Why do we clean like this?

[lipsticklovley]

Surely it's not only me, but in top of everything else I now have this ridiculous urge the the entire house needs to be cleaned, as if Father Christmas will be doing a cleanliness inspection.
Half of me is saying sod it, the other half is saying every inch of the house needs to be scrubbed within an inch of its life.
I have no visitors planned (of course) just DP and kids here.
I'm the same before I go on holiday!
Please tell me I'm not crazy 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes! We are doing the Christmas clean today.
Food shop was delivered first thing this morning so I cleaned out the fridge before playing fridge tetris.
Changing all the beds (but leaving the washing until after Christmas).
Then tomorrow will be food prep and trifle making.

We usually go to family for Christmas so the clean is so that we don't come back to a hovel - I am determined not to clean much until next Monday (I usually follow TOMM so will re start then).

I also had a huge toy clear out and put some stuff in the loft to make way for the onslaught of new ones.

I've cleaned the rug and got the sofa cushions in the wash I want to get table sorted today and the bathroom will need a once over tomorrow as it was properly done yesterday.
I was thinking this earlier why do I bother and came to the conclusion it was so I didnt have to do anything else non Christmassy till after Christmas.

I did my big clean yesterday but already feel like its messy and I want to do it again on Christmas eve. I feel so much more relaxed when the house is sorted and I do really find cleaning cathartic and relaxing. So I'll do it again tomorrow I know I will!

My mum used to wash the living room carpet and my dad used to repaint the living room every Christmas eve.
To this day I feel festive when I smell paint or step on damp carpet 😂

My house is generally clean and tidy so I don't do anything specific for Christmas. I don't do anything much over Christmas either apart from tidy as we go. I do however, do a fairly comprehensive clean on New Year's Day when I pack up all the decs because I love the feel of starting the new year fresh.

I'm just having a coffee and then I shall be cleaning for the rest of the day!

Why pack up the decs New Year’s Day? Christmas isn’t over then

I do a massive declutter and a deep clean at the beginning of the month like the skirting boards, high level dusting, polish mirrors and then it can just be kept on top of doing the daily stuff like laundry, dishes and a hoover every other day. Between christmas and new year I have another big clean again to catch the things I didn't to do at the beginning of the month like under the fridge/sofa, clearing out the kitchen cupboards, washing the doors inside and out. Its at this time I usually start moving the furniture about for a bit of a change which pleases DH no end and asks if I'm feng shui-ing again.

[quote Thewiseoneincognito]@GwendolineWindowlene what on Earth do you do at the sink? 😆[/quote]
I blame DP for this. Somehow the combo of small sink and powerful tap defeats him every time, he’s forever splashing the window when he washes up, cooks, looks at the tap in a funny way...

It's not just you! I'm feeling stressed as I'm on holiday from work as of today and I had earmarked this day for manic cleaning while my 3yo daughter should have been at my mum's (regular childcare arrangement while I'm normally at work). Instead we are isolating pending covid results because my daughter has a cough.

Oh well, bring on the chocolate!

It's tradition and part of festive built-up. Put some nice tunes on and reward yourself afterwards with a sweet treat or a tipple.

Yep - cleaning frenzy here as well. I can't relax until its all done for christmas.
Usually I clean somewhere in the house every day but for Christmas I like the whole house done so I can forget housework for a few days and relax.

I've got to do the kitchen, downstairs loo and possibly bathroom (if I can't persuade someone else to do it!). They are all in need.

Might run the hoover around later but that's it. I watched my mum go into a cleaning meltdown every Christmas when I was growing up and it kind of put me off doing the same. She would get so stressed out about it, there would be tears before Christmas Eve, and she'd become so unreasonable about everything. I think she had an idea of a 'perfect Christmas' and wanted to attain it. Made Christmas just a little bit stressful.

She's much calmer now that it's just her and my dad.

Was thinking this myself recently after seeing lots of Facebook posts with people scrubbing the house from top to bottom so that they can get their tree and decs up. I kind of understand it if you've got family or guests over for the festive period but other wise, what's the point? Maybe a clean and tidy up to make room for presents and food etc but a deep clean? No ta.

DH asked me the other day when I was planning on doing my big Christmas clean so he knew when he had to keep the kids entertained and out of my way 😂

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

Can I add to this - housework 'chicken'. You know that game where kids leave it as late as possible to run across the road? It's a similar thing - if you clean too early it will get messy again, but if you leave it too late it'll be horribly stressful and might not all get done and you'll be ruining Christmas eve 😬

This!! All I Want for Christmas is a house keeper, a once a week cleaner wouldn't be enough.

I just cleaned the house top to bottom. I enjoyed it! What else is there to do in tier 4 on the rain haha

My one abiding memory of Christmas Eve, as a child, was my father cleaning the kitchen floor after all prep had been done (by mother). As they married in 1957 they were not "modern", but he always used to do this as his share of the Christmas prep.
But, as a family, we were never as "deep cleaned" as modern people seem to be. I actually don't think this is very healthy, unless you have a family member with severe allergies or a condition that requires utmost cleanliness.
I may clean my kitchen and bathroom 1 tomorrow, but only because it is their day for being cleaned. The rest of the house can stay as it is.

I also get this awful urge at christmas and before every holiday. It makes getting ready for holiday such a slog. Cleaning, sheet changes etc prior to leaving. Even on leaving this house like this I always come home and feel slightly disgusted by the filth.

I was going to then I decided it was a bit silly, only DS is coming anyway and he won't notice, no one else can come in. Next week all the Christmas stuff will be packed away and it will be much easier, also with the expected lockdown/tier 4 next week it will be something else to concentrate on

I always do a really good Christmas clean, it feels nicer to be able to celebrate on top of a really clean and tidy house! And it means a space for any nice new things to go!

Can I confess ?
I haven’t washed down my paintwork (doors, skirting board etc) for 21 years 🤣🤣🤣🤣
They get a half hearted dust once a fortnight but that’s it 😱

Im just about to start. For me it’s about relaxing in a lovely clean house and doing nothing, starting tomorrow, except cooking nice food (together with DH and DC) for a few days.

I’ve already scrubbed the oven and the fridge, and cleared and cleaned out the kitchen cupboards in prep for the big Christmas food shop I did last night. Will empty dirty laundry baskets, change all bed sheets, wash sofa covers and clean windows this afternoon, then clean bathrooms, hoover, mop and dust after dinner tonight.

I need this motivation!

Happy to say I have no plans whatsoever to clean, beyond maybe some basic vacuuming.