16 Things To Check Off Your Cleaning List Before Hosting For The Holidays

When you're hosting holiday festivities, you have a lot on your plate ... and it starts way before your perfectly prepared meal hits the plates of your guests. As you're refining your menu and perfecting your holiday decorations, you'll also want to consider the extra cleaning chores that your hosting duties entail. Creating a pre-hosting cleaning list helps you stay on track and cover all of the key spots. Getting started on cleaning early cuts down on last-minute stress, and it's a good time to note if you're low on certain must-have supplies for the celebration. 

Most of the pre-celebration cleaning focuses on preparing common areas where guests will spend their time. A clean space is more enjoyable for everyone and could even help reduce germs and allergens to help keep guests healthier. But many of the tasks, especially in the kitchen, also help you as the host — cleaning and organizing items makes it easier to prepare your signature dishes. If it's your turn to host a holiday celebration, tackle these 16 tasks before your guests arrive.

You'll likely have extra snacks and ingredients in your house as you prepare for holiday guests. Declutter your pantry to ensure you can find what you need and that you get rid of any stale or expired food items. Organizing your pantry about three weeks before you host gives you time to go through everything thoroughly and make an accurate grocery shopping list without buying duplicate ingredients — an extra expense you don't need at this time of year. Plus, when your guests grab a snack, they're greeted with tidy shelves that make it easy to find what they want.

Start by removing everything from the pantry, checking expiration dates and food freshness as you go. Toss anything that's no longer good. Wash the shelves, from top to bottom, using hot, soapy water, and make sure the shelves are completely dry before replacing items. When putting food back into the pantry, use the FIFO (first in, first out) method often used by grocery stores. That means the items with the closest expiration date should be at the front, and the longer-lasting items go to the back. Consider adding clear containers, labels, and other organizational tools to keep items tidy.

Even if you cater the meal, you'll still likely keep the food in the kitchen, and cleaning tasks after the meal also take place there. You'll need plenty of space in your refrigerator to store ingredients and prepared foods safely — deep cleaning your fridge helps with that. Your stove and microwave also benefit from a good cleaning. The last thing you want is a smoke-filled kitchen while you roast your turkey because the oven had spilled food in it. 

Cleaning out the fridge is similar to cleaning the pantry — toss old food, and clean the shelves well with all-purpose cleaner or hot, soapy water. Then, place the food back in the fridge, grouping similar items together to make them easier to find. If you are using a commercial oven cleaner, schedule your oven cleaning about two weeks out from the celebration, so it's still clean but your home doesn't still smell like cleaner — and be sure to let the oven air out.

Serving as host often means you'll go through lots of towels, wash cloths, oven mitts, and other kitchen linens as you prepare food. You'll also need a wide range of serving items, including trays, bowls, and utensils. And if you're planning to send home the leftovers with guests, you'll want plenty of containers you don't mind giving away. Don't wait to find out the morning of the event that you need more serving items or your potholders are all worn thin.

Pull out all of those items to take a quick inventory. If you have your menu planned already, reference that to make sure you have serving dishes for everything you're making — as well as proper serving tools for any dishes that guests are bringing. This is also a good time to dust off the items that you haven't used since the holidays last year. Then, put those items away for now. You might consider creating a hosting closet in your home to keep those items together and accessible.

Countertops play a key role in holiday events that involve food (so, basically, all holiday gatherings). It's best to declutter the work surfaces a few days to a week in advance, in preparation for the event, and to sanitize surfaces the day before so that it is freshly cleaned. Sanitizing kitchen countertops reduces germs that could make people sick. You will, of course, have to repeat the sanitization process during your cooking to prevent any raw meat contamination. Be careful with acidic cleaners, including any formulas with citrus oils, which can damage natural stone, like granite and marble.

Putting away extra items can help you make the most of limited counter space when hosting a holiday buffet and gives you more food prep space. Check for clutter that has made its way to your countertops but doesn't really belong. Store those extra items in bins or cabinets temporarily so you can easily restore your usual setup once the festivities are over.

The dining room is another key location for holiday entertaining. Cleaning, decluttering, and freshening the space makes it an inviting area for your guests to gather for the meal. Formal dining rooms that don't get used frequently could be quite dusty, and those special dishes that you only pull out for the holidays might need some cleaning, too.

