Being a party host always comes with a bittersweet ending when it’s time to clean up the mess after Christmas celebrations are over and the guests have gone! It is also sad to say goodbye to the magic of the holidays, but between house guests, holiday feasts, and kids on school breaks, think about reclaiming the space that all the Christmas activities took up and give your home a fresh start in time for the new year. 

While cleaning might be the last thing on your mind, chances are that your home is full of wrapping paper scraps, wine stains, champagne bottles, confetti, and leftovers. There are several things you can do to not only make your cleanup more endurable and fun such as putting on some music, getting the family together, and knocking out the mess with a smile. Apply these tips to help you get through the most out of your holiday cleanup.

Clean up the fridge:

Start by cleaning one shelf at a time, removing and wiping down everything and placing them on a nearby counter. Keep a bucket of hot sudsy water, a sponge, drying towels, and a trash bag nearby.

Once the emptying process is complete, it’s time to put everything that you want to keep back in the fridge. Make sure to check the expiration dates before placing the food items back inside and keep the fridge organized by the food group. 

Do the dishes early:

At the beginning of the holidays, create a space in your kitchen for your guests to leave their dirty dishes in and periodically check to see if there are dishes that need soaking before being loaded into the dishwasher. At the end of every party or celebration, run your first load before cleaning up the rest of the space. 

Clean and Store Holiday Decorations

Avoid finding a tangled mess of half-broken lights and prepare for a stress free season next year by carefully cleaning and storing your decorations as soon as possible. Clean your decorations as you take them down and store them in closed bins, boxes or plastic bags that are clearly marked. If you can afford specialized storage containers then you’re a winner as they may seem like an extravagance, they are designed to keep treasured decorations safe from dust, mold and breakage. To avoid the decorating frenzy, group the decorations in categories like “dining room,” “mantel,” “front door”.

Get rid of Carpet Stains:

How many times was the glass of red wine spilled? DDid you ever clean up since your Cousin dropped the holiday dessert? Now that you get the picture of how stains may have made their way on to your floors and they probably aren’t as clean as they were before the holidays hit, it’s time to tackle those stains right now! 

The longer a stain sits, the harder it will be to remove, so do yourself a favor and start sweeping as well as checking your carpet, upholstery, and tablecloths for stains.  For meat and cooking spills, a meat tenderizer mixed with a little water to make a paste will remove protein-based spots after sitting for five minutes. 

Use salt to cover white or red wine accidents if the spill is fresh and let it absorb the liquid. And use white vinegar for pretty much everything else. These three tricks are trusted when it comes to resolving any mishap that’s happened in your household.

Bathroom:

This has to be one of the busiest places in the house! Let’s be honest, people come in and out of the bathroom leaving smudges and spots during the holidays and your bathroom could be worn out by the time they leave. To remove spots and smudges from your mirrors, use a clean, lint-free cloth and rub in circles. Baby oil will do wonders for your chrome faucets and fixtures, and grapefruit salt is an excellent natural solution for cleaning your tub. 

Dispose the garbage:

Before you start to party and celebrate with your guests, place sufficient bins around so your guests can properly dispose of their trash. It will make your life a lot easier to just grab these bags and leave them by the curb, or throw down the garbage chute at the end of the day. To clean up the rest of the mess that gets inevitably left behind, do a sweep of the entire place with garbage bags in hand. This way, you can quickly throw any leftover trash in the bag.