How to Konmari Your Home For The Holidays

The holidays are a time for family, friends and gathering together. It’s a time that should bring you joy, but with the craziness of the season, entertaining can be much more stressful than it needs to be. We’ve channelled our inner Marie Kondo to help you get your home ready for the holidays.

Step one for the whole home is to grab your toxin-free Everything Wash, that’s really an organic oils-based versatile castile soap. Mix ¼ cup of castile soap with one litre of warm water in a spray bottle to make an all-natural, multi-purpose cleaner and get ready to bring joy to your home.

Kitchen

The kitchen might be one of the busiest places during the holidays. You’re cooking dinner for guests, baking all those holiday goodies and let’s be honest, that’s where everyone really does gather. So start by giving the hub of your home a deep clean and decluttering, the natural way.

• Degunk your stove without all the icky chemicals (that are also more costly) in conventional oven cleaners that you buy in the store. Simply sprinkle baking soda all over the inside of your oven, spray with vinegar and let the natural cleaning power eat away at your oven grease for 20 minutes, then wipe clean.

• Use your all-purpose Everything Wash spray to wipe your fridge, then dispose of anything that might be expired (in the compost, ideally). Gotta make room for food prep and leftovers.

• Run a vinegar rinse through your dishwasher so dishes come out spotless and you don’t have to re-wash anything

• Declutter your countertops by putting away anything that you won’t need for the next few weeks, so you have plenty of room for things like cookie decorating.

• Keep a bottle of our Antibacterial Kitchen Hand Wash at the sink for turkey time. This hand wash is naturally antibacterial because of the Lactic Acid we make it with. Packed with organic Coconut and Olive Oils, this wash also won’t dry out your skin during a time when you’ll be doing a LOT of hand washing. Not to mention is smells amazing, thanks to invigorating Rosemary and Eucalyptus Oils. If you already have a pump bottle, you can refill it with our 1L Refill.

Bathroom

It’s a room that everyone is sure to use, so put your mind at rest before your guests arrive with an all-natural deep clean.

• First some of the basics: Get rid of any dust bunnies in the corner and top up the TP.
• Test the sink and tub to make sure they’re draining well. A kettle of boiled water can work wonders to keep drains going down smooth. But if you want to bring in the big guns, after the boiling water pour in equal parts vinegar and baking soda, wait five minutes and then flush with boiling water again.

• You can also add some holiday spirit to your bathroom with our Vanilla Candy Cane and Orange Cardamom Holiday Collection of soaps and hand creams.

• Feeling crafty? Whip up some DIY fizzy toilet bombs to keep everything smelling fresh, naturally. This recipe uses only four safe, natural ingredients: hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, baking soda and essential oil.

Living Room

Most of us end up rearranging our living room to accommodate holiday decorations. That makes it the perfect time to get in a good clean.

• Clear off coffee tables and end tables so there is room for drinks and snacks

• Make sure there is space for people to sit. If you keep extra chairs in storage, pull them out and keep them close at hand

• If you have friends visiting with kiddos, do a little bit of childproofing and move any breakables out of reach.

• Get your essential oil diffuser ready with your favourite holiday scents (like Organic Sweet Orange Oil, that also promotes positivity and eases anxiety) so your home always smells festive and oh-so-lovely.

• Forget those chemical fabric fresheners. Give your couch a revamp with ½ cup of water, ¼ cup rubbing alcohol or vodka and about 10 drops of essential oil in a spray bottle. Give it a shake and spray odours away.

Guest Bedroom

If you have guests staying with you, prepping the spare bedroom now is one less thing you’ll have to do before they arrive.

• Clean all the linens and spray them with a lavender mist, or one of our Wellness Sprays to keep the room smelling delightful. You can leave the bottle on the bedside dresser for your guest to use if they need a little refresher.

• Put some travel-sized toiletries on the dresser. This doesn’t have to be costly. A nice touch is cutting off a fresh square of one of our all-natural soap bars for your guest, to add a little hotel-feel. Rocky also has a whole host of travel-sized goodies if you want to go all out with a Body Butter or Everyday Hero Shower Gel.

• Once you have the space ready to go, you might want to consider keeping the door to the room closed to keep pets and little ones from making a mess.

Entry Way

With a house full of visitors comes a closet full of jackets and shoes everywhere. Plus, the entry way is the first impression when your guests arrive.

• Set the mood right with soft lighting from a pure soy, cozily scented candle like Vanilla Fig. Soy candles are not only great value because they leave almost no wax left behind in the jar, but they also burn clean and pure with no phthalates.

• Clear out your hall closet and make sure there are hangers and space for extra winter jackets.

• You can also put shoes that you’re not using in another closet so there is space for guest footwear. And be sure you have a rug down for people to wipe their feet.

Getting ready for the holidays doesn’t have to be a huge chore if you start early and do a little bit at a time. Have your family help out, put on some great tunes and you’ll be surprised at how little time it takes. Comment with your tips and tricks for a holiday-ready home!