masterpiece is easy to pull out of the closet and won’t maliciously trip you with wires as you prepare your living room for a holiday movie night. The LEVOIT comes equipped with an anti-air wrap roller to prevent hair from getting tangled in the machine and a dusting brush to make sure every nook, cranny, and crevice is taken care of.
Olive this trick for stainless steel!
Do your stainless steel appliances look like a crime scene with all the fingerprints they’ve accumulated? A trick to eliminate those streaks is to rub a little bit of olive oil on a cloth and wipe down those stainless steel appliances. It’ll leave them looking bright, shiny, and new again.
When life gives you lemons, clean the microwave
There’s going to be a lot of food flying around your kitchen as you prepare your delicious holiday meals. You’re going to want to keep that microwave in tip-top shape when you’re heating up your leftovers. An insider trick to having a spotless microwave is heating a bowl of water with lemon slices floating in it in the microwave for about five minutes. The steam from the water with the hint of lemon can dampen some of those spills and loosen them from the surfaces. This makes them much easier to wipe clean.
De-bugging helpers
Unfortunately, some uninvited party guests might try to scurry their way into your holiday happenings. Whether they’re airborne like fruit flies, mosquitoes, and moths, or creepy crawlers like ants, roaches, and ticks, you won’t want pesky bugs crashing your holiday parties. Luckily, we can help! With Wondercide’s Flying Insect Trap, you’ll be equipped with a hands-free method of catching those pesky flying critters. Simply plug in the device and let it work its magic. The trap is powered by a Blu-V™ light which lures in unsuspecting insects and then captures them in a sticky adhesive cartridge. Without any unwanted odors or sounds, the Flying Insect Trap provides an easy, stress-free method of preventing bugs from taking over your space.
Additionally, Wondercide’s Indoor Pest Control is a handy spray that kills, repels, and prevents ants, roaches, ticks, and fleas. Lab-proven to work, the Indoor Pest Control uses steam-distilled natural essential oils without any artificial colors, fragrances, or dyes keeping the product safe around families when used as directed. For the furrier family members, the Flea & Tick Collar and Flea & Tick Spray for pets help protect your companion from pesky critters.
Wondercide’s pest protection formulas meet the same effectiveness standards required for conventional products, and you’ll have the added bonus of filling your home with a festive peppermint scent, one of Wondercide’s favorites!
Holiday prep kits for everyone
You can have it all while celebrating the holidays with Wondercide’s holiday prep kits, perfectly crafted for your holiday cleaning needs. Here’s what you’ll get:
The Peppermint Entertainer Kit:
32 oz peppermint Indoor Pest Control
Flying Insect Trap
Gift item: Peppermint dish towel
The Peppermint Dog Kit:
Flea & Tick Collar (variant for dogs)
32 oz Flea & Tick Pets + Home spray
Gift item: peppermint dog toy
The Peppermint Travel Kit:
4 oz peppermint Flea + Tick Pets & Home
4 oz peppermint Insect Repellent
Sling bag (new style for 2024)
In addition to those helpful tools, another trick to keeping bugs away is to maintain a clean yard. Insects often gravitate towards moist areas, which is why keeping your outdoor space as dry as possible can help lessen the bug problem. Raking leaves, cleaning the gutters, and sweeping the porch regularly is a great way to prevent nasty insects.
Sock it to the dust bunnies
If you’ve already lost one of your socks to wherever the missing socks go, you can take the remaining sock from the pair and repurpose it to dust your surfaces. Socks can absorb dust easily and fit over your hand so you can just simply wipe everything down. This is an easy task for you or maybe something fun for the kids to do to get your house ready and clean.
The baking so-da way to go when stains happen
You’re going to be having some debaucherous nights where wine, food, and peppermint tea is flying everywhere. There’s going to be some table cloths and clothes becoming casualties in the middle of the holiday chaos. Baking soda is an easy household tool to use to remove any stains you may accumulate.
For fruit and wine stains, immediately pour a generous amount of baking soda on the stain to absorb the wine. Let the baking soda sit for a few minutes until it’s become wet from the wine. Then, remove the excess baking soda with a sharp edge like a credit card or knife. Then, add another amount of dry baking soda to the stain and repeat the process. When the stain is tamed, wash the item as you normally would with soap and water.
An alternative method is to dab the stain immediately with a clean paper towel. Be sure to treat the stain tenderly so as to not further rub the stain into the fabric. Then, run cold water over the backside of the stain. Mix about two tablespoons of baking soda with about 1 tablespoon of water together to make a paste. Apply the paste to the stain and let it sit for several hours, or even overnight. At that time, brush off any remaining baking soda and wash as you normally would. If the stain seems particularly hostile, begin this process by putting some kosher salt on top before applying the baking soda.
You can also remove any bad-smelling stains with your new friend, baking soda. For these, let the baking soda sit on the wet stain overnight. Then, wipe away any of the powder before washing it as you normally would. For your stained clothes, you can toss half a cup of baking soda directly into the drum of your washing machine to run it with a load. Throw in your clothes and standard laundry detergent and you’re all set!
Tidying up doesn’t need to be dreaded. Your party guests will appreciate the effort, and you’ll feel a sense of pride walking into each room in your home. Give yourself a break with convenient life hacks. After all, it’s a holiday treat to yourself!
