Two days before Thanksgiving my friend (whose children are all grown) posted this on Facebook: “Just spent two hours cleaning the house as I get ready for Thursday.”

I had to think to myself, When will the time come that I can clean my house two days before company comes and I can expect that it will stay clean? In fact, I had to wonder, When was the last time I cleaned my house in the morning and it was still clean by 11:30 a.m.? I realize I catch myself fantasizing about clean house far more often than it is actually clean. I know, it’s not my stage of life to not trip on 10 things when I enter a room in the moonlight, or to not use my stairs as a human obstacle course as I bob and weave through Barbies, dress-up shoes, and half-eaten granola bars.

We used to have a landlord that would make unannounced “visits” around 3-ish on weekdays to check-in on his house. Those were of course the days when my children would decide to take every toy they owned out of their rooms and play with them in the entry way and living room area. I could hardly open the front door to greet the man because the toys were like a protective blockade from intruders. (I found out later from a neighbor that he was shocked at how clean the house was when moved out since the landlord believed I was such a terrible housekeeper. I took major offense to this since I actually am a clean freak who simultaneously is a mom to young, happy children.)

So, in the midst of the craziness of the holidays, I say, “Let the dirty dishes soak a little longer. Let the laundry pile up more inches high than you are tall.” If anyone accuses you of being a terrible housekeeper you can sit tight and relax because you’ll know it’s all part of the plan.

Since the machine that cleans your whole house only lives in my cleaning fantasies, you are that human machine that does most (or all) of the cleaning. (BTW, in my dreams it’s called a house-ba, like a Roomba or Scooba on steroids.) Chances are you’ve neglected your typical household chores as you’ve been frantically checking items off your Santa list. Don’t be afraid. There’s still a way to make all of this chaos work in your favor.

With Christmas less than two weeks away, now is the time to settle in for a little deep cleaning. I know it sounds crazy to let other things pile up and instead do a little deep cleaning, but it’s true. Now is the best time to tackle those closets, clean the carpets, wipe down baseboards, or prep your pantry.

Here’s my theory on why this works. You know you’ll change the sheets and clean the bathroom before company comes. You know you’ll stock the fridge with snacks and pick up kid’s dirty socks from the living room floor before Grandma comes to visit. But will you really have it left in you to do all of the regular clean up stuff AND reorganize your guest room, or dust your bookshelves? Probably not. When you’re under the gun—and let’s face it, the closer we get to the Big Day the more we feel the pressure—we’ll cut corners at the last minute. That is the kind of stress and chaos that can make a person have a meltdown minutes before company arrives.

I always think that having company stay with you, or a holiday to celebrate, gives you an excuse to knock out things you’ve been postponing. Let that laundry linger longer, eat off paper plates for a few days, and decide now if there’s a big project looming over you to tackle before out of town relatives arrive on your porch.