Holiday Cleaning Tips with The Accidental Housewife and the New Febreze Air Purifier {Review & Giveaway}

As we are currently knee-deep in the holiday entertaining season, I'm happily able to look around and smile at the gatherings with family, visiting with friends, and all of the tasty meals that have been (and surely will continue to be) a part of both. Another slice of pie, anyone?

But when it comes to entertaining here at home, there is always the added worry of making sure our house is up to par for guests. Even if I've already prepped the food and put together a fabulous playlist, let's not forget that cleanliness and scent are just as important when throwing a party.

Fortunately, Julie Edelman, also known as The Accidental Housewife, has all sorts of great tips to make your home inviting for all of your guests during holiday entertaining.

Are you ready to give Julie's cleaning tips a try? Here are great ones to start you off:

Sports Stains: Pre-treating is key! For grass stains, use a solution of water and vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Just make sure to test out a small patch first to make sure the solution doesn't affect the colors of the shirt. For mud stains, let them dry and scrape off as much as possible. Then, cut a raw potato in half and rub it all over the stain. The juices in the potato act as an enzyme to clear up the stain. TIP: Don't use hot water. It can actually set a stain.

Ditch the Dust: No matter how neat and clean you try to be, dust has sneaky a way of collecting on surfaces throughout your home. Try the Febreze Air Purifier to help capture airborne particles before they settle, reducing the levels of airborne dust that can accumulate on furniture and counters.

When Your Wall Becomes A Work Of Art: For colored markers spray the wall with hairspray and immediately wipe before it can drip down or dry. For crayons, you can put a dab of toothpaste on a toothbrush and gently wipe it out, or rub with a dampened microfiber cloth and baking soda.

Embarrassing Pet Odors: We love our furry friends, but we're not so fond of the embarrassing pet odor that they leave around the house — from kitty litter and pet mishaps to wet dog smell. Try using the Febreze Air Purifier to reduce odors and add a fresh, clean scent back into the air.

Move Over, Must: Your basement smells musty, but you don’t know what to do? The carpeted floor is most likely the culprit. Carpet fibers hang on to dust particles and moisture, which can make the basement smell musty. Sprinkle some corn starch or baby powder, let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes, then suck it up with your vacuum. You can also use a dehumidifier to reduce moisture in the air. HINT: To help capture those dust particles before they even have a chance to hit the carpet, keep a Febreze Air Purifier in your basement.

I'm telling you, Julie knows her stuff — I've started using the great tips that she has to offer in this video and my kitchen already looks and smells better!


As well as trying out Julie's cleaning tips (am I the only one that didn't know that you can shine your kitchen faucet with newspaper?), I'm also agreeing with her that an air purifier is a must-have gadget for an instant clean or boost of freshness before your holiday guests arrive.

Launched just in time for closed-window season and months filled with entertaining, the first ever Febreze Air Purifier provides customized, hands-free and stress-free cleaning and has a powerful HEPA-Type filter that traps up to 99% of airborne particles such as dust, pollen, pet dander and odors. All while leaving behind the fresh scent of Febreze for a whole room clean!

As I'm always a fan of any product that can help do the cleaning for me, I couldn't wait to see one of the new Febreze Air Purifiers in person to help prepare my home for the holidays.

Febreze Air Purifiers are available in Tabletop, Mini Tower and Tower size and, considering the large room/open layout floor plan of our house, I could tell that the Tower FHT190W would be perfect for us.

Right away I was happy to see that Febreze had given this purifier a clean, slim, modern design, as I could see it fitting right in with the decor in just about any living room, bedroom, office or anywhere dust and/or odors make the space feel less than fresh and clean.

Plus, even though this is the largest of the purifier options, the nearly-26" height isn't at all overwhelmingly large, so there is no worry about this taking up too much space or being obtrusive in your space.

I love how Febreze made their air purifiers ENERGY STAR qualified as well as nearly foolproof to use, as cleaning and freshening the air is achieved in a matter of minutes.

First, the dual action HEPA-Type filters for odor and dust reduction simply need to be unwrapped and set back in place, an action that takes only a few seconds due to the easy-open back grill.

After that, open the Scent Compartment Door and and install the Febreze Air Purifier Scent Cartridge right inside (one Febreze linen & sky Scent Cartridge comes with the purifier).

Next, use the freshness scent control dial to easily adjust the amount of aroma that is released — from strong to none at all. The scent cartridges last up to 30 days and you'll love knowing that you're trapping all those gross airborne particles while releasing such a light, fresh scent!

Finally, plug your Febreze Air Purifier into an electrical outlet and choose between the three air-cleaning levels for your desired cleaning level.

Could this be any easier? Febreze even included automatic filter and scent replacement reminders, so you'll never have to worry or wonder about keeping track. Just turn this device on and enjoy!

With its quiet operation and mild and pleasant fragrance (the smell is not at all overpowering, and I appreciate that I can customize it precisely depending on my mood or any other odors in the house), this Febreze Air Purifier leaves the room feeling clean and fresh. Why deal with the hassle of dust or stale, stuffy air and odors in your home if you don't have to?

I don't know about you, but realizing that there is an unpleasant odor in the air when guests are arriving would leave me more frazzled than discovering a plate that wasn't fully clean. At least I could quickly grab that dish off of the table or cover it up with food! Instead, the unobtrusive design and ease of use of this air purifier eliminates those worries and lets me focus on enjoying my time spent with family and friends.

Retailing between $59.99-$89.99 depending on which of the three sizes you choose (replacement scent cartridges are also available in linen & sky and spring & renewal scents), you can find out much more about the Febreze Air Purifiers by visiting FebrezeAirPurifiers.com.

And, thanks to their generosity, one person will enjoy their holiday season with a fresh-smelling home as well, because...

One lucky person will win a Tower Febreze Air Purifier!

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A big thank you to Febreze for providing a Tower Air Purifier for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.