Hosting a holiday party is always fun--planning the menu, decorating your home, and enjoying dinner and drinks with loved ones are festive ways to enjoy the season. However, once the guests have gone home, the excitement fizzles out and nothing but the mess remains. If you're dreading facing your post-party clean-up, these helpful tips will help you prioritize tasks, effectively remove stains and get your home sparkling quickly and efficiently.
Wrapping up the leftovers
If there's one task you complete before heading to bed, it should be wrapping your leftovers. Be sure to throw away anything that's been sitting out for most of the night--such as appetizers, cheeses and dips. Transfer remaining entrees and side dishes into smaller containers for storage, making sure they are properly sealed with lids, plastic wrap or tin foil. Place perishables in the fridge right away. Things like baked goods can remain out, but should still be well wrapped so they do not get stale.
Clearing the table
While you may be tempted to leave your table littered with dirty dishes, glasses, and crumbs galore as you trudge upstairs to bed, waking up the next morning to food-caked plates and crusty utensils is no picnic. Quickly take a minute to gather all dishes and bring them to the kitchen. Even if you are not up for washing a sink-load of dishes, soaking them overnight is much more effective than attempting to scrub off dried-up food the next day. After your plates and glassware have been cleared away, gather up your tablecloth to catch all crumbs and food scraps and dump it over your trashcan (or out the back door). Throw it immediately into the wash after checking for hard-to-remove stains--they should be treated first before laundering your table linen.
Eliminating wine stains
Did a guest get a little clumsy with his or her wine glass? Red wine stains can be especially difficult to remove from carpets and upholstered furniture, but don't panic. The best things to do is to act quickly and begin removing the stain as soon as it occurs. Salt the area to prevent the wine from soaking into the fibers of your rug or furniture. Next, apply the cleaning solution of your choice--commercial spot remover/carpet cleaner, club soda, even white wine is said to do the trick. Blot up the excess liquid, and avoid rubbing--this will only make the stain more ingrained in the fibers and removal will be even more difficult.
Soaking your cookware
Pots, pans, and baking dishes get grimy and caked with food and grease after preparing a holiday meal. Even if you don't have the energy to scrub everything clean before bed, it's a good idea to get then soaking before you retire. Squirt cookware and bakeware liberally with dishwashing liquid, and fill them with very hot water. Let them sit for several hours or overnight in the sink (or on the counter if you're low on sink space) to soak--this will make them much easier to get clean when you wash them later. Load your dishwasher with less difficult-to-clean dishes--plates, glasses, flatware, and cooking utensils. Add the detergent and start the cycle, letting it run while you relax or head to bed. Anything that doesn't fit in the dishwasher, quickly rinse and leave in the sink until tomorrow.
Removing water rings
Nothing is quite as frustrating as a glaring water ring on your elegant wood table after a guest neglects to use a coaster. Luckily, there are several simple hacks to remove these unsightly circles. Trick #1: rub a paste of one teaspoon of baking soda and one teaspoon of water on the mark and rub in a circular motion. Trick #2: apply petroleum jelly and allow it to sit over night. The next morning, wipe the jelly away. Trick #3: it sounds gross, but mayo is an old staple for removing water rings from wood. Apply two tablespoons of mayonnaise on a paper towel and lightly press the towel on the water ring. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and remove the towel to reveal smooth, unblemished wood.