Merry Maids Shares Top 5 Houseguest Hacks to Kick Off the Holiday Season

MEMPHIS, TN--(Marketwired - November 08, 2016) - The holiday season is one of the most anticipated times of the year. Yet, underlying all of the excitement around the holidays is the pressure to have a neat and tidy home for unexpected visitors and overnight houseguests. Before the holidays sneak up on us, Merry Maids, the nation's largest home cleaning company and a ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) company, is sharing its top five Houseguest Hacks.

These Houseguest Hacks, from Merry Maids cleaning expert Debra Johnson, are designed to ensure homes are as clean and tidy as a hotel, but as hospitable and cozy as a bed and breakfast, all without adding stress to your routine.

Deodorize Without Overdoing It
Scent is a powerful sense -- and having a clean-smelling home goes a long way. Before guests come over, take out the trash, open your windows about 15 minutes prior to guests arriving and create a naturally-delicious smelling fragrance right on your stovetop. Simply add cinnamon sticks and vanilla extract to a pot of boiling water and your home will smell like the holidays, sans cooking.

Stock the Bathroom
Bathrooms should be clean and welcoming, which sounds time consuming. Recruit the help of household products to clean troublesome places, like the toilet, while you sleep, so that cleaning takes minutes, not hours. Pour one cup of vinegar and one fizzy denture tablet into the bowl. Overnight, it will loosen up hard water deposits and be easier to clean, saving on time and elbow grease. To remove rings and clean underneath the toilet rim, use a damp scouring pumice stone.

Literally Disconnect Your Rooms
Between televisions, stereos and cell phone chargers, there are cords coming out of every wall, which can make your space look more like a technology store instead of home. Go through each room and unplug the wires that aren't necessary -- extra cell phone chargers, laptop cords, hair dryers and electric toothbrushes. Doing this keeps unseemly wires out of sight and makes for a cozier space.

Organize the Chaos
Mail, notebooks, magazines and books always seem to have a mind of their own and take over every inch of counter space possible. Before hiding them in drawers, closets or under beds, grab a decorative crate or box and keep them together. You'll be adding to your décor, organizing the chaos that is your incoming mail and creating the illusion of having a clutter-free home.

Give the Floors a Once-Over… Once
Shiny floors and freshly-vacuumed carpets leave a lasting clean impression -- so commit to only doing them once -- just before guests arrive. Floors are highly trafficked areas, so cleaning them in advance won't save you time.

"The holidays are an enjoyable time of year, but people end up putting too much pressure on themselves when it comes to cooking, hosting or even shopping," says Debra Johnson, Merry Maids home cleaning expert. "We want to arm hosts and hostesses everywhere with tips that not only get their homes in tip-top shape, but keep their schedules free so they can enjoy time with friends and family during this special time of year."

Ask the Experts… or call in the experts
If you're taking on cleaning your home this holiday season and need a time-saving tip, or lifesaving stain removal tip (even if it's from last holiday season), Merry Maids is here to help. Ask the experts via Facebook or Twitter, using #SeasonsCleanings in your question, and Merry Maids will share its best tips and tricks to get your home in order this holiday season.

If you feel like your home needs a little extra TLC this season, call a local Merry Maids for help. Merry Maids will create a customized cleaning plan for your home, ensuring a consistent, reliable, and thorough cleaning process every time. To find the nearest Merry Maids location, visit merrymaids.com.

About Merry Maids
Merry Maids is the largest home cleaning franchise network in the United States. Merry Maids provides services in 48 states and the District of Columbia through more than 470 franchised outlets. The company also provides home cleaning services in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom and has licensing arrangements whereby licensees provide these services in Hong Kong, Japan, South America, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Australia. Through its company-owned and franchise locations, Merry Maids employs more than 8,000 home cleaning professionals that service homes on four continents, including more than 200,000 homes in North America every month. Merry Maids is a business unit of ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SERV), a leading provider of essential residential and commercial services. Go to www.merrymaids.com for more information about Merry Maids or follow us at twitter.com/MerryMaids and facebook.com/MerryMaids.

About ServiceMaster
ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner's dilemma. Every day, we visit more than 75,000 homes and businesses through our extensive service network of expert professionals. Technology powers our trusted experts to engage with customers so they can order, buy and receive services when, where and how they want them. Our well-recognized brands include American Home Shield (home warranties), AmeriSpec (home inspections), Furniture Medic (furniture repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial and residential floor cleaning), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration) and Terminix (termite and pest control). Like, follow or visit us at facebook.com/ServiceMaster, linkedin.com/ServiceMaster, twitter.com/ServiceMaster, or servicemaster.com.