What’s up, y’all? Hollywood Storage Center Clean Team member Dion, here. Can you believe it’s November? 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!) The weather may still be warm, but the coming of Holiday season offers its own share of cleaning challenges. And, most of us haven’t done a super thorough cleaning of the house since Spring.

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 look towards Winter. Bonus: It gets your girlfriend off your back when you’re getting the house ready 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 food cupboard. (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 kinda think that’s cheating. The most important part: check out all the dates on your food, and toss out anything that seems suspect.

+ 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 more than 10 years old, replace them entirely.

+ Speaking of: When you turn your clocks back, turn your mattress over. 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.

Here’s hoping these Holiday cleaning tips will 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!

This was a guest post from Dion, a Storage Consultant here at Hollywood Storage Center. Dion is an cleaning expert and prides himself on learning all the best home cleaning tips for both indoors and outdoors. Readers: Post your own favorite seasonal cleaning ideas below, or on Facebook!