Christmas cleaning challenge
Sara Idenfors
Now it will be a clean Christmas
Christmas should be a joyful holiday, and we should focus on the right things. BUT many of us still want to do all of this in a clean and tidy home. To help those who want to clean the whole house or apartment without turning it into a gigantic project, we have created a little cleaning challenge where you do one task each day, allowing the Christmas cleaning to flow without becoming a mountain of work.
And as usual! Take it easy—it is not the end of the world if you miss a day or a task. What matters is that Christmas becomes a wonderful holiday filled with laughter and good food, not that every corner is sparkling clean.
Things that may be useful for completing the cleaning challenge
- Christmas soap in a pump bottle
- Stiff scrubbing brush
- Soft scrubbing brush
- Cloths
- Sink cleaning set
- Oven cleaning kit
- Gloves
- Waste bags
- Feather duster
-
Microfiber cloth
1/12 Dust all the bookcases.
A feather duster and a soft microfiber cloth are useful. After that, you can wipe the shelves with Christmas soap, preferably the spray version, and a soft cloth.
2/12 Dust the radiators. Dust and debris from the windowsills often collect behind them. Dust them today.
After that, you can wipe them with Christmas soap, preferably the spray version, and a soft cloth.
3/12 Wipe the windowsills and remove dry leaves. Perhaps you will replace the houseplants in the windows with Christmas flowers, and today is a good day to do that.
After that, you can wipe the windowsills with Christmas soap, preferably the spray version, and a soft cloth.
4/12 Christmas curtains. If you are changing to Christmas curtains, it is often a small project, and today is a good day to do it.
5/12 The floor drains—perhaps the least pleasant place to clean, but it needs to be done sometime. And honestly, doing this is enough for one day. This calls for some heavy-duty supplies. Equip yourself with a waste bag for the unpleasant things you may find in floor drains, as well as gloves. After removing all the loose debris, scrub the floor-drain components with a scrubbing brush and Christmas soap from the pump bottle—you need the stronger soap here, not the spray. Rinse all the parts and put them back.
6/12 The shoe rack in the hallway—why does it so often become such a mess? Put away shoes that are out of season, sweep or vacuum up the grit brought inside, and sort the hats and gloves.
7/12 Porch or veranda, if you have one. Sweep it, tidy up, and perhaps decorate with a couple of branches or pine sprigs.
8/12 Clean the refrigerator and discard expired items. Wipe out all the drawers and shelves, and preferably use fragrance-free kitchen soap here.
9/12 St. Stephen’s Day: today, the lutefisk should be soaked, and once you have done that, you can get started on cleaning the oven. On our website, there is a video showing you how to do it, as well as an oven-cleaning kit without harsh chemicals.
10/12 The kitchen extractor hood needs to be cleaned regularly. It can become a fire hazard if it is not cleaned. Many people put the filters in the dishwasher. If that does not work for your filters, soak them in hot water and soap; this easily dissolves the greasy dirt.
11/12 Thoroughly clean the sink and shower walls/bathtub today.
Here you may need bathroom soap, an eco-fiber cloth, and vinegar. Vinegar dissolves limescale, and if you have cleaned your shower walls with soap but still have stains, they are most likely limescale, so you need something acidic to remove it. Vinegar is acidic and works perfectly for this. Keep in mind that natural stone and marble—any stone rich in limestone—are very sensitive to acidic products.
12/12 Toilet: remove the toilet seat and scrub the toilet with a soft scrubbing brush. Don’t forget the underside of the tank and the pipes leading into the toilet.
Use bathroom spray and a soft cloth here.
13/12 Lucia Day: today is for celebrating, not cleaning! Enjoy the beautiful singing, gingerbread cookies, and saffron buns, and don’t forget to feel a little pleased with how much Christmas cleaning you have already done!
14/12 Scrub all the tile and floor-tile grout in the house clean with a brush and soap.
You need soap in a pump bottle (spray is a little too weak here) and a scrubbing brush, preferably both a coarse and a soft one. Scrub the joints with warm water, soap, and a brush.
15/12 Dust the trim
16/12 Polish mirrors and taps
17/12 Polish lampshades, chandeliers, and candlesticks.
18/12 The freezer: check through it and defrost it if necessary. You can wipe out the freezer with kitchen soap, which is completely fragrance-free.
19/12 Change the bed linen
20/12 The ventilation. There are many different solutions, but if your house has ventilation that needs dusting or servicing in some way, today is a good day to do it. It can make a big difference to the atmosphere in your home and the air quality. If you have an air-source heat pump, it usually comes with instructions on how to clean it.
21/12 Wipe all the cabinet doors, shelves, and countertops in the kitchen. Here you can use kitchen soap spray or Christmas soap spray and a soft cloth.
22/12 Vacuum
23/12 Decorate, trim the tree, and enjoy yourself! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and the whole house has been thoroughly cleaned.
