After Party Clean-up Checklist

After Party Clean-up

Time flies so fast when you are having a wonderful time and hosting a party, the home becomes really messed up! Guests do not use coasters, slippery spills occur, and everything appears to be out of place. Naturally, any of this doesn’t matter if you and your company are having a good time, right? It does matter, though, after everyone has left and the party is done! That’s when you start to worry about where your post-party clean-up will begin and stop. The flooring, furnishings, your kitchen, living room, and the list just never stop.

After party clean up checklist

Looking around and feeling like there’s so much to accomplish but there is so little energy left in your body may be daunting for an exhausted host or hostess. Even while most of the cleaning could wait until the next day, it’s best to get a few things done now or you’ll wake up to an unbelievable mess!

Now, how do you clean up after a party without exhausting yourself? It all starts even before your visitors arrive! Keep reading as Hellamaid will offer suggestions and ideas in this guide to make cleaning up after a party less stressful, more organized, and a lot easier.

Things to do before the party:

Make use of the time you have to plan now since after the party begins, it will be difficult to escape from the chaos to do something else. When you’re ready for messes as well as other post-party cleaning activities, you won’t feel overwhelmed when it’s time to clean up.

Here are some suggestions for planning and preparing for the cleanup ahead of time.

buy cleaning materials before the party

1. Determine the cleaning supplies and tools you’ll use for spot cleaning and quick post-party cleanup, and keep them all in one location for easy access. Take note that each home is different, so the list below may be customized to fit your needs. With that, here are a few items you could require:

  • Disposable kitchen towels (for spills)
  • Microfiber towel
  • Mop
  • Small brush and dustpan for crumbs
  • Kitchen towels
  • All-purpose cleaner
  • Cleaner for furniture
  • Large trash bags
  • Vacuum cleaner or broom and dustpan

2. Have two visible garbage cans: one for disposables like paper plates, cups, and napkins, and another for food scraps like bones and other plate remains. This encourages your visitors to utilize the bins throughout the celebration, saving you the hassle of gathering a large number of throwaway items from throughout the house.

Trash can for party

3. Put coasters on each table and surface where your visitors will be having fun. To avoid spills from seeping on your furniture, place plastic sheets beneath (or over) tablecloths.

4. Create space in the refrigerator for leftovers by keeping a bunch of food boxes or zip loc in an accessible spot.

5. You’ll need space in the dishwasher as well as the kitchen to keep the plates and glasses when the party is finished. Clean your kitchen countertops and empty your dishwasher before the party starts.

6. It doesn’t hurt to remain ahead of a handful of jobs while the party progresses to make clean-up a bit easier afterward. If you enter the kitchen and see a few empty bottles lying around, discard them before continuing with whatever task you came into your kitchen to complete. Of course, hosts should not be concerned about such details or go out of their way to do such jobs, it’s only a matter of noticing something that’s right in front of you and will only take a few seconds to complete when you walk away from your visitors.

Cleaning Task After Party: Same Day Clean-up Checklist

The initial few cleaning jobs are usually the most important. This is because ignoring or overlooking them will just make it more difficult to complete them afterward or the next day. Fortunately, you can get through your same-day post-party cleaning without worrying like mayhem is about to occur when you have a logical approach to follow.

The following are the initial actions you should do to begin the after-party cleanup in the most realistic sequence.

Keep any leftovers

Because it’s never a good practice to keep food out for too long because it might get spoiled, the first step is to put food from large dishes in smaller food boxes or Ziploc bags. Leftover chips and wafers can be stored in airtight containers, but not everyone prefers to save anything that has been sitting out for a while the option is yours.

Keep the left overs after party

The dishwasher should be loaded right away

It’s a real turn-off to wake up to a counter filled with dirty dishes! Furthermore, food particles and sauce stains will dry overnight, making it more difficult to rinse before loading the dishwasher. Similarly, if you want to wash the dishes by hand, rinse and immerse them in a combination of water and dishwashing soap the night before to make cleaning easier the next day. This covers glassware and other dinnerware; simply soak them overnight with water. Glasses and other utensils should not be soaked since they are likely to break.

