We are officially holiday primed here at casa Samuel. Trees, garland, wreaths… check check check. I’ve teamed up with BISSELL to share my top tips for getting your home ready for this festive season.

Tip #1 De-Clutter!

I prefer to do my “spring cleaning” just before the holidays, de-cluttering and purging old, broken, or non-loved or non-used items so you can have room for the new (hello Christmas presents) and start fresh in the new year.

This is especially the case with children’s toys. My secret to making sure your house isn’t overflowing with Archer’s toys is to give them a place. We have two baskets, one in Archie’s room and one in the family room, along with the baskets we have a good amount of closed storage in our built-ins in the family room. If the toy storage space starts to get tight I know it is time to get rid of a few.

Tip #2 Deep Clean.

Once the house has been decluttered it’s time to give it a good all over deep cleaning. Give the entryway a good scrub. This will be the first impression when guests arrive. Wipe down your front door, dust in places that might get neglected like the top of baseboards and furniture legs. Carry on throughout the entire house. Give the kitchen some extra love around the oven and garbage disposal and give the bathrooms the full treatment, break out a Grout Pen if you have to. Then give all the floors and rugs a good cleaning.

BISSELL sent me over their CrossWave All-in-One Multi-surface Cleaner to test out and I have to say it is so great for both scrubbing the wood floors and vacuuming up the rugs at the same time, transitioning between the two just means pushing one button. It’s basically a super powered mop + vacuum in one.

Tip #3 Get your guest room ready.

Make up the guest bed with fresh linens and layout clean towels. I like to give the room a little scent with a light room spray instead of a candle as some people in my family are very sensitive to strong candle smells. (p.s. find the DIY for that headboard here).

And Finally, Tip #4 Sprinkle Holiday Cheer (aka decor) throughout the whole house.

Yes, That means even the bathroom is fair game!

I like to have little holiday touches all throughout the house because why not?! The more the merrier and what’s better than a Christmas tree? TWO Christmas trees! We have one small white one in the front of our house and one big green one in the family room. I also went a little wreath crazy this year, but you never see them all at once and since we have artificial trees, having the real wreaths and garlands throughout the house bring in the genuine christmas smell.

Shop the post:
Entryway/Living Room:Mill Console Table by CB2 // Door by AAW (stained with 1 part Light Walnut & 2 parts Provencal by Varathane) // Vintage Hardoy Chair from Surfing Cowboys // Sofa from HD buttercup // Rug from The Rug Warehouse // Chandelier by Jonathan Adler // Paint color is Snowfall by Behr // Mid-century stool, vintage // Sheepskin from Ikea // Basket from Chicos // Candle Holder, Vintage // Gold Bowl by CB2

Guest Room:
Wallpaper by Sarah Sherman Samuel (coming soon) // Bedding by Parachute (this is the Venice Set in White) // DIY headboard

Family room:
Built-in Shelves are DIY (see here) // Rug from Esalerugs // Chairs are vintage // Stool from Lulu & Georgia 

Vacuum by BISSELL

Denim Jumpsuit by Goop for Madewell // Gold Shoes by Jeffrey Campbell

Images by Sarah Sherman Samuel

This post was done in collaboration with BISSELL. As always, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the awesome sponsors that support creative content.