Holiday Cleaning Checklist: Get Your Home Guest-Ready

Hosting for the holidays is easier when the cleaning runs on a countdown instead of one frantic weekend. This holiday cleaning checklist works backward from the day your guests arrive: the deep clean two to three weeks out, the guest room and the refrigerator the week before, a short reset the day before, and the cleanup once everyone has gone home. Each job is marked so you know whether we clean it, whether it is a specialty add-on, or whether it stays with you. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26 this year (OPM), so for most Los Angeles hosts the countdown starts in early November.

What goes on a holiday cleaning checklist?

The short answer is four stops on the way to the party, and one after it:

• Two to three weeks out: a deep clean of the kitchen, the bathrooms, the floors and every surface, plus carpets, upholstery and windows if they need it
• The week before: the guest bed, the guest bathroom and a cleared-out refrigerator
• The day before: the entryway, fresh towels, clear counters, an empty dishwasher and safely placed candles
• The day itself: clean hands and a watched stove while you cook
• After the party: leftovers in the refrigerator within two hours, then a post-event clean

When should you start cleaning before holiday guests?

Start two to three weeks before the first guest arrives. The big jobs need a booking, and doing them early keeps the last week free for the small things only you can do. Each item below is marked:

• We clean: inside the scope of our deep cleaning service or our Post-Event Cleaning
• Add-on: one of our specialty services; mention it in the special instructions when you book the clean
• On request: outside the standard checklist; write it in the special instructions when you book
• You: a job for the household

Two to three weeks out: the deep clean

• Counters, sink, stovetop and appliances. We clean: the deep clean covers "complete kitchen sanitization including appliances."
• Toilets, showers, tubs, sinks and mirrors. We clean ("bathroom deep cleaning and disinfection").
• Every surface and fixture dusted and polished, floors vacuumed and mopped, and the baseboards, window sills and door frames done. We clean.
• The inside of the oven and the refrigerator, before the holiday cooking starts. On request: write it in the special instructions when you book, so the team plans the time for it.
• The carpet, the rugs and the sofa your guests will sit on. Add-on: Upholstery and Carpet Care is "professional steam cleaning for carpets, rugs, and furniture using eco-friendly solutions." Schedule it with the deep clean rather than the week of the party.
• Windows for the holiday lights to shine through. Add-on: Window Washing covers "windows inside and out, including screens and tracks."
• The hall closet where the coats will go. Add-on: our Organizing Services cover "professional organizing and decluttering."

If you worked through our fall deep cleaning checklist in October, much of this list is already done, and the holiday pass is a lighter one.

The week before: the guest room, the guest bath and the refrigerator

• Make up the guest bed. If a guest has allergies or asthma, the EPA's advice on dust mites applies to the spare bed too: "Wash bedding in hot water once a week, and dry completely," and "Use dust proof covers on pillows and mattresses" (EPA). You.
• Plan around the pets. For a guest with asthma who is allergic to animals, the same EPA page suggests keeping a pet "out of the bedroom of the person with asthma" and vacuuming "carpets and furniture when the person with asthma is not around." Do the guest room's vacuuming before they arrive, not while they are there. You.
• Clear a drawer, some hanger space and a set of towels. You.
• Clear out the refrigerator before the big shop. The FDA's advice is to "Clean the refrigerator regularly and wipe spills immediately," and not to "crowd the refrigerator or freezer so tightly that air can't circulate." Keep it "at or below 40° F (4° C)"; an appliance thermometer is "the best way of knowing" (FDA). You, or the interior clean on request.

The day before: a short reset

• The entryway: shoes put away, coat space ready, the floor clear. You.
• The guest bathroom: fresh hand towels, soap, spare toilet paper within reach and an empty bin. You.
• The kitchen: counters cleared, the dishwasher emptied so it can take the first load, and the trash and recycling out. You.
• Candles, if you use them. The U.S. Fire Administration's advice: "Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns," and "Blow out candles when you leave a room or home, or when you go to bed." With guests staying over, note this one too: "Don't use lit candles in bedrooms, bathrooms and sleeping areas." It also suggests "battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell and feel like real candles" (USFA). You.

How do you keep a holiday kitchen clean while you cook?

A clean kitchen at the start of the day is only half of it. The other half is how it is used while the food is being made:

• Wash your hands, often. The CDC lists "before, during, and after preparing food" among the key times to wash, and says to "Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds" (CDC).
• Stay with the stove. The U.S. Fire Administration's first cooking message is "Stand by your pan. If you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off." It also advises: "Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so that no one can bump them or pull them over," and "Keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby. Use it to cover the pan if it catches on fire" (USFA).
• Wipe as you go. A spill wiped while it is fresh is a minute's work; the same spill the next morning is a scrub.

What should you do after the party?

Put the food away first. The FDA's "two-hour rule" says never to let food that needs refrigeration "sit at room temperature for more than two hours—one hour if the air temperature is above 90° F," and that "This also applies to items such as leftovers." Once they are in the refrigerator, "check leftovers daily for spoilage" (FDA).

Then leave the rest to us. Our Post-Event Cleaning is made for the morning after: "Hosted a gathering? Let us handle the cleanup." It includes "same-day or next-day service available," "complete debris and trash removal," "surface sanitization and stain treatment," "odor elimination and air freshening," and "kitchen and bathroom restoration." To add it, write the date of your gathering in the special instructions when you book the deep clean, and the whole holiday is covered: the house is ready before your guests arrive and put back together after they leave. If someone in your home has a specific sensitivity, add it to the special instructions and the team will work around it.

When should you book a holiday deep clean?

Book two to three weeks before your first guest arrives: in the first half of November for Thanksgiving on November 26, and in early December for Christmas on Friday, December 25 (OPM). We clean homes in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Culver City.

Booking online takes about a minute. You set the number of cleaners and hours, the total updates on the screen, and you see it before you pick a date. We confirm the appointment by email and text message, our cleaners bring all the cleaning supplies, and you can reschedule or cancel up to 24 hours before the appointment. Put the oven, the fridge or a household sensitivity in the special instructions. If you are not completely happy with the clean, we return within 24 hours to make it right at no additional charge. When you are ready, book your holiday deep clean.

Written by the Ecoshine PRO Team: insured, background-checked cleaners working with eco-friendly products, serving Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles Westside. About Ecoshine PRO.