Getting a Pinellas County home ready for holiday guests goes best in this order: decorate first, deep clean second and schedule the cleaning two to four days before your first guests get there. Guests notice the bathroom and the room they sleep in more than anything else, so put your effort there. Everything after that is a bonus.
It's tempting to clean early and decorate after. That just means doing the work twice.
Decorate First, Then Clean
Holiday decorations come out of a garage, attic or closet where they've been since last year. Unpacking them lets loose dust in every room they land in.
Moving furniture to make room for a tree or extra seating stirs up floors, baseboards and the spots underneath that hardly anyone walks on. Do that after a thorough cleaning and you'll be cleaning twice.
So decorate, set the furniture the way it'll stay, then clean. That way the house is actually ready, with no fresh dust from the decorations.
The Two Rooms Guests Notice
Guests make up their minds in two places, and neither one is the living room.
The bathroom they'll use. Guests look at a bathroom more closely than they look at their own. Shower glass, grout, the base of the toilet, the underside of the rim, faucet bases and mirror streaks all get noticed. Leave some clear counter space too. A guest needs somewhere to put their things.
The room they'll sleep in. This is often a room that stays shut most of the year, so it has the stalest air and the most settled dust in the house. Open it several days early, run the air conditioning and wash the bedding even if it looks clean. Fabric stored in a Florida closet picks up a musty smell you can't see.
Get those two right and the rest is a lot less important than it feels.
Guest Room Checklist
- Wash all bedding, including the mattress protector and decorative pillow covers
- Vacuum the mattress and under the bed
- Dust the tops of furniture, including surfaces above eye level
- Clean the ceiling fan, which usually gets missed in a room nobody uses much
- Wipe window sills and check the tracks
- Free up closet space and a few hangers
- Empty a drawer or two
- Check the lamps, and replace any dead bulbs
- Air the room out for a day or more
Guests always appreciate an empty drawer and a few free hangers. Otherwise they're living out of a suitcase on the floor.
Guest Bathroom Checklist
- Scrub the shower or tub, including glass and door tracks
- Deal with grout and any mildew around seals
- Clean the toilet fully, including the base and the underside of the rim
- Polish the mirror and faucet fixtures
- Clear the counter, leaving usable space
- Fresh towels, hand towels and a bath mat
- Check that the exhaust fan isn't clogged with dust
- Stock extra toilet paper somewhere visible
- Empty the trash and reline it
Mildew is the Florida item on this list. Humidity keeps bathrooms damp, and mildew often grows in a guest bathroom nobody uses for weeks. For more on that, see Florida humidity and house cleaning.
Kitchens Take More Load Than Usual
The kitchen works harder over the holidays than at any other time of year, so get it ready ahead of time.
Clear out the refrigerator before the holiday, not after. When you're storing dishes for a big meal, you need the room more than you need a spotless interior. Toss what's expired and combine what's left.
Clean the oven before you need it. An oven with baked-on residue smokes during a long roast, and you don't want to find that out on the day.
Wipe the cabinet fronts around the stove and sink, where a grease film builds up that you can't see. Run the dishwasher empty with a cleaner so it's working at full capacity for a week of heavy use. And clear the counters. Counter space is what you'll run short of.
The Areas Guests See on the Way Through
Some small spots get more attention than you'd think.
The entryway is the first thing anyone sees. In beach communities like St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island, sand piles up at the door all year, so give the mats and the threshold a pass.
Light switches, door handles and stair railings get touched all the time and hardly ever cleaned. Interior glass and sliding doors show fingerprints in evening light. The floor along the paths between rooms gets more foot traffic than the middle of each room.
Give each of these a few minutes. They don't need to be perfect.
A Holiday Cleaning Timeline
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Two weeks out | Open and air the guest room, check linens and towels |
| One week out | Decorate, arrange furniture as it will stay |
| Four days out | Deep clean, or schedule a cleaning visit |
| Two days out | Groceries, clear refrigerator space |
| Day before | Fresh linens, towels, quick pass on bathrooms |
| Arrival day | Entryway and a final bathroom check |
Clean several days ahead so arrival day is about greeting people. You don't want to be scrubbing the shower while you watch the driveway.
Deciding Whether to Bring Help In
Plenty of people who clean their own homes still book one visit before the holidays. Usually it's about time. They can do the work. They just don't have the hours.
The holiday stretch is already full of cooking, shopping, travel plans and hosting. A detailed cleaning takes several hours, and those hours have to come from somewhere. Booking it out means you've decided to spend them on something else.
If you do book, book early. The weeks before major holidays are the busiest of the year for cleaning companies in Pinellas County, and the open slots go first.
Frequently Asked Questions About Holiday Guest Cleaning
When should I schedule cleaning before holiday guests arrive?
Two to four days before the first arrival works best. That gives you time for grocery runs, decorating and last-minute errands without undoing the work, plus time to deal with anything the cleaning turns up. Cleaning the morning guests arrive usually just adds stress.
Should I clean before or after decorating?
Decorate first, then clean. Bringing decorations out of storage kicks up a surprising amount of dust, and moving furniture to make room stirs up floors and baseboards. If you clean afterward, the house is actually ready, without the dust you just brought in.
What do guests notice most?
The bathroom and the room they sleep in, by a wide margin. Guests spend a lot of time in both and look hard at surfaces they'd never check in their own home. Fresh linens, a clean shower, clear counter space and a spotless toilet will get noticed. Whether the living room is perfect mostly won't.
Is it worth booking a cleaning if I clean my own home?
Many people book one visit before the holidays so they can spend the week cooking, hosting and with family instead of on their baseboards. You could do it yourself. The question is where your time is best spent during an already busy stretch.
Book Before the Holiday Rush
All Seasons Cleaning FL offers house cleaning across Pinellas County, including one-time detailed visits before holidays and guest stays.
Once you know when your guests are coming, call 727-768-9522 or request a free estimate. The weeks before major holidays book up early.