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There is no denying it now, we are up to our eyeballs in holiday festivities! I personally, am loving it! Texas has even finally agreed to act like it’s the holiday season and has graciously dipped its temperatures below 80. For me, this signals finally getting to wear jeans and boots again, woo hoo!
It also means that I get to do something I’ve been waiting on for years now–I get to decorate my very own home for the holidays! Through the years when all our things were in storage I kept purchasing Christmas decorations here and there and tucking them away, in hope and anticipation of the home we would be buying once hubby graduated from college. This will be the very first year celebrating Christmas in our own home, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. I absolutely love decorating for Christmas, it’s my hands down very favorite holiday!
It’s a hard decision, but if I had to narrow it down I would say that the kitchen here is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It has the gorgeous cedar cabinets, granite countertops, and tile floor that I’d always swooned over on Pinterest. Add in some beautiful big windows in the eat-in nook and a fun paint scheme and I’m in love with it! Because it’s such a central part of our open layout home, I wanted to make sure to give it extra attention and love while preparing for Christmas this year. Here are some tips and tricks to make prepping and decorating a joy in your home as well!
The first thing you’ll need to do is haul down all of your Christmas items and take inventory of what you have. Next, you’ll need to do the same, but with all your cleaning tools and products. Most of the dish cloths I had stored away were ones that we were given as gifts for our wedding. Needless to say, after all these years tattered is a kind adjective for them. I knew I wanted some new ones that would be multipurpose and that could tackle any job from protecting my delicate china to scrubbing away crusted on messes. After I made my list of need it and want it items for Christmas Kitchen Decorating I headed to Walmart (of course!)
There I found the New Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloths in the aisle with all the other kitchen cleaning products like dish soap and sponges. The New Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth gives you non-scratch scrubbing power with the wiping and drying functions of a dish cloth. The premium, textured fiber dish cloth features two sides with scrubbing dots technology on one side originating from their stay clean sponges. The icing on the cake? The Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth is fully washable, reusable and sturdy. I also loved their fun color options–my store had Tan and Coral but it’s also available in Navy and if you shop online you can get it in Gray & Mint!
Right now you can also Save $1 on any two Scotch-Brite Products (Scrub Sponges, Lint Rollers, and Scrubbing Dish Cloths). So definitely print it out and stock up on them! I love them so much I’ll be printing it off and heading back for 2 more of the 2 packs!
Now that you’re back with all you need it’s time to get down to business! Here’s your plan of attack!
How To Make Your Kitchen Feel Like Christmas: Cleaning & Decorating Tips and Tricks
Step One: De-clutter
Set your timer for 20 minutes and use that time to de-clutter your kitchen, specifically, focus on all the visible areas. That pile of papers lying on the counter that has been needing to be filed? Do it! Those papers on the fridge from the first day of school? Take them down. Those random items that migrated into the kitchen that really belongs anywhere but the kitchen? Send them off to their proper home! During this time look around for special items that can be used in your Christmas decorating. You know all those fancy crystal dishes and vases tucked away in your china cabinet and in your cupboards? Pull them out! I firmly believe that you should use the special things you have, and what better time than to celebrate Christmas?
Step Two: Wipe Down
It’s hard to create Christmas magic with crumbs and smudges everywhere. Set your timer for 20 minutes again and give your whole kitchen a good rub down using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth. The soft side is perfect for tables and cabinets while the scrubbing dots handle sticky countertops like a pro. Also give a pass over items like coffee pots, toasters, and those vases and crystal bowls you brought out. If they’re super grimy you’ll want to save them for the next step, but since mine were in my china hutch they just needed a gentle pass over.
Step Three: Wash Up The Decor
Fill up your sink full of soapy water and your Christmas decor. If it’s not too bad you can just wipe it down, but after 4 years in storage in Texas, my items were all a little yucky! If you have any really stuck on gunk allow the items to soak for 10-15 minutes in super hot water before you start scrubbing them down.
Again, the Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth is the perfect tool for the job. The non-scratch scrubbing power of the one side was perfect for my delicate glass ornament candle holders (how cute are they?!) While the scrubbing dots tackled some wayward soap scum that had accumulated on my snowman soap dispenser.
Step Four: Set Up Your Decor
Now that you have a gorgeous sparkling kitchen with gorgeous, sparkling decor it’s time to set it all up! I was excited to get to set up a tablescape for the first time. Since we eat at the table every day I wanted it to be pretty but not overly large to give us plenty of room to sit and eat. A cloth tablecloth & napkins lend an elegant feel while also being super practical even with kids or if you’re a wee bit clumsy like I am (easy to throw in washer and dryer to get clean!). For the centerpiece I purchased this beautiful silver cut out place mat at Walmart. I topped it with the decor I’ve gotten over the years, and my crystal candy dish filled up with seasonal candy. Two vases from my wedding are filled with these gorgeous flowers that I got from Walmart as well! Buying carnations is an easy and inexpensive way to make your space feel instantly festive! I’m so in love with these blue and silver bouquets!
Once you’re done stand back and do a happy dance to Christmas music as you admire in your beautiful kitchen!
Don’t forget to Pin This Post for easy reference this year!
Be sure to also check out other great recipes and cleaning tutorials for this holiday season here!
I’m so excited (and jealous) that you get to decorate your very own house!!! It will be so fun finding the perfect spot for all your decorations!! <3
I'm decorating today! We will be out of town next week so we'll need to get the boxes out so we can find the elf on the shelf to bring with us.. So when in Rome! 🙂
Thank you!!! 😀 Your day is coming, too! In the meantime have fun decorating!! I love that your bringing the elf along–fun! Hope your Thanksgiving trip is a wonderful one, too!
I love the way your table turned out. The arrangement looks great! And those passed down decorations? I’m right there with you on how important they are to maintain. And clean carefully! #client
Thank you! I love how it turned out too, and the kids did as well! 😀 My decorations are a mish-mash! The crystal is from my husband’s Grandma that we inherited, the ornament candle holders were gifts from his sister one year, the vases are from our wedding, and the tree I just thought was adorable and picked up! 🙂 All very important to clean carefully, for sure!!
I need to grab these because my house is so dirty! It’s time to spruce it up for the holidays.
So pretty ! I love those scrubbing dish cloths
I love your tips! I just started to get my home holiday ready and am in the midst of cleaning up.
Yes! Gotta do the clean up before you can do the set up! 🙂
Great tips and a reminder that I really need some new dish cloths, mine are getting pretty worn out.
Yeah….there’s a reason my other dishcloths didn’t make the photos–poor things were worn out looking!
Thanks for the great tips. I love those dishwashing clothes. They work on everything.
Yes!! They’re awesome, I didn’t know what I was missing out on before!
Your tablescape is really pretty! I love the silver and blues as well for the holidays.
Thanks! I looove non-traditional holiday colors like blue and silver, but hubby is all about the red and green, so we have a happy mis-mash around our house.
Perfect timing because the one room I haven’t tackled yet in my “pre-season” cleaning is the kitchen. I really need to declutter and organize my cabinets and drawers first and then it’s time for some deep cleaning. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Happy organizing and cleaning! 🙂
Decluttering is always the hardest step for me. It makes all the difference, though!
I’m one of those crazies who actually loves decluttering, haha! Just set a timer and “Let it Goooo Let it Gooooo!” 😉 😀
There is so much stress possible around the holidays. Having everything clean and organized always makes me more able to relax and enjoy this wonderful time of year.