3 Steps for a Clean Home and a Carpet Freshener Recipe

This 3 Steps for a Clean Home and a Carpet Freshener Recipe has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. This post contains affiliate links. #EurekaPower #CollectiveBias

The holidays are coming, the holidays are coming! Feel like you’re being pulled in one million directions? If you don’t, just wait. It will happen. You will become overwhelmed and probably fall behind with everything on your endless to do list, including your vacuuming. These are my three steps to quickly and efficiently clean your home and have it ready for holiday visitors. And my easy carpet freshener recipe ensures your home is smelling fresh and clean! Whether you have guests coming to stay for a few days, or you’re throwing a holiday open house, these time saving tips will help you get things done and save your sanity!

1| Tackle the counter clutter. In our home, the kitchen is the “drop zone” for everything from school papers to coupons to mail to sunglasses. Make it a point to SOAR through this area daily: Sort, Organize, Archive, and Recycle. Separate the school papers, organize what you need for the week, archive the special projects into their storage bins, and recycle everything else. Taking five minutes each day will help you tame that clutter.

You can SOAR through every room in your house. Think about the where you use items and whether or not they’re being stored in the proper rooms. Toys in the den, but everyone spends time together in the living room? Maybe it’s time to move those toys! Art supplies in the bedroom, but you craft at the dining room table? Pick up a cute storage cart and keep your art supplies in the dining room. Make your home work for how you live in it.

2| Create a cleaning schedule that works for your schedule. Remember, what works for one, isn’t necessarily going to work for you. I do laundry on Sunday and Thursday. I clean the bathroom on Monday and Friday. I vacuum every day, and dust when I can see it. (Being totally honest here, friends!)

Our laundry is sorted by type (darks, lights, towels/jeans) as it goes into the baskets. I just grab the basket, load everything into the washer, add the soap and it’s ready. Having the clothing pre-sorted helps makes a daunting task more manageable, and reduces my hands on time to about 5 minutes.

More confession: I clean my toilets daily. If you have a 5-year old boy, you understand why.

3| Work Smarter, Not Harder This has been my motto since my days as a restaurant server. Having good tools to do the job makes it easier to accomplish the task at hand. Don’t use an old shirt to dust, use a microfiber cloth to trap the dust. Don’t mop on your hands and knees using a sponge, invest in a proper mop. The same holds true for your vacuum.

Because of how often I use my vacuum and the variety of surfaces it is working on, I need a vacuum with a great suction seal. That’s where the AWESOME Eurkea Suction Seal 2.0 vacuum comes in!

Now that you have a plan on how you’re going to keep your house clean, you have more free time. When I find myself with a little bit of free time, I like to whip up a fun project. This week, I created a DIY carpet freshener.

You need your favorite essential oil, baking soda, a cute container, chopstick or fork, a small piece of scrapbook paper, and a 1/16 inch hole punch.

Pour a small amount of baking soda into your cute container. I used a two-ounce mason jar. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Mix with your chopstick. Punch holes in scrapbook paper cut to fit the top of your container. Add scrapbook paper to top of mason jar. Replace metal ring. Now you’re ready to go!

Sprinkle your carpet refresher onto your wall-to-wall carpet or area rug. Allow to sit for 10 – 15 minutes before vacuuming with your Eureka Suction Seal 2.0 vacuum! What’s fun about this carpet refresher, is that you can create as many fragrances as you’d like – one for every season!

The vacuum was so easy to put together! I did it myself in less than five minutes!

How well does the Eureka Suction Seal 2.0 vacuum work? The SuctionSeal® with All-Surface Suction Plates™ focuses the airflow where it needs to be for deep cleaning suction power. As you move across the flooring surfaces in your home, the plate raises and lowers against the surface while maintaining suction and seal without scattering debris. This means that while I’m standing barefoot vacuuming our hardwood floor, my feet aren’t being pelted by small pieces of shell from our driveway. Clearly a win.

One thing I noticed when I was assembling the vacuum was the direct air path from floor to cup. The air path has limited bends and turns, which allows more air to pass through the vacuum. This means the dirt travels a shorter distance, increasing the amount of airflow for powerful suction. Check out this quick 30-second video.

How do you keep your home clean around the holidays?