Keeping your house clean at holiday events can be a particular challenge. Often holiday guests wreak havoc while they're around and then leave chaos in their wake. These tips will help your home look its best for guests, and recover more quickly after they're gone.

Schedule a Professional Cleaning Before and After Each Event

Scheduling a professional cleaning before a holiday event will ensure that your home looks as clean as it can for your guests. Knowing that you'll be busy wrapping gifts, putting up decorations and making last minute meals for your parties, this will help ensure that your home gets attention from someone who doesn't have a hundred other things to accomplish in a short span of time. Scheduling a second cleaning immediately after the guests leave helps to ensure that your home recover as quickly as possible, so you can move on to the next holiday event with ease. For more information about professional cleaning, contact a business such as Kathy's Quality Cleaning, Inc.

Buy Cleaning Supplies to Keep On Hand  

If your home is normally cleaned by a professional, you may not keep many cleaning supplies on hand to deal with all the potential stains, accidents and collateral damage from your holiday guests. Now is the time to stock up on household items like vinegar (for addressing carpet stains and finger prints on windows), baking soda (for absorbing odors in your unusually full refrigerator), dish washing liquid, sponges, and multi-surface, all-purpose cleaner.

Address Stains Quickly

Stains that have set are much more difficult to remove. Address stains in the carpet and upholstery quickly, even as your holiday events are taking place. Many stains can be treated with a mixture of dish washing liquid, water and vinegar. Dampen a microfiber cloth with this mixture and then blot the stain. Start blotting on the outside of the stain and move to the inside as the outer parts of the stain disappear.

Lay Down Rugs on Both Sides of the Door

With all those guests tracking in salt, mud, slush, ice and snow, you're going to need some way of protecting your carpet or hardwood floors. Put down long mats on both sides of the door to give your guests a way to clean their shoes. Consider enforcing a "leave your shoes at the door" policy, as this can protect your floors from the worst of the mess. If you start doing this, put a shoe rack near the door where your guests can safely stow their shoes. Make sure the rack is large enough to keep boots as well as shoes.

Consult with your residential cleaning service for tips that are more specific to maintaining your home at the holidays. If you're having over a lot of children or guests with pets, you'll want to get more advice about these particular challenges.