CHRISTMAS CLEANALONG

[Alsonification]

Hi all. So for the first time ever I will be hosting Christmas Day dinner in my home.

And to that end, I've decided to give my house a massive clean, declutter & reorganisation (very badly needed!).

I've worked out there are 16 weekends to Christmas (well actually 17 but I want to use the last one for food prep) so I'm dividing my house into 16 sections & going to spend one day every weekend on a different section.

I'm starting this weekend. Would anyone like to join?

I did the same thing last week! Couldn't believe I'd spent my whole adult life not knowing how to fold them, without them looking like I'd just screwed them up and shoved them in the airing cupboard 😅

Today I am decluttering the loft. There is so much stuff it is stressing me out! I genuinely have visions of the floor up there giving way and the whole lot coming crashing down on top of us. Most of it is clothes that I have kept to slim into when the reality is I'm fatter than ever so it's time for them to go...well some anyway!

Hi! Hope it’s ok to join, I know I’m quite late to the cleaning party.

Today I have sorted out the sideboard and now have a whole empty drawer. I’m going to use that to put my Christmas cards in when I’ve written them rather than my usual of forgetting where I put them.

Tidied eldest DD’s room and sorted through clothes she doesn’t fit anymore.

I have also caught up on the washing.

Overall quite a productive day. I have a few days off this month so gonna try and fit all the cleaning in!

@onlyhereforthechristmaschat I know exactly what you mean! Our loft has far too much stuff in it and I don’t even know what half the boxes have in. I will put that job on my list.

I have FINALLY cleared out and defrosted my freezer 🎉🥳

Delighted to see so many still ploughing away. Slow & steady wins the race as they say.

I can deffo sympathise on the attic situation. Mine is so bad that it wud need several weeks to clear. It's not on the Christmas cleanalong list cos it's just too big a job. New Year's resolution list???

@SnowJamz the more the merrier. ☺️

@frozendaisy hope all is ok 💐

Today I haven't actually done anything from my list. I have friends coming for lunch tomorrow so decided to do a full house general clean. It's been so much easier due to all the cleaning I've already done so I'm delighted.

Is it just me that feels so much lighter already? Even though some rooms don't look much different, just knowing they're spotless & the presses are organised makes me feel so much better. Great for the head I must say.

We did another new job today (but it also cleared some things out of the garage, so chipped away at that!), which was vacuum bagging spare bedding so it takes up less space to store.

I need the in-laws to have the kids for us when we do the garage, as there'll be old stuff of theirs we clear out and we don't need watching doing that! 😬🤣

I also sorted the cutlery / utensil drawers as well, which had been annoying me.

a. Sort my drawers out and ditch old crappy socks / t-shirts etc to make space. ✔️
b. Tidy up the painting I've done, as some needs touching up. Hallway ✔️ Bedrooms - x3. ✔️
c. Sort the garage so we can actually get the car into it when it's really cold.
d. Hang pictures up. ✔️
e. Tidy, clean and sort DS' bedroom. ✔️
f. Sew damaged seam on sofa. ✔️
g. Sort, tidy and paint the kids' lounge. ✔️
h. Tidy and clear kitchen table. ✔️
i. Rearrange furniture in DD's room to give her more space. ✔️
j. Sorting bedding baskets and amalgamating. ✔️
k. Vacuum bag spare bedding for easier storage. ✔️
l. Clean and sort cutlery / utensil drawers. ✔️

Hey everyone. Big thing on my list is my oven 😩 any tips on the best things to use? I have used oven price or Pink Stuff in the past. Hate this job the most but really want to get this done in November.

@PumpkinSpicedTea, Oven Pride for shelves and a cream cleaner like Cif it will always be Jif to me! for the glass and inside. Rub on, leave for 30 mins, scouring pad to clean.

ETA: autocorrect is a knob!

@NoWordForFluffy I'm going to get some C/Jif and stick with oven pride. Thanks!

Definitely a next weekend job or maybe on my day off through the week 🤔

Meanwhile I have deep cleaned the kitchen today and was feeling proud then I walked into the chaos that is my living room 😩🤦🏻‍♀️

I bought Elbow Grease (spray , yellow one ) for most things and the Oven Pack which has the bag to put the shelves in. Then some of the liquid on the bottom of the oven left for a couple of hours /overnight .
The bag of shelves needs turned over a few times to keep it squidging round.

For the door , one of those oven-glass blade thingies are brilliant . I've never tried the wipe with a dishwasher tablet trick though .

On the hob top I use Astonish or Elbow Grease paste .

Not a favourite job of mine either
Last time I sat on the floor and scraped , ..........then played a substitute and got DS to finish

I managed to get 4 bin bags out the house the other day from the loft and there's several bags full of things to go on Vinted. The things I don't manage to get on by the end of the week can go to the charity shop as if I don't give myself a deadline I'll still be talking about doing it next Christmas!
Today I'm doing more of a tidy than cleaning / decluttering. I'm looking forward to getting the whole house sorted then in the new year I'm going to start doing half hour each day in a specific room to keep on top of it all as too much clutter messes with my head a bit.

Yesterday DH and I clean out the cupboard under the stairs. I’ve been to the dump with 2 bin bags this morning, the junk that came out of there was unbelievable 🙈 we also clean the top of the kitchen cupboards which were utterly disgusting. I’m out all day today so won’t get a lot done but I feel like I’m getting into it now so will try and do something, probably tidy my pyjama drawer and get the oven shelves into the oven pride bags ready to get scrubbed tomorrow morning (thanks to the oven chat on here making me feel left out if I don’t do it! 🤣)

@onlyhereforthechristmaschat what did you use for this? "we also clean the top of the kitchen cupboards which were utterly disgusting." I need to do this week.

