How to Prepare the House for Christmas

This article will help guide you as you prepare your home for Christmas.

First Step Clean the house.

The decorations won’t look nearly as pretty if they’re nestled in with cobwebs. Give the house a deep clean, dust, vacuum, mop, and polish. Do all the laundry, or have everyone do their own if they’re old enough. Bring in any potted plants from outside if they won’t survive the cold and rake up any leaves left over from fall. If you have children, have them clean their rooms just as thoroughly, telling them that Santa may not come if they don’t. You can also use this as a time for them to go through their toys and pick a few to donate to a charity or thrift store. If any toys are broken, throw them out.

Of course you can call Absolute Shine Cleaning Services for this step.

 

Set up the lights.

If you already have lights, use them; if you don’t wish to use the existing lights, or you want different lights, go to the store and buy new ones. There are no right or wrong lights, it’s just a matter of personal taste. Be sure to buy plenty of light hooks and nails while you are out. If you are buying new lights, understand what you want to do with them first. Are you stringing them up just around the room on the side facing the street? Are you putting stripes across your roof? Know approximately how many feet you want to cover and where before shopping.

 

Put up the Tree.

You can buy one at a Christmas tree lot or use an artificial tree if you prefer. Put the lights on the tree first, wrapping them in and out of the branches for a fully “lit-up” look. Next comes garland, if you’re using it, and then the ornaments. If you like, do the actual decorating as a family, letting everyone put on their favorite ornaments. Put the tree topper on. This could be a star, an angel, or something else entirely. Again, it’s a personal choice.

Make cookies.

If they’re in danger of all being eaten before Santa gets there, tuck a few away or plan on making another batch closer to Christmas Eve. Gingerbread men and Sugar cookies are popular choices. Don’t think it’s just the children who can decorate cookies!

 

Buy presents.

Make a list and check it twice, of who you’re buying for and what you want to give them. Make sure the cost of each gift will fit into your budget before you do any shopping. Once you’re bought the presents, wrap them up! Store bought wrapping paper, newspaper (especially the comics pages), brown paper from grocery bags, and gift bags are all options. Ribbons, raffia, or fabric scraps can be used to top them off. Don’t forget the tag saying who it’s for!

Put some of the presents under the tree.

If you have children, it’s best not to put any presents to them under the tree until closer to Christmas. If you have aunts, uncles, other relatives, friends, or neighbors coming by that you’ve shopped for, put their gifts under the tree. It makes it look very Christmasy.

 

Well done with this steps you must be almost ready for Christmas.

And remember  Shiny Home, Happy Family!!

Tips for Cleaning Ovens

 When was the last time you cleaned your oven?
Ovens can be a nightmare to clean, especially if they haven’t been cleaned for some time. If a build-up of grease, fat and grime occurs on your oven interior, then not only does it look and smell unpleasant, but the oven is rendered unhygienic – definitely not something you want to be cooking food in.
With this in mind, When was the last time you cleaned your oven?

Ovens can be a nightmare to clean, especially if they haven’t been cleaned for some time. If a build-up of grease, fat and grime occurs on your oven interior, then not only does it look and smell unpleasant, but the oven is rendered unhygienic – definitely not something you want to be cooking food in.
With this in mind,Absolute Shine cleaning Services  are giving you some tips on keeping your oven clean. If you don’t feel like doing it yourself, then we have cleaners in your area who are ready and waiting to make your oven sparkle like new. Just head over to our booking page where you can arrange an appointment for a cleaner.
1. Remove the oven racks
You may be thinking ‘this is a strange oven cleaning tip’. However, many people, when cleaning the oven, don’t remove the metal shelving that sits inside. This reduces access to the oven interior, which means you are unable to clean it properly. A great tip is to remove the racks, coat them in oven cleaner, and then place them in a bin-bag while you clean the rest of the oven. You’ll find they come out looking as good as new!
2. Remove any obvious debris
This might seem pretty obvious, but old burnt chips and pieces of toast-crust can often hide themselves in the corners and down the sides of your oven, and they love disappearing to the back to burn even more! Prior to cleaning the oven walls, you should first remove all this debris so that you can apply your cleaning solution to the actual grime, not loose pieces of old food that you can remove easily.
3. Coat the oven interior
With the racks out of the way and soaking, you can get to work on the oven interior. This might look like a pretty dreadful job to get stuck into, but you’ll be glad you did it. Take whatever cleaning product you’re using – be that a shop-bought specific oven cleaner, or your own baking soda solution – and coat the inside of the oven with it. Then you need to leave the solution to work its magic, so put the kettle on and have relax while your cleaning solution does the hard work!
4. Scrub the grime away
Obviously, after your cleaning solution has done the hard work for you, the only thing left to do is to remove the grime that was coating the inside of your oven. Make sure you wear gloves for this as it not only gets messy, but if you have used a shop-bought cleaning product then they are often corrosive and can burn your skin.
5. Get someone else to do it
OK, we know everyone likes to think they have time to do EVERYTHING around the home. But busy lives mean we can’t always keep up with the housework. If your oven is in need of cleaning, then our cleaners are ready and waiting to make them spotlessly clean. Just book an appointment now and find out for yourself!are giving you some tips on keeping your oven clean. If you don’t feel like doing it yourself, then we have cleaners in your area who are ready and waiting to make your oven sparkle like new. Just head over to our booking page where you can arrange an appointment for a cleaner.

Cleaning with pets

  • Anyone that has experience in cleaning a house with pets will tell you the same thing: it is a hard job! No matter how much you clean and vacuum, pet hair seems to appear magically in every corner of the house.

    So here is a list of essential tools to win the “fight” against pet hair at home!

    Vacuum cleaner. We all know how important it is to have a good hover to get rid of unwanted pet hair. Make sure you keep the vacuum cleaner working at its full potential by emptying the bag after every use and checking the filter regularly. Hovers are good to use on carpeted floors and upholstery. As we have explained in the past, when hovering a carpeted floor, always do several passes with the vacuum on high transit areas.

    Electrostatic dust mop. These are best used on hard floor surfaces. They will attract pet hair easily thanks to their static power.

    Microfibre cloth. These cloths are the multi-purpose tool in here. They can be attached to a broom and used on hard floor surfaces, in case you do not have an electrostatic dust mop. They can also be used on hard to reach corners on carpeted floors (just damp them a little bit and drag across the area where the carpet meets the skirting boards). They can also be used on upholstery, to get rid of pet hair on sofas or beds.

    Rubber gloves/ squeegees/ damp sponges. As an extra, these can always be used on carpeted floors and upholstery.

    Get yourself armed to fight your pet hair with these tools, and don’t forget to brush and bath your pet regularly, as that will reduce the amount of hair around your home, making the cleaning process easier.

    Do you have any tips on cleaning pet hair? share with us!

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