The holidays have come and gone and by the time you’re reading this post, you’ll have made your toasts to 2023’s new year! If your holiday season was anything like mine, your home is feeling a bit sideways! It’s time to reset your home for 2023.
Hi, I’m Meghan! I’m a military spouse, homemaker, and mommy. Welcome to my blog! Because we live so far from our families, we had 14 consecutive days of visitors through the Christmas holiday season. We enjoyed all our family time so much and were so grateful they came to us this year!
But.
My home reflects the heavy traffic.
My drawers are disheveled, my laundry has piled up, and my baseboards are in desperate need of attention. I like a task list to follow, so I’m giving you mine so you can check off a few items that will keep your home feeling clean and comfortable to start out 2023.
Without further ado, here are 23 ways to reset your home for 2023!
1. Take down all that holiday decor!
The Christmas tree was pretty. We enjoyed it. But, as the new year approaches, I like nothing more than to disappear that sucker ASAP!
I pulled mine down today with swift determination. January 1st will know nothing of my Christmas decor!
I had a few lingering wall hangings that got the boot today as well. It felt good to get everything back in it’s place.
2. Run a cleaning cycle on your coffee pot.
When was the last time you did anything with your coffee maker except beg it for caffeine?
It noticed.
Run a cleaning cycle with vinegar, change your water filters, and thank the poor thing for providing you with, you know, energy.
3. Pull out your appliances and sweep/mop behind them. Reset your home with those clean nooks and crannies!
I don’t make a habit of moving my stove, so when I do it I want the floor beneath it looking spotless.
The same goes for my refrigerator. These are heavy items that are difficult to move. I like to give these both a shove at the beginning of the year and make sure everything looks spotless before returning them back to their routine locations.
4. Clean behind your toilets.. Just in case you haven’t in say, three.. Months…? Anyone else?
Sure you have cleaned your toilets, you aren’t that behind on housekeeping chores!
But, answer me this.
Have you cleaned behind your toilet recently?
Do you even know what’s back there?
I challenge you to find out.
5. Polish the kitchen table. It will make you want to set the table and whip up a feast, I promise.
I can promise you this happens very rarely in my house.
Maybe even just twice a year.
But even if it’s a rare task that’s effect wears off in just a week, it’s worth starting the year off right by taking the extra time to really give your hardworking furniture special attention.
6. Do you treat your house for pests? Time to reset your home’s treatment plan.
We do a routine spray down of our home to keep out insect infestations along with setting mousetraps to keep from feeding the masses.
If you have any of the same needs, January 1 is the perfect time to start your annual routine.
7. Clean your stovetop.
I cooked so many meals this holiday season I practically lost count. To the dismay of my husband, I am a notoriously messy cook.
This led my poor stovetop to look like multiple explosions had occurred on top of it.
If you’ve been constantly prepping food for the holidays, your kitchen may look similar.
It’s time to pull out the barkeepers friend with its pal the steel wool, and give the stove top a fighting chance at ever being clean again.
8. Reset your home by reseting the drains.
Your showers have now cleaned more humans than they ever thought possible.
The guests you’ve had were grateful for your thoughtfully provided extra set of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash with which you provided them.
Now, say hello to your drain. Get your snake, needle nose pliers, or miscellaneous tool of choice and remove the remnants of your guests from your home. They need to find a new place to stay.
9. Clean/Reorganize the pantry. Chances are your guests didn’t know your “system.”
Your pantry may have been holding some seasonal food items that don’t usually take up space, or it might just be that Uncle Bob from Idaho didn’t know where your peanut butter went.
Whatever the reason, attend to your pantry and straighten it up!
The next time you come home from the grocery store, you’ll thank yourself.
10. Reorganize your garage or shed.
Wherever your Christmas decor finds itself in the holiday down-season, take the time to put everything away thoughtfully and neatly.
I know it’s a pain in the rear to start another project following dismantling your Christmas decor: but so be it.
In my homemaking journey, I have found that the second I walk away from a task that needs doing… I have been defeated. The task may never get done again. The removal of my presence was like waving the white flag.
If that mess can be improved upon within a half hour of organizing or less: do it.
So, when you put up your decor, be it in your attic or your garage, examine the area. Is it a mess?
