Seasonal checklist
5 min read Updated September 2026Get Guest-Ready: Your Pre-Christmas Cleaning Checklist
Hosting at Christmas puts your home under a spotlight: guests use the spare bathroom, sleep in the guest room, and spend hours in a kitchen running at double capacity.
The trick is a two-week countdown. Nothing here needs a full weekend — just short sessions that land the house at 'guest-ready' without a panic clean on the 23rd.
Two weeks out
- Deep clean the oven — the single most used appliance of the season
- Clear the fridge of anything expired to make room for the big shop
- Wash guest bedding and air the guest room
- Check towels: enough for every guest, clean and folded
One week out
- Full bathroom clean: descale, grout, mirrors, fresh seals
- Vacuum every room including under sofas and beds
- Dust living room surfaces, shelves and electronics
- Wash hard floors and hallways — the highest-traffic zone
- Clear the coat rack and shoe area for guests' belongings
Two days out
- Wipe kitchen worktops, cupboard fronts and handles
- Clean the guest bathroom top to bottom
- Empty all bins and fit fresh liners
- Set out guest towels, soap and a spare toilet roll basket
The day before
- Quick vacuum of hall, living room and kitchen
- Wipe the dining table and chairs
- Load and run the dishwasher before cooking starts
- Light it, tidy it, stop — your home is guest-ready
Tips that make it faster
- Guests notice bathrooms and kitchens first — put your effort there if time is short.
- An empty bin and a clear worktop read as 'clean' faster than almost anything else.
- If the oven or the whole house needs help, a one-off deep clean in early December beats a scramble on the 23rd.
Hand it to a pro
Hosting this year? Book a one-off clean in the fortnight before Christmas and walk into a guest-ready home. Slots go quickly in December — 48 hours' notice applies.
Book a cleaner