Holiday Grand Plan Week 10: Family Room
Focus on the family room, this week in the Holiday Grand Plan. Prepare for an organized Christmas!Moving into the heart of the household, it's Family Room Week Holiday Grand Plan!
The family room is the heart of the home, and never more so than during the holiday season. We'll clean and organize this central area of family life as we begin to think ahead to holiday visitors.
In holiday prep, we'll celebrate Halloween, then recycle autumn decorations to look forward to Thanksgiving. Keep working on those gifts!
HOLIDAY PREP
- Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
- Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
- Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
- Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes.
- Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
- Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
- Take down Halloween decorations. Put up Thanksgiving ones.
- Polish silver; clean glassware (baking soda & water). Put candleholders in freezer to help remove wax. Alcohol removes stains from candles.
- DO NOT shampoo carpet - partying people spill things.
- Clean/clear library/front hall closet so there will be room for guests' coats. Give unwanted coats to charity. Store other stuff in attic in empty luggage.
Family Room Cleaning List:
Since the Family Room is much like the Living Room, consult the notes from that week as well, to be sure we haven't missed anything! Here goes!
Start by washing the outside of your windows.
Take everything down off the walls, take down curtains etc. Wash, vacuum or dry clean as needed.
Sweep ceiling corners and other nooks in the room - tops of doorways, windows, arches, bookcases, etc.
Wash inside of windows and sills. Polish and touch-up stain on wood
Re-hang window coverings.
Take cushions off furniture, vacuum thoroughly. Vacuum cushions, checking for wear and turning as needed. Spot treat any stains or shampoo furniture as needed.
Wooden furniture and anything with drawers: Empty, sort, and throw away what you don't really need. Put the rest where it really belongs. Dust/Polish the piece you're finished with, repeat as necessary. Do shelves the same way
Baseboards - dust or wash as needed touch up scuffs on wood or touch up paint on painted surfaces.
Clean the TV screen. Dig out and sort all the accumulated electronic equipment--games, tapes, camera parts, wires, connectors, etc. Put everything where it belongs and get rid of the rest. (I stash things for a few months in the attic and if they don't miss it then I can dispose of it as I please!) If something doesn't work, take action--if it is worth getting fixed then decide when it can be done. Otherwise just liquidate it now.