Time to get started on your holiday home checklist

Family and friends are headed your way! Complete your task of to-dos with help from KSL Services.

Colder weather means the holiday season is nigh and visitors soon will be prancing and pawing their way to your house. Whether you’re hosting a feast, a cookie exchange or a rousing round of white elephant gift giving, you want to be ready. Before decking the halls, discover how to prepare your home for winter guests with tips from KSL Homes.

Make your house sparkle

When guests come to stay, your home should sleigh, er, slay. That means deep cleaning so every nook and cranny will pass the muster of your mother-in-law. Mop floors and vacuum all your carpets and rugs, paying special attention to areas that may get skipped during your regular cleanings, i.e., under couches and beds. 

Focus on the rooms people will use most, such as your living room, guest bedroom and bathroom. Wash windows and mirrors, and clean up scuff marks and fingerprints on walls and doors. In the kitchen, where people tend to congregate most, clean out the fridge and the oven, and wipe fingerprints from cupboard doors.

Time flying by in a twinkling of an eye? Hire a professional cleaning service such as VIP Cleaning to be your secret elves.

Find House Cleaners on KSL Services

Hire a cleaning service to tidy up your house this holiday, so you can spend more time on the fun stuff.

Fix the fixtures

If there’s one problem people will notice, it’s malfunctioning plumbing. Get your sluggish drains and clogged shower heads in working order before guests arrive. 

Is your shower trickling instead of soaking due to hard water buildup? Put your mineral crusted shower head in a plastic container, then cover it completely with vinegar. Soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. When the time is up, rinse with fresh water and reinstall.

If a toilet is slow to flush or a drain won’t clear, consider hiring a plumber from a local company such as Frontier Plumbing to fix them in a flash. 

Search Plumbers on KSL Services

Make your house twinkle like a Christmas star with lights strung by a pro.

Hang your lights

As much as we all admire holiday homes, not everyone enjoys prancing on rooftops to hang lights. Then there’s the hours-long chore of untangling said twinklers. Relieve your holiday stress by hiring a Christmas light service such as Quality Christmas Lighting to do the dangling.

In addition to installing and removing your light displays, companies often supply the bulbs too. Put this to-do near the top of your home maintenance checklist to ensure you’ll have your display up all season.

Find holiday light installers on KSL Services

Wrap up your touch-ups

All those little repairs you’ve been putting off? Now’s the time to get them done. Holes in the drywall, areas in desperate need of fresh paint — those small flaws can make your house look unkempt. And you definitely don’t want Uncle Hank tripping over that loose carpet in the entryway. Hire a handyman to make all the repairs so you can concentrate on building your gingerbread house.

See Handyman listings on KSL Services

Get your gutters flowing smoothly and leak free before the snow arrives.

Spruce up the exterior

It would be embarrassing to have melting snow — or a dastardly icicle — fall onto the carolers. Before the snow starts to fall, be sure your house gutters are clear and in good repair. A gutter service can help you with both. They can also install de-icing cables to keep the runoff moving, helping to prevent ice dams.

Find gutter repair on KSL Services

Clear the road

When visitors arrive with a clatter, make sure they’ll be safe as they walk up to your door. Stock up on ice melter to keep your sidewalks from getting slippery following one of Utah’s many storms. Better still, hire a snow removal service such as Utopia Landscaping to take care of the sidewalks and driveway for you.

Search snow removal on KSL Services

Whether guests are coming or you're going, a snow removal service will keep your walkways safe.

Amp up your HVAC

Make sure your house stays comfy and cozy through your long winter’s nap. Change the filters to keep the air flowing. Call a certified HVAC service provider such as All Around Quick Services to check your system, give it a tune up and make any repairs, if needed. 

Find HVAC companies on KSL Services

Be the host with the most

It’s your year to host the family Christmas party — do it in style. Instead of asking everyone to BYOC — bring your own chair — get what you need from a rental company such as Arbor Meadow Event Rentals. You don’t have a set of china for 20? Of course not. But a rental company will.

Search event rentals on KSL Classifieds

Not enough chairs? Dishes? Fancy lights? Rent them for your holiday shindig.

Buy holiday essentials

No matter how prepared you think you are, there’s always that one last thing you remember as you don your ‘kerchief. No worries. You can find it while nestled snug in your bed on KSL Classifieds.

• Mugs for your cocoa bar.
• Folding chairs for extra guests.
• Sleeper sofa for cousin Vera.
• Christmas movies you loved as a kid.
• KitchenAid to make more cookies.

Complete your holiday home maintenance checklist with KSL Services and KSL Classifieds.