House parties are great. You have a good time and feel happy to have shown your guests a great time, too. You played the perfect host and politely declined your guests’ offers to stay and help you clean up. Finally, everyone leaves, and you’re standing alone surrounded by dinner plates with food scraps, half full (or empty) cups/glasses, not to mention those sticky surfaces and stained floors.
Apparently, you’re too exhausted to even think about cleaning up and just want to wash up and crawl into bed. But to make your post-party cleanup easier and avoid waking up to a COMPLETE nightmare, we’ve got some wise advice for you to follow. Of course, you can always call us to take care of all the cleaning for you; but if you’re planning to do it alone, read on!
Effective Cleanup Tips for Post-Party
Round Up the Garbage
Before you crawl into bed, take a large garbage bag and start filling it with any disposable items you see lying around. This includes plastic cups, disposable cutlery or plates, empty chip packets, used napkins, etc. While you're at it, scrape off dinner plates and throw the food bits into the garbage bag (if they’re disposable plates, you know what to do).
Leave Dirty Dishes to Soak Overnight
Dishes, plates, glasses or anything that needs to be washed should be soaked overnight. It’ll eliminate the struggle of washing dried, dirty dishes and make the process quicker. So plug your sink and keep a bucket or two on standby to accommodate all the dirty dishes. Pour some liquid soap in, fill it up with enough water to submerge the dirty contents and leave them overnight. Now, get some much-needed rest because you're going to need it in the morning!
Wash the Soaked Dishes
After you get some breakfast in your stomach, start with the dishes so that you can use the sink as and when you need to. You’ll also have more space without those buckets cluttering your kitchen.
Wipe Furniture and Sticky Surfaces
There are bound to be food or beverage spills here and there which will need to be spot cleaned. Here’s our natural remedy to clean all types of furniture: 1 part vinegar mixed with 2 parts lemon oil/juice (lemon oil polishes wooden furniture). Make a solution of this in a spray bottle and spot clean sticky surfaces using a clean, absorbent dust cloth. While the cloth is slightly damp with the cleaner, go ahead and wipe the rest of your furniture to give it some sheen.
Vacuum, Sweep, and Mop Floors
Vacuuming or sweeping is easy; getting those stubborn stains and scuff marks out is the tricky part. Well, not anymore because this natural floor cleaner is used for various types of flooring including tile, vinyl, and hardwood. Mix 2 cups baking soda; 4 tablespoons distilled vinegar; 1 cup liquid dish soap; and 1 cup water together in a bowl (add more water if the solution is too thick). Stir well to dissolve any lumps and pour the cleaner into a spray bottle. Start by spraying the floor bit by bit and mop as you go along. Once you're done, finish off rinsing the mop and going over the floor again with just a damp mop.
