Give your home a fresh start in time for the New Year by cleaning up after the holidays once all of your holiday meals are over, guests have gone and presents have been put away. This also keeps you from being the neighbor who still has strings of outdoor Christmas lights up on Valentine’s Day.

Here’s how it’s done. Make the transition quickly and cleanly by:

• Bidding goodbye, sayōnara, arrivederci, au revoir and adios to unwanted gifts. It’s the thought that counts, but don’t let good intentions give your post-holiday house additional clutter. Make a clean break and return gifts that didn’t work out, consider giving those gifts to the charity of your choice, shelters for the homeless, battered women’s agencies and their children or families that might enjoy them.
• Go through the cards you got in the mail and make a list of who sent them to you. Use this as the start to your Christmas card list for next year. Then recycle cute cards by cutting the images, attaching string and using them as free gift tags.
• Cleaning the guest bedroom. Wash bed sheets in warm or hot water with a capful of white vinegar to ensure they are fresh. While sheets are in the dryer, use your vacuum’s upholstery attachment to clean the mattress thoroughly, paying special attention to the seams. Replace the bedding and fluff the pillows to make your next guests comfortable.
• Taking down the stream of lights. When you do, you’ll save time next year if you put them away using one simple trick: Wrap strings of lights around a piece of cardboard/plastic or a paper towel tube to keep them organized and easy to unravel next season, then wrap in plastic wrap.
• Coordinating Christmas tree take-down and curbside pick-up. When is your trash pickup service collecting Christmas trees? Find out so you can get your tree curbside in accordance with the collection times.

Of course you may have better things to do than deep cleaning the house – like spending time with family and friends.

Request a free house cleaning estimate at 352-402-4377  here at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Exclusive Housekeepers, for our members only, where our housekeepers go beyond just cleaning because we understand your housekeeping needs.