If it is a mess, could you fix it or improve it with a half hour of combined thought and action?
If you can, set a timer for 30 minutes and tackle as much as you can in that time. You’ll thank me later.
11. Move the furniture and clean.. under it and in it.
Wow. The tree is out and suddenly you have floor space again!! Hooray!
Except, your reclaimed square footage is covered in needles, sparkles, and… what even is that?
You start to sweep and realize that the mess extends to underneath the surrounding furniture. Remember what I said before, do it and do it now.
Move that couch, table, or whatever it may be and attack the problem with vacuum, mop, or by whatever means necessary.
You’ll sleep better at night knowing the dust bunnies are out on the curb with the other garbage, instead of invading your home!
12. Clean those baseboards momma!
So, you moved your couch I hear! Well, why don’t you just go on ahead and have a look at those filthy baseboards. Don’t turn your head!
You may not see these guys again for a while. Get in there and start on those. Follow them all through your house. Do your worst.
Sure they’ll get dirty again, but you can check the ones behind the furniture off your quarterly cleaning list for the spring!
13. Wash your doors. This is a great way to reset your home!
While you were down on your hands and knees you noticed some things, didn’t you? How did the edge of your door get so dirty?
Who even makes contact with this portion of the door.
The mystery may be unsolved, but the problem doesn’t have to be. Wipe down that yucky door. Looks like new, doesn’t it!
14. Clean your windows.
While cleaning your baseboards you probably saw that the trim around your window needed wiping down, and while doing that, you probably noticed your smudgy windows. Maybe it’s time to conquer those, too?
15. Declutter your closets! The presents need a home. Take all the clothes out of your drawers, refold, reorganize, and reset.
If you have children, chances are: you have an abundance of new stuff this time of year that needs a home. I like to pull everything out of each drawer in the house and put back what is welcome and declutter what isn’t.
This is a great time to chunk the junk and reorganize your drawers. Every so often mine need a complete reset.
16. Yard clean up.
Winter storms come and go. Did you lose a few limbs, pine cones, or do you just need to shovel the snow out of your drive?
Whatever your climate may be, there’s probably something that could use your attention outside.
Now’s a great time to address it.
17. When’s your last frost? You might want to know if the reset of your home involves a garden.
Look up your last frost date and the best date to prune back any bushes. Write these dates in on your calendar so you can be ready to make it all happen!
18. Vehicle need some love? Find your quarters. Rather, dig your quarters out of your cupholders like an adult and go to the car wash.
Whether you stayed put for the holidays and did a lot of back and forth to the airport, or you traveled home to see family, chances are your car could use some attention.
Vacuum the inside, wipe down your dashboard, and wipe those little finger prints off your windows.
Maybe take the time to restock those heavily used mommy items you keep in your car?
Check the oil change date and write it in on your calendar.
Doesn’t that just feel better?
19. Wait for the weather to act all nutzo and air out your house.
Having an especially tolerable temperature today? Open the windows up and air the house out.
We have two dogs and a baby and all those little guys come with their own smells.
Even though they live here, I don’t want our house smelling like they do.
Air it out, light some fresh candles, and maybe sprinkle some baking soda on your rugs and let it sit for 24 hours to eliminate any odors.
20. Reset your home by washing those drapes/window treatments.
If you have curtains up or blinds in your home, give them all a wipe down or wash cycle to continue to freshen up the smell in your home.
21. When was the last time you washed those blankets?
The same goes for any linens, slip covers, or bedspreads that need a wash cycle.
For anything extra stinky throw in some baking soda to strip the smell from the item, then hang the item out in the sun.
You can even do this when it’s cold out if you’re brave enough!
22. Run an empty washer cycle with bleach or any cleaner of choice.
Vinegar or baking soda can be used to clean any build up out of your washing machine, using them together however will neutralize both their effects.
Bleach is also an obvious choice to disinfect your washer.
23. Finally, reset your home by cleaning your microwave.
1 part vinegar, 1 part water, 1 part elbow grease.
Place a microwave safe bowl in your microwave, and heat until you bring it to a boil. 5 minutes should be plenty.
Let the water sit in the microwave until it cools completely and dip a dishrag in it to wipe down all the surfaces in your little microwave.
Boiling the water should have loosened all the grime up and make it easily come off with gentle scrubbing.
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