Thanksgiving guests are gone, but the beginning of December ushers in a new round of house cleaning chores, especially if you are hosting Christmas at your chalet. While most homeowners dread the drudgery of getting their house in order for additional guests, cleaning can be fun if you incorporate the following suggestions:
Rock Out: Turn up the volume on your favorite music and get cleaning. Or, put on some classical or Christmas music and sway in time to the beat as you dust, mop or scrub sinks.
Feel the Burn: Instead of looking at house cleaning as a chore, look at it as an opportunity to burn off calories. Strap on a pedometer before you engage in deep cleaning to see how many steps you take while you climb up and down the stairs hauling laundry or vacuuming.
Beat the Clock: One way to spice up your cleaning routine is to play little games. For example, I often set a small kitchen timer before sanitizing the bathrooms. The timer acts as a motivator and it’s fun to see if I can beat the clock. You could also add a new dimension to the game by posting a goal time for each chore you need to tackle, such as 10 minutes to vacuum the living room and the hallway or 20 minutes to straighten up the playroom. Then, reward yourself when you complete the task ahead of your goal time.
Call the Kids: Involve your children in the cleaning process and keep a point’s chart to see who gets their assignments done first. The winner can be awarded with a little gift or special food item. Most children don’t enjoy cleaning anymore than adults, but you may be surprised by the effective and innovative solutions they come up with in order to get their cleaning chores done in record time, especially if you encourage them to make a game of holiday cleaning.