I could do with knowing this too.
Ancient kitchen, it's days are numbered, but I'd at least like it clean for Christmas.

I deep cleaned the living room and dining room yesterday evening.

Off tomorrow so going to try and tackle the kitchen.

It’s threads like this that make me so grateful I am going away for Christmas.

Christmas is the catalyst for getting shit done, not the reason. The jobs always needed doing, we all just needed impetus.

We could've all gone away, but the jobs would still have been there when we got back!

@timoteigirl
The tops of our kitchen cupboards were really grim when we first moved in.
We used bicycle degreaser (Halfords sell it) and it worked like actual magic. Sprinkle it on neat and you can see it cut through grease. Smells orangey/citrusy too.

Morning all,

I need to get back on it.
So this morning, as both nippers are cycling to school and back, 2nd load of laundry is on, coffee has been drunk, and more charity shop/school library items are ready to do.

Once back from disposal, I intend, to do the outstanding niggling painting touch up jobs, by radiator in hall and one side of a kitchen cupboard.

Find and go through bicycle repair kit and order anything we need or get rid of duplicates.

Put up new, permanent fairy lights in porch :-) kerching, I didn't find an adaptor for 20 year old fibre optic tree, I took it apart and the turning bit for it to change colours was in a sealed metal electric component, all soldering looked sound so there wasn't anything more I could do.

And I think that is all for today we will see how far I get.

It was all going so well....
Main bathroom deep cleaned last week and was due to start a deep clean and declutter of the spare room this week BUT injury has stopped play.

First sunny day for weeks yesterday with a very pleasant nip in the air, perfect day for a long walk on the hills, which is how I came to find myself flat on my back in ankle deep mud (nicely seasoned with cowpats) after slipping over. I honestly don't know how I managed to hobble home given how I feel today!

I have taken to the comfy chair with intermittent very feeble walks around the kitchen. Feeling pretty bruised and sorry for myself but also lucky not to have broken or dislocated anything. Calling this a week off 😬

08/9 En suite ✅
15/9 Dressing room ✅
22/9 Master bedroom ✅
29/9 Kitchen part one ✅
13/10 Kitchen part two ✅
20/10 Utility room ✅
27/10 Sitting room ✅
03/11 Larder ✅
10/11 Bathroom ✅
17/11 Indisposed!
24/11 Hallway, stairs and landing, incl airing cupboard
01/12 Spare room
08/12 Study

@Alsonification enjoy catching up on drinking tea and reading, at least you are just bumped and bruised.

I have taken x2 bags to charity, x1 bag to school library, bought a Christmas jumper day jumper from said charity for eldest which he might wear for £4 H has said he would wear it if nipper says no, so it won't go to waste!

Done both niggle paint jobs first layer but ran out of the white for second layer still it looks better already will get some paint next time I am passing a DIY shop.

Went into a board games mecca and after much help from the "board game guru man" I have x2 games for under the tree, total surprises for the teens which he assures me with our likes and interests should be a good call. So that is a huge job ticked off. Will go back for stocking fillers and such like next week. It's a great shop!

Right off to find a small hammer, lead clips and the step ladder :-)
Fairy lights are for life not just for Christmas.

Fairy lights are for life not just for Christmas.

Never a truer word spoken!

I've dusted, sorted out the washing that is dried and set another load on to the airer. This week is a 'keeping-on-top-of everything-already -cleaned' week.

I currently have the kitchen to attack, am hoping to do that next Weds.

Upstairs hall, but that is full of DH's things.

Need to move the dining room to its Christmas configuration, as well as the spare bed in DD's room

Clean the skirting boards in half the dining room, front room and upstairs hallway.

Onwards, ever onwards!

I moved kitchen fairy lights into their new home, the porch, si new lights need putting in kitchen :)

But porch lights done.

Things have been a bit slow here after a speedy start on the cleaning and sorting. But I'm determined to reach the end of the list by the end of the.month.

Over the last fortnight - finally painted the bathroom after getting a new radiator installed, and touched up paintwork in DS room to cover up bumps, scrapes and fingerprints, sorted out donations to local charity now that a huge 'hub' has opened nearby, tidied the garden.and made a trip to the recycle and waste centre with a very full car and about a million spiders.

Hope to have carpets, doors and skirting cleaned before or over next weekend and then I'll bring the Christmas boxes (decorations) down from the attic and everywhere will look cluttered again!

I really want to have Christmas presents bought and ideally wrapped by the end of the month. I like gift wrapping in the final days before Christmas with tree lights on and music playing but more the idea rather than the reality when I end up rushing to finish late at night. Maybe I'll sort out stockings for DCs and then wrap or bag any gifts for the adult family closer to Christmas.

Enjoying all the posts on this thread. You're keeping me motivated.

Bathroom cleaned , shower curtain washed and all the containers and boxes for toiletries been cleaned .

Christmas decorations will be brought down from the attic on the 29th , DH and I do our Traditional Shopping Day on the last Friday of November but as it is Black Friday we might save our legs and look online then go out for lunch and a wander in town.

On the 30th we're going to London then on the 1st the decorations can go out - we don;t have a tree up ( cats climb it ) so some long fake fir swags on the bannister , lights, lots of LED candles (so need to check all the batteries ) ,
Christmas : loo roll , hand towels , soap , drinking straws , shower curtain , table oilcloth, wreath on the door .
We have winter bedding ( not Christmas but festive , though DD already has her sheet and pillowcases -brushed cotton. DS has brushed cotton Nordic print ) can go on too , it is getting cold !

DS and DD will have their Dec 1st Boxes and I'll recycle the old clothes that are replaced .

Tomorrow , vacuum
Washing ( I might even reach the bottom of the washing basket )