Christmas Checklist: Clean House for the Holidays

Get organized for Christmas with this Christmas planning checklist based on the Christmas Countdown organizing plan by Cynthia Townley Ewer:

• Early in the fall, consider whether to join a holiday cleaning plan, such as the Houseworks Holiday Plan or the Holiday Grand Plan.
• Circle the house, and make a master list of needed cleaning chores. Focus on public areas, rooms used by houseguests, and kitchen and food storage areas. Include special holiday tasks such as polishing silver and ironing table linens.
• Call early to schedule carpet cleaning, window washing or other professional cleaning services. Add visits to the holiday calendar.
• Each week, tackle one or two deep-cleaning chores from the master list.
• Set up a plan for minimum maintenance to carry the household through the busy holiday season.
• Create a household chore list and delegate routine cleaning chores to family members. Post the chore list for accountability.
• Two weeks before Christmas, do a whole-house clean to prepare for the coming season. Resume minimum maintenance until the New Year.