Holiday season is around the corner – October Blog

Holiday season is around the corner, and you what that means, time to start preparing for all the events and parties to come. Remember you can always call Tri Maids to get a full house cleaning or we also offer customized cleans, where we’ll just do whatever you want us to do in your home.

As for any and all other options- here’s a quick breakdown of those “necessary” to-do items to get ready for the holidays and any parties that are associated with it.

First things first – Do a “visitor” walk thru and just take notes of everything that you see that are out of place. This is a great time to give out these little tasks to any other people in the house if possible to get a little bit of help with this hectic time.

Depending on your time limit that you have, I recommend these are the things that you take care of 2-3 days beforehand.

–Clean windows and vacuum window tracks. Damp mop baseboards.

–Deep clean bathrooms and straighten bedrooms.

–Clean all top kitchen surfaces. Wipe fridge and make room for extra food in there.

–Dust all surfaces and sweep entryway.

 

DAY BEFORE OR DAY OF VISITING (IF POSSIBLE)

–Hang fresh hand towels, and check hand soap.

–Wipe any dirty areas in the bathrooms using a wet rag.

–Put toilet bowl cleaner in the toilets and give them a quick brushing.

–Wipe mirrors, countertops, and bathroom floors with a damp towel.

–Take out the garbage, and line trash receptacles with clean liners.

–Straighten stacks of magazines and books.

–Straighten and fluff sofa pillows and cushions.

–Carry a laundry basket throughout the house, picking up clutter as you go. Once filled, put everything in its place or you can just hide the basket. ☺

–Vacuum high-traffic areas.

–Place fresh flowers and light scented candles.

Now your home should look and smell great. This will take off the extra stress that can be associated with having visitors and/or family over to your home.

 

Homemade Fizzing Toilet Cleaning Bombs:

Nobody enjoys scrubbing their toilet bowl stains, but here is an easy three ingredient hands free way to freshen your porcelain throne.

  • ½ Citric Acid: Removes build up and scale, reduces effects of hard water, antibacterial, adds awesome fizziness
  • 1 1/3 cup Baking Soda: Deodorizes smells, great all purpose cleaner
  • 90 drops of Essential Oils: Bind baking soda and citric acid together, antibacterial (depending on which oils you use), natural scent

 

Directions:

  1. Put the essential oil mix you want to use together in a small spray bottle and set aside
  2. Mix baking soda and citric acid together carefully. If you want, you can use a medical mask to ensure you don’t breathe in any fumes from mixing these together
  3. Slowly spray the essential oils on the baking soda and citric acid while mixing until you’ve used all 90 drops. It should fizz a little bit when the moisture touches the mixture, but if there is excessive fizzing you are spraying too quickly. The mixture should start to clump when it’s ready
  4. If necessary, you can add a small amount of water in addition to the oils to help bind the baking soda and citric acid together. Don’t use too much or they wont fizz when they touch water
  5. Put the mixture into silicone molds, or you can press it into an ice cube tray
  6. Let the bombs dry for at least 6 hours, then remove from the molds and store in a container with a tight lid
  7. Drop into the toilet and fizz away!

 

10 Things To Purge Every Fall!!

Spring cleaning gets all the attention, but I don’t know anyone that really has the time to declutter, organize, and deep clean their entire home each Fall. Here are some easy things we could all work on in the Fall to split the workload into something manageable! You can make it even easier by, grabbing a trash bag and a donation box and try to get rid of as much as you can from each of these 10 spots in your home!!

*If you want to for extra cleanliness, and have the extra time, while going through all your items, give the cabinets, shelves, drawers and other spaces a quick clean down before putting everything back.

The nice thing about Fall decluttering is, you don’t have to just throw everything away, you can donate most of the items, or you can always sell them. Spring cleaning is a great way to not only help yourself, but help others, and that way, your stuff that you might not really want to part with, will still have some more life to it!!

