If the thought of getting your home ready for the holidays is enough to make you shout “Bah Humbug” and cancel the festive celebrations this year, don’t worry, you aren’t alone! It’s perfectly normal to feel a little overwhelmed when you look at the clutter that has accrued since your big spring clean.

Try these quick fixes for an instant (well, fast, at least) holiday-ready home. After all, you can't expect Santa to do everything, now can you?

First Impressions

If you don’t have time to tidy the entire house, don’t panic. Your guests will probably not see the spare room or your family bedrooms. So, focus on the things that matter. A flawless hallway will make a good first (and last) impression, and a tidy living room will be remembered too. So, focus your Vax Powermax on those rooms for best results.

Clean for Comfort

If you’ll be having guests stay over, then you’ll want to make sure they’re comfortable. Put all of the clutter from the guest rooms into boxes, and put some fresh bed linen on the guest bed. If the guest room has been left unused for several months, it may be a little musty. Open the windows to air it out, and light a scented candle to make the room smell fresh.

Quick Kitchen Cleaning

Running the vacuum cleaner through your living room, and replacing a few rugs and throws, should be enough to make that room ship-shape; but the kitchen is a different matter. Kitchens come under a lot of scrutiny, so you’ll want to make sure that yours is squeaky clean if you have guests to impress.

Start by tackling the washing up. Once the sink and draining board are empty, clean the sink so it’s nice and sparkly. When you’re putting away your china, put the nicest pieces at the top, so that you can impress your guests at meal times.

Be sure to clean your hob and your oven too. Greasy kitchen smells don’t go down well!

Emergency Cleanups

Entertaining on short notice can be a nightmare. If you’re in a rush to get things cleaned up, perhaps because you have guests coming over in a couple of hours, then try this quick cleaning list:

1. Fill the sink with hot soapy water, and put the dirty dishes in it
2. Sweep all of the clutter in your living room, bathroom, and kitchen into boxes, and put them in the spare room.
3. Bleach the toilet, and spray your bath or shower with a bit of cleaner. Leave it to work its magic while you….
4. Run a vacuum cleaner through the house.
5. Come back and rinse out the bath and toilet.
6. Now, return to those dishes, top up the hot water and finish cleaning them.
7. Take out the trash.
8. Light a scented candle, and sit back and relax.

The above list shouldn’t take too long, especially if you work quickly – no stopping for breaks, or to admire the work you’ve already done. Just focus on de-cluttering and manipulating your Vax powermax as deftly as possible. Your work doesn’t have to be perfect – just tidier than it was before!

This article was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of The Original Factory Shop, who offer cut-price household goods such as the Vax Powermax. Amy is running behind her Christmas preparation schedule but is hoping to get up to speed this weekend.

Santa image courtesy © rus09 - Fotolia.com