Preparing Your Home for the Holidays

The holidays are a wonderful time filled with gift shopping, festive decorations, and time with loved ones. However, there is also a lot of preparation that goes into making sure you have only the best memories. Here are the 5 things you need to do to prepare your home for the holidays.

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1. Clean your Kitchen

Your kitchen is a hub of activity around the holidays. Taking the time to make sure it is in tip-top shape is of the utmost importance whether you are hosting your extended family or keeping it intimate. Start by going through your refrigerator and pantry and getting rid of any expired or stale food. This will create space for your holiday items and give your kitchen and pantry some much-needed attention. After that, you can move onto deep cleaning the floors and countertops. Make sure to include items that don’t get cleaned often, like the microwave, toaster, and coffee maker.

2. Stalk up on the Necessities

Inevitably there will be one important item you are missing in the middle of the holiday baking. However, fighting all the holiday traffic for one item can be a nightmare. Even worse, you may get through all of the holiday traffic to find that they are already out of the item you are in need of. Avoid this headache by stalking up for the holidays on all of your freezer and non-perishable necessities. Non-perishable necessities include items like sugar, flour, and plenty of water. Freezer items include waffles and pizza for any cooking disasters or lazy mornings. Also consider adding toilet paper, paper towels, and coffee to the list. Stalking up on the necessities will lead to a much more manageable and stress-free holiday season for you and your family.

3. Take Care of any Overlooked Maintenance

Throughout the year, to-dos for your home may pile up. Maybe it is a broken sink, rogue fire alarm, or faulty pipe. When they initially arise they seem important, but before you know it, it gets procrastinated and added to your long list of to-dos. Preparing your home for the holidays is the perfect opportunity to revisit that list and make sure that each item is attended to based on its level of importance. Plumbing preparation is a great place to start since it affects almost every room in your home. The last thing you want when hosting the holidays is for the toilet to stop working, the sink to get backed up, or a leak to spring in your kitchen. To schedule an inspection and get all of your plumbing preparation needs to be taken care of before the holidays, contact the experts at New Generation Plumbing.

4. Prep Your Guest Room(s)

This step is especially important if you are hosting family from out of town over the holidays. The room that they sleep in should be inviting, clean, and comfortable. In addition to changing out the sheets and towels, go the extra mile with small touches that will add to your guests’ experience. Some small touches that go a long way are a basket filled with extra blankets, a welcome bag with their favorite snacks, or a bathroom that is stocked with items they may have forgotten to pack. Prepping your guest room(s) will add to your loved one’s experience and will not be soon forgotten.

5. Light Seasonal Scents

Smell plays a huge role in the ambiance of your home during the holidays. After you have cleaned the space thoroughly, light a seasonal candle. This will allow for the scent to work optimally and make a pleasant impact on everyone who walks through your door. (Also, if you are not a fan of candles, there are other options available to you that will achieve the same outcome. For example, you can use stovetop scents or oil diffusers).