Are you expecting out-of-town company for the Christmas holidays? If so, you are probably thinking a lot about having your house be picture-perfect. One good thing about knowing that somebody is staying at your house is that it is a great incentive to clean more than you usually might. If you're focused on doing this, here are some suggestions that might be very helpful to you.

Make It A Family Affair - If you have a spouse and kids still living at home, you probably have an automatic cleaning team to help you. Think about starting your cleaning project soon so that you can do it a little bit at a time. Perhaps the project could start by getting everybody to get rid of personal belongings that are no longer used. One idea is to get older kids to help little ones to organize things like toys, books and DVDs. Think about working together as a family to do huge jobs like the garage and the attic. 

Set A Schedule - By planning now, you will be able to actually schedule days that you will be doing your deep cleaning. Here is one way you can do it.

• Monday - clean the kitchen after heavy weekend use. Don't forget to clean out the refrigerator and stove.
• Tuesday - get the laundry done. Get everybody to fold and put away their own laundry.
• Wednesday - deep clean all the bathrooms. Think about having a caddy with cleaning supplies that you can tuck away in every bathroom.
• Thursday - dust all the furniture and knick knacks. Don't forget the tops of picture frames.
• Friday - sweep and mop floors.
• Saturday - do a thorough vacuum job on carpets. Take area rugs outside to shake off debris.
• Sunday - give everybody a day off!

Hire Professionals - If you follow a cleaning schedule, your house will automatically be ready for your out-of-town company. One thing to add to your list is to call professionals (like CCI Cleaning Connection Inc) to do the really big jobs a day or two before your company arrives. For example, if you have hard-to-reach windows, professionals can do that job for you. Another reason to call professionals is to get your carpets thoroughly cleaned. Of course, you can vacuum and even shampoo the carpets yourself. However, a professional carpet cleaning service has state-of-the-art equipment to deep clean better than you might be able to. Products that are friendly to the environment will be used so you won't have to worry about them harming your pets or your children. The same service will usually deep clean the upholstery on your furniture, too.

As you put the final touches on your house, think of putting something like a tiny Christmas tree or a little nativity set right in the room where your guest will sleep. And, don't forget a reading lamp and an alarm clock.