IFMA Buzz


November 25, 2016

IFMA San Antonio Annual Awards Gala

Holiday Cleanup

John Oswald

How to make Holiday cleaning as Stress Free as Possible

Unless you hire someone to do your cleaning, you’ll never be able to completely eliminate the stress of holiday cleaning  with its larger than life meals, is one of the worst!  However, there are a few steps you can take which will help cut down on the cleaning time and work with minimal effort in preparation.
 Empty your Refrigerator
 Start the weekend before and clean out your fridge of anything that you don’t need. Freeze or throw away anything that won’t be used for the holiday cooking and you’ll start ahead of the game for storage space! The best solution is to have an entire shelf dedicated to your Holiday food which starts empty and then fills up after the main meal.
Make sure to clean out that shelf about a week after the holiday. You can make other dishes like soup from many of the leftovers and if you freeze them they’ll last even longer. 
Cook and Prepare ahead of time
 One of the easiest ways to eliminate an overwhelming workload on a holiday is to cook and prepare as much food as you can ahead of time. This also takes away some of the preparation stress that inevitably goes along with cooking that  meal. Use this as an excellent opportunity to cook with your kids and share those secret family recipes!
Pre-Clean
Load your dishwasher with everything you can before guests arrive, run it, and put everything away. This will ensure you have an empty dishwasher for the plethora of dishes sure to come and takes away concerns of not having enough dishes for everything.   Also make sure you take out the garbage and recycling beforehand so you shouldn’t have to do so in the middle of cooking and serving!
Establish a Soaking Station
The best way to make washing dishes easier is to soak them immediately when you are finished with them. Even better is a quick scrub before soaking. You don’t want to monopolize the sink with this however, so set up a small bucket/trash can with soapy water as your designated soaking station. You can hide it in a under the sink or in the garage so you’re guests won’t see the mess. Then when you are ready to hand wash or load the dishwasher, half the work is done!
Multi-purpose Cookware
To help alleviate cleaning stress, use dishes that are multi-purposed and can cook, serve, and store food-all in one! Alternatively, using hollowed out bread or squash makes clean up a breeze. Throw away or compost afterwards for the easiest of solutions.
Prepare your Cooking Materials
 If you don’t get your pots and pans dirty in the first place, there will be no need to clean them. Line your cookware with heavy-duty aluminum foil or cook turkey in a bag. Pour drippings into a pot to make gravy and throw away the bag.
Line Garbage Cans
Lining your garbage can with multiple bags saves time when the cleaning campaign begins. After you toss a trash bag, there’s another waiting for action.
Treat Stains Immediately
Nothing is harder to get rid of than a stain that has been allowed to set (except possibly in laws!). While stains are still fresh, dab with the proven cleaning agent hydrogen peroxide mixed with a few drops of dish detergent and blot it with a clean, damp cloth. Water stains can be removed with a touch of white toothpaste as long as it is not gel. Just rub in the direction of the grain until it vanishes. Enjoy Yourself! Up-tempo music will reinvigorate you for cleaning. Turn off the calming dinner fare and get rocking with an upbeat playlist for cleaning.
 
John Oswald
Director Business Development
4M Building Solutions
#830-469-8098
joswald@4-m.com

 
IFMA Buzz - November 25, 2016