Channel 4's Queen of Clean, Lynsey's Christmas Cleaning Tips!

Enjoy a Clean Sparkling Christmas with these top tips from Channel 4’s Queen of Clean!

I am really excited to have Channel 4’s Queen of Clean, Lynsey write a guest post for Challenge Clare, for two reasons…

Firstly, keeping my house presentable is something that I really struggle with.

I live in the countryside, I can have anywhere between 1 and 4 man-children in my house at any one time plus the dog and Mr Challenge… It doesn’t help that they don’t even see the dirt they create! As fast as I clean up, it’s a mess again, it’s so demoralising! As a teacher I love a plan and Lynsey is the woman with a plan for keeping your house clean and tidy from top to bottom! I’m hoping it will help me bring some order to my home in time for Christmas!

The second reason for my excitement is that Lynsey absolutely epitomises what ChallengeClare is all about.

She is an absolute champion when it comes to facing and dealing with challenge in her life, and it’s safe to say that she’s had more than her fair share. But, somehow she manages to change negatives to positives, helping people on the way. (You can read more about this here.)

So… Over to Lynsey!

Guest post by Channel 4’s Obsessive Compulsive Cleaner. Lynsey, Queen of Clean

I really don’t know where this year has gone! We moved into this house November 2016 and it’s literally been the quickest year I can remember. Or maybe I am just getting old? They do say the years start to fly by as you get older and now it’s almost time for Christmas.

It’s a really good idea to prepare for Christmas in advance.

I find that if you split your house into sections and plan to tackle one section a week this is a good way to start. For example. The children’s bedrooms can be week one and so on.

Make sure you declutter as you go. Clear out wardrobes, cupboards, check underneath beds and in drawers. If you haven’t used it recently and it has no real purpose then it really needs to go.

We have just done a big charity shop run and we sorted through all of Jake’s toys and everyone’s clothes. We are far from a rich family but we are fortunate enough that we don’t need anything. I always encourage my children to want to give to charity so that another child can benefit from well looked after toys and clothes.

There are 5 things you can do in advance to make sure your home is sparkling clean this Christmas.

1. Clean your carpets.

If you’re fortunate enough to own a Carpet Cleaner give them a really good clean and move as much of the furniture as you can. Carpets really do deal with an awful lot from the moment they are installed. Don’t panic if you don’t own a carpet cleaner many local companies will probably be offering a few Christmas cleaning packages for the festive season so look one up or there is also the option off hiring one or borrowing one of a friend.

2. Clean the Oven.

You may be like me and clean the oven pretty much after every usage but if you not and it has a build-up of dirt and grime then it’s time to get your oven clean on. There are some fantastic oven cleaning products on the markets so you can quite easily do this yourself but always take care and use good cleaning gloves.

3. Clean the Fridge

Have a really good fridge clean, take all the items out and the shelves. Soak the shelves in warm soapy water and clean all the sides using a good antibacterial fridge cleaner. Check all sell by dates on the food and wash over jars and bottles, so everything you are putting back into the fridge is very clean. Add in a fridge deodoriser to help keep it smelling fresh and make sure you leave enough space for all the extra Christmas food.

4. Clean the silverware

If you are doing Christmas Day at your house then make sure you have plenty of cutlery and it’s sparkling clean. Most of us have a nice set of cutlery or a dining set that only makes an appearance on special occasions. So get this prepared.

Just wash in warm soapy water, towel dry and if your silver has become slightly tarnished use a metal cleaner and buff to dry. You can also try this amazing silver polishing gloves. I have these and use them all the time. I absolutely have, to have my silver as shiny as I can get it.

5. Organise and clean the Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations spend a long time living in dusty confined spaces until they are brought out again. But how many of us actually think about cleaning them? You would of seen me a few years on Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners bleaching my baubles and still to this day I am stopped in the street and asked If I really do this and YES! Of course I do! But you don’t have to be as full on as me. A quick wipe over with a damp cloth will be enough.

Make sure you test the lights before you put them on the tree and plan your Christmas theme, making sure it matches well with the room you are displaying your tree in. If threads on baubles are looking bare and the odd decoration is looking a little tatty then hide them at the back or better still don’t hang them at all.

Over the years my children have made me various tree hanging decorations so we have a special tree on the middle floor for all their bits and pieces and they get to decorate this just the way they wish.

Freebies!

I have designed a Christmas cleaning and organising calendar that starts on November 25th it gives you a daily task to do to help keep you organised on the lead up to Christmas. Click here to get yours.

As always thank you for taking the time to read my blog post and I hope this advice has been helpful. Please feel free to comment below with any ideas that you would like to share.