 

KITCHEN DECLUTTERING

Spices & Seasonings – Go through all of them and check expiration dates, not hard-core throwing out on the marked date, but they do lose potency after time, so its probably time to replace the pumpkin pie spice from 7 years ago! Make sure you keep a pen and paper handy to write down what needs to be replaced, then you’ll be all set for all of the holiday baking coming up!!

Freezer – Sometimes our freezers become a complete black hole where things get put in there and never come out. Fall is the perfect time to get it cleaned out and all ready for winter.

BONUS – If you have a little extra time, purge the pantry/food cabinet as well!!

CLOSET DECLUTTERING

Sandals & Summer Shoes – Be honest about what shoes were REALLY worn this summer, and what shoes you will continue to wear. The most effective way to tackle shoes is to get ALL of them together, go through them, then put away the ones that you really want to keep, and get rid of the ones that will just collect space.

Clothes & Swimwear – Fall is a great time to purge old summer clothes and swimwear,

BONUS – Peek at the winter coats and get rid of the old ones that wont be worn or will just replaced this winter!

LIVING ROOM DECLUTTERING

Toys – Any toys that the kids have outgrown or have not touched in sometime should be cleared out in the fall, before all the holidays. No need in storing them if they are not used and new ones will be coming soon!

Magazines & Books – Do a quick sweep and lighten up the clutter by purging all the outdated magazines , and look for books you you’ll never read again.

Blankets – Blankets are always a number one collectable item, but we don’t always need all of them. Go through them and put away the ones you want to keep, and get rid of the blankets that are not used at all anymore.

BEDROOMS

Bedrooms – Bedrooms seem to be the place that collect the most items, we just throw everything in our rooms, so for bedrooms, try the timer challenge, set your timer for 15-30 minutes, depending on the state of the bedrooms, start with the floors, then flat surfaces, then tackle the drawers, then of course the remaining, while your timer is going, through as much as you can and collect all the items that are not used or you just don’t want anymore.

BATHROOMS

Product Purge – Chances are you’ve got some products that have never been touched, they are old, or almost empty. Go through the items that are half way, if you can, convert them with, or set those products aside for the next things to be used and then tossed once empty.

 

GARAGE DECLUTTERING

Tools, Garden Accessories, Other Products – Clean up, repair, and purge your garden supplies so they’ll be ready for you to use in the Spring. Toss all the old tools, and other miscellaneous items that are collecting dust and taking up space.

Best Cleaning Tips

  • Dust Off Your Fan With A Pillowcase
  • Cleaning Your Toilet With Baking Soda And Vinegar Will Get All The Dirty Water Rings And Stains Out
  • Make Your Own Bleach
  • Use Cream Of Tartar To Clean Your Toaster
  • Use Baking Soda And Hydrogen Peroxide To Clean Cooked-On-Gunk On Your Stove Top
  • Use Ice And Lemon To Clean Your Sinks Disposal
  • Make Your Own Citrus Vinegar Cleaner Using Citrus Peels And Vinegar
  • Did You Know Borax And Lemon Juice Is The Perfect Combo For Stainless Steel Sinks
  • Use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap To Do The Magic On Cookie Sheets And Pans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide Is A Go To, To Clean Windows, Mirrors, Toilets And Bathtubs
  • White Vinegar, Liquid Dish Soap, Washing Soda And Water Make Your Floors Spotless
  • Apply A Dab Of Baby Oil To A Cotton Ball And Use To Shine Up Faucets And Hubcaps
  • Use Fridge Coasters To Absorb So Much Gunk And Mess
  • Simply Use A Lemon On Water Stains
  • Vinegar And Baking Soda Help Wash Away Loose, Greasy Grime, Musky Odors And Helps Clean Your Dishwasher

ADD SOME OF THESE TO YOUR FALL BUCKET LIST!

 

  • Go to a pumpkin patch
  • Go to a corn maze
  • Pick apples
  • Try a new fall recipe
  • Jump in a pile of leaves
  • Make homemade soup
  • Bake a pie
  • Have a bonfire
  • Roast marshmallows
  • Bake cookies
  • Go to a haunted house
  • Decorate for fall