Hey everyone, Jeremy here! Can you believe it’s December? Seems like only yesterday when some of my Newbury Park storage facility colleagues and I were going to the beach and having cook-outs in my backyard. (Wait, who am I kidding? Here in the Conejo Valley, we do that any time of year!) While the weather might still be warm, the holiday season has officially arrived, bringing with it new cleaning challenges. If you haven’t had a chance to tackle that deep clean since spring, now’s the perfect time to freshen up your space before the rest of the holiday festivities and guests arrive!

Hey, I get it. We’re all busy, and if we spot-clean the dirtiest areas every week or so, it never gets too bad. But there are definitely a few places around the house that need some serious help as we approach Winter. Bonus: tackling those trouble areas now might earn you major brownie points with your partner when it’s time to prep for guests. Or is that just me?

Anyway, I put together a checklist of my best five Holiday Cleaning Tips, and figured I’d “share the wealth” by offering it to you, our great Hollywood Storage Center customers and friends!

+ Get rid of all the dust that’s settled in your couch (and other assorted chairs/loungers/etc.) by vacuuming all the surfaces of the upholstery — including both sides of the cushions, the back, sides, arms, and even the platform underneath. It’s probably real, real dusty down there.

+ Take a good look at your pantry. (Guys, this goes for you too. I bet there’s stuff in there you can’t even remember buying.) Remove everything from the shelves, then vacuum up any dust and crumbs with the attachment brush on your vacuum. If you don’t want to remove the canned goods, you could just dust around them … but I think that’s cheating. The most important part: check out all the dates on your food, and toss out anything that seems questionable.

+ Even if you replace your smoke and carbon monoxide alarm batteries on Daylight Saving Time Day, take a sec to test and clean those detectors too. Dust can make them not perform too well. Using that same brush attachment on your vacuum works great for this. And if any of your units are over 10 years old, replace them entirely.

+ Speaking of: As the seasons change, it’s a good time to give your mattress some attention. Flip it over, but also rotate it 180 degrees to prevent body impressions from becoming permanent.

+ Finally — and your partner or spouse will probably really like this — give your carpet a good shampooing (if your home has carpet, of course).

Pro tip: Vacuum it first; you’d be surprised how many people don’t. You could either have it professionally cleaned; rent a carpet shampooer from the local grocery store (most have ’em); or invest in your own carpet cleaner.

I hope these holiday cleaning tips help keep your home in great shape for the next few months! And by the way — if you’ll be having house guests for the holidays, clearing some space by storing furniture and other items in our low-cost self-storage units is a great way to keep everyone in good spirits!