Does your house need a little pick me up after the winter stuck inside?  Is it time to clean out the closet, reorganize the pantry or just plain old deep clean everything from cabinets to base boards?  We feel your pain! Cleaning isn’t high on our list of fun times, but does make you feel better to see the house clean (and then depressed when a day later you can’t tell you did anything, thanks kids).  You know what makes cleaning more enjoyable?  WINE!

We’ve put together a little go-to guide for wine and chore pairings!  The obvious answer is whatever you like to drink is the best pairing to go with any house cleaning from a full bodied Cab to Margaritas or Beer!  Whatever floats your cleaning boat!  That said, we have our favorites and the reasons why.  Maybe it’ll inspire you to try a new wine or a combo you might not have considered before. 

Laundry: Wine Spritzer

Laundry sucks.  If you have kids and a family (or just neglect it until the hamper is over-flowing) it turns into an ALL DAY job! If you spend your Saturdays stuck inside with piles of dirty, stinky clothes only to be met with tedious sock pairing and folding later, might we suggest a light refreshing beverage?  My go-to is a wine spritzer.  Mock all you want, but that laundry doesn’t do itself and a higher alcohol content beverages will all add up after a full day of laundry.  A Spritzer is bubbly, refreshing and not too strong – perfect for an all-day event.  I like to save a few calories and add a bit of Spite Zero or sometimes a Light Tonic to a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc. Delicious, Light and Refreshing, but just buzzed enough to cope!

Vacuuming: Champagne

Hate vacuuming? Make it more Glamorous with a glass of Champagne! We say Champagne, but we include all Sparkling Wines, Moscatos, and Proseccos in that group.  Vacuuming doesn’t seem as bad when you play some good music and have a glass of Champagne.  Glamorous, yes! Effective, also yes! The delicious bubble party in your glass makes the time fly not to mention the dance-vacuuming around the house.  And yes, the dog does occasionally look at me weird until I remind him I need to vacuum up his hair constantly so it’s his fault!

Pantry Cleaning: Mimosa

Ugghhh…the PANTRY!  The black hole of grocery shopping.  Husbands and kids rummage through everything looking for snacks and it somehow just refuses to stay orderly and neat.  Pantry cleaning is a day job for me and I like to keep it classy with a Mimosa. It provides just the right balance of forgetting how the pantry got so disastrous while still keeping you coherent enough to finish the job!  While I love a good Mimosa, I also like to change it up occasionally with cranberry or mango juice rather than orange juice.  It adds variety and keeps it fresh.

Desk / Office Clean Up: Pinot Noir or Melot

Desk/Office Clean Up! I don’t know about anyone else, but the Holidays were crazy for Tipsy Totes.  My office and desk are still a disaster of papers and products and things I haven’t dealt with.  But it’s time! And wine will help me through it!  I like to pair a little lighter red for this job – a nice Pinot Noir or a Merlot.  It’s calming in my sea of documents chaos.  Perhaps a little soft music and the red wine will soothe the inner stress beast enough to finish filing, organizing and cleaning out the last of the pushed aside in-box.  I tend to start this project on a quiet weekend or a late afternoon…no sense in perpetuating the alcoholic rumors!

Celebratory Finish: Wine, Beer or Margaritas

Remember to celebrate the clean house/desk/pantry! Celebrate even the small victories and be happy.  Feeling your accomplishments will change your attitude, not that the wine and champagne won’t help in that area!  After a long day of house cleaning I like to order in and pair it with yet another beverage! Pizza and Wine. Chinese and Beer. Mexican and Margaritas.   It’s all about you and your accomplishments, well that and keeping the kitchen clean for at least 1 night!