Pull out your table linens, and wash them if necessary to make them clean and fresh-smelling. Depending on the fabric, they may benefit from steaming or ironing when they're done. Prep the table by placing the tablecloth, placemats, and napkins on the table. Wipe down wood chairs, or vacuum and lint roll upholstered chairs to prepare them for the gathering. 

Keeping your entryway clean and organized makes a good first impression and allows guests to settle in as they arrive. It's the first place they see when they enter your home. And since most homes have relatively small entryways, you want to make the most of the space by eliminating anything that's unnecessary — including the shoes that you normally keep there. 

Start by moving any unneeded items out of the entryway. Dust all surfaces in the area. Adding extra mats and places for people to put their shoes helps protect your flooring, particularly if it's snowy or rainy. If you have a closet in your entryway, temporarily relocate items you store there to open up space for people's coats, hats, and other gear. It's also helpful to have a small bench for guests who need to take a seat when handling their footwear. Before you move on, make sure there's adequate lighting, and put out a few festive touches to greet your guests.

Sure, your guests will likely track gunk across the floor and spill food during the festivities. But that doesn't mean you should skip cleaning the floors before the party. That's especially true if you ask guests to take off their shoes — the last thing you want is for them to walk across dirty surfaces in socks or bare feet.

Vacuuming and sweeping first gets rid of most of the loose debris that's on your floors. Then, go in with a deeper clean by mopping or steaming the surfaces, being sure to use safe cleaning products based on the flooring material. If you really want to go big for holiday entertaining, rent a carpet shampooer or hire a carpet cleaning company. Doing a deep clean in advance removes the accumulated gunk, and then you can just touch up the floors right before the big event with additional sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping.

You'll also want to prepare your guest room for the holidays, especially if you're having overnight guests. Giving the room some attention creates an inviting space where your guests have adequate space. But even if people are only staying for the day, your guest room is an ideal spot to store personal belongings, put little ones down for naps, or have a spot for anyone who needs a quiet retreat. 

Strip the bed, and wash the bedding to make the space fresh for guests. This is also a good time to relocate random items you stow in the space. Make towels and other necessities available for your guests like water and phone chargers, and make sure there is ample floor space for suitcases. Consider putting together a welcome basket to make every guest feel welcome in your home. Items to consider include earplugs, sleep masks, toothbrushes, lotion, snacks, and a personalized note. Add a sign to the room with the Wi-Fi password for convenience.

This is probably the room that will see the most visitors during the holidays. Deep clean any bathroom that guests will be using — that includes the showers, even if they won't be using them. No one wants to use a gross bathroom with gunk around the faucet or splatters on the mirror. Cleaning and sanitizing also eliminates germs to keep your guests healthier.

Scrubbing the sinks, toilets, and showers are obvious tasks, but don't forget the deeper details. Dust from top to bottom to make less work for yourself. Don't forget the vanity doors, the base of your toilet, and light fixtures. On top of cleaning the bathroom, there are little ways to make bathrooms guest-friendly for the holidays. Remove personal items and medications, especially if you'll have kids in your home. Add a candle or air freshener to make it inviting. Check the soap dispenser and toilet paper supply, and add little items, like lotion and floss picks, so guests can feel comfortable without asking for items they might need. In the guest bathroom, make sure your overnight guests have body wash, shampoo, conditioner, extra toilet paper, and other essentials. 

Your guests will likely spend most of their time in the living room, kitchen, family room, and other common areas, so those are the places where you want to focus your attention. Decluttering those areas creates an airy look and offers more spots for placing drinks or other items. Eliminating clutter also allows for better views of the TV when you're playing your holiday favorites and gives better line of sight for conversations across the room.

To declutter, look at areas like mantels, shelves, tables, and entertainment centers, and remove items that don't belong or don't need to be there during the party. Decluttering before you move into cleaning floors, dusting, and handling other tasks can make those cleaning activities easier. You might also need to move more seating into the areas where you plan to entertain. Plan where you'll put them now in case you need to rearrange the furniture to make space.

If you have kids (and especially if other kids will be at the event), having a dedicated play space can be a major help. It gives the younger partygoers a place to play safely and keep busy, which can make it a little easier for the parents to visit with each other while they are all together. However, it's easy for those areas to get messy and disorganized as your kids play. Going through the spaces, whether in your child's room or in a dedicated playroom, helps you remove potential hazards and make sure the space is ready for kids. Relocate any toys or items you don't want children playing with during the party, and focus on toys that are safe for the youngest children who will be visiting. If necessary, use some simple toy storage ideas that will help keep your playroom tidy for all of the little guests at the holidays.

Be sure to child-proof the area as well. Block electrical outlets with child-safe covers, tuck away cords, and put up baby gates to block any unsafe or busy areas. Make sure there's plenty of space, too, for an adult to keep an eye on the little ones at all times, and a place for adults to place their drinks or food away from little hands.

Dusting your home not only makes it more attractive, but it could also help your guests with allergies feel more comfortable there. Eliminating as much dust and pet dander as possible before guests arrive could cut down on sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, and other uncomfortable symptoms that can be caused by dust mites. Plus, you eliminate any reason for guests to gossip about your dust bunnies.

If it has been a while since you last dusted, do a thorough dusting a week or more before the celebration. Then, dust again right before you host. It's always a good idea to dust from the highest point in the room to the lowest, to avoid creating a bigger mess to clean as dust flies through the room and lands on surfaces. There are plenty of dusting tools for your home that make this job easier — find the tools that work best for you before the event to help you remain calm and relaxed. 

Doorknobs, light switches, handles, faucet handles, and other high-touch areas are often dirty and covered in germs. Cleaning them frequently is important for keeping people healthy in your home. A routine of wiping those spots regularly will help you stay healthy, leading up to your hosting gig. Day-of cleaning of these areas reduces germs that your guests come into contact with, so they're less likely to leave the party with a sickness.

You're probably not sanitizing these areas often enough — you should clean them at least daily. Walk through your house to tackle all of those common surfaces — they're often the items that you use to turn lights or water off and on or control electronics (think remote controls). Disinfectant wipes are an easy way to clean these surfaces throughout the house, or use a disinfecting cleaning spray that's safe for the surface material. Once your guests are all gone, do another good cleaning to eliminate any germs they left behind.

While most of your cleaning time will be spent indoors, the exterior also needs attention before guests arrive. It's possible that you still have fall leaves lingering, which can make walkways and steps slippery. Plus, your home will look more festive and inviting if you freshen up the exterior. 

Sweep or leaf-blow your front porch, steps, walkways, and driveway to remove loose natural debris. Trim any overhanging branches that could become hazards, and clean up that debris as well. Don't forget to test the exterior lights to make sure they're all shining brightly to make the outdoor spaces safer after dark. Prepare for potentially slick or icy weather based on the forecast — having shovels and ice melt ready to go helps you create a safe entrance for guests.

Curtains, blinds, upholstery, and other textiles in your home collect dust and take on various odors, from cooking smells to stinky dog funk. The last thing you want is for your guests to turn up their noses when they sit down on your furniture or break into a sneezing fit when you open your blinds. Refreshing those areas removes dust from your home and makes it smell better, so your home is more inviting.

Vacuuming surfaces like upholstered furniture is a good start — it helps remove dust and crumbs. Gather all of your throw blankets, and toss them in the wash. Check throw pillow covers, cushion covers on your seating, and curtains to see if they're machine-washable. If they are, give them a turn in the wash cycle — always follow the cleaning instructions on the label. Fabric refreshers can add a fragrant finishing touch to your textiles.

You'll likely want to have your best holiday decorations on display when your guests arrive. If you clean and declutter your holiday decor before it's time to decorate, you're able to take inventory and create a decorating plan that won't stress you out. For example, you'll have time to replace that strand of lights that only half lights up. The decorations might also be dusty from being in storage for the last several months.

Pull out the boxes of holiday decorations, and go through them to see which ones you plan to use this year. Dust the decorations to prepare them for display — you don't want to put dirty decorations up after you've spent so much time dusting and decluttering your home. Test anything that lights up, moves, or plays music to verify that it's working correctly. Once everything is clean and in good working condition, you can start decorating.