Collect and dispose of the garbage

Bring a huge garbage bag throughout every room and remove trash as you go for a fast and effective method to clean the tabletop and surfaces of waste. All it takes is a simple trip around the room to see how quickly the rubbish bag fills up as the space becomes cleaner!

Remove the sticky stains

It’s a big no-no to leave sticky spills overnight! This is because they will harden, whereas extended contact with certain spills might discolor certain types of furniture. Grab an all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber towel to easily spot clean spots. You’ll be done in seconds with just a few sprays and a quick and simple wipe-down of the surface!

Remove sticky stains immediately

Remove any crumbs

We’re all aware that keeping crumbs or food scraps on the kitchen counter overnight invites insects as well as other creepy crawlies to visit. Nobody wants that to happen, therefore the only obvious course of action is to clean it up! You can use a portable mini brush or rag and a small dustpan are also effective. Check for crumbs, food fragments, and crackers that may have flown out of the bowl on tables and other surfaces.

Cleaning Task After Party: Next-Day Clean-up Checklist

When you’ve completed those critical, same-day cleaning jobs, the large clean-up following a party won’t seem so daunting. Nonetheless, there will be much to accomplish before your house is neat and spotless once more! The most essential thing to bear in mind is to provide adequate time for yourself so you won’t be working under pressure. With that in consideration, you’ll be able to complete each work quickly and comfortably.

After a full night’s sleep, follow the steps below to finish your post-party cleanup.

Finish cleaning  all the dishes

Even if you load the dishwasher before going to bed, there are likely to be dishes scattered across the kitchen. Well, you can’t clean up your kitchen effectively until they’re out there lying around somewhere. This must be the first step you do the next day after the party, whether you’re utilizing a dishwasher or cleaning dishes by hand.

Load the dishwasher

Kitchen Organizing

Other items will be left out of place, cluttering up kitchen surfaces and dishes. Start putting these things back in their places to clean the countertops and other areas that may have been utilized during the party fast. Put some liquid dishwashing soap on a brush, wet it with water, then scrub the surfaces clean for a quick and effective cleaning of your kitchen worktops and island. Finish by wiping it down with a clean, wet cloth, then blotting it dry with paper towels.

Organize the living room

Additional seating is usually built to accommodate attendees during a party, while extra floor space is required to dance or roam about easily. To make this happen, everything is rearranged, leaving the space in disarray when your visitors go! Clean up surfaces and simplify your living area before putting everything back in place. You can begin cleaning when everything has been returned to its proper location.

Organize the living room

Spot cleaning and sanitizing furniture

Even if you didn’t miss any sticky spots on your furnishings when tidying up the night of the party, the remainder of your furniture will need to be cleaned. An all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber towel are recommended once again. If any stains appear, spray them with the disinfectant and wipe them away immediately. Some materials, such as wood or chrome, may have specifically designed cleansers that also help polish the surface; thus, it is best to select solutions that are suited for the furniture in the issue.

Cushions should be rotated and fluffed

The sofa cushions are certainly looking worn and wrinkled from all the sitting at the party. Of course, a simple rotating and fluffing will take care of this! If any stains appear on your sofa, act quickly to remove them; otherwise, they could become permanent.

Sweep and mop the floors

Although the rest of the after-party clean-up can be done one section at a time, cleaning the floors should be done in one sitting. This entails mopping or sweeping the entire house or specific rooms without pausing to perform other activities. Although it may appear exhausting, cleaning in one sitting can really be simpler and less frustrating since it is one large chore that is completed.

Clean up the washroom/bathroom

The washroom/ bathroom was probably extensively cleaned as one of your pre-party clean-up. Now, assuming that nobody from your guests will be using the shower and bathtub or utilizing the bathroom for something other than toilet and sink needs, these components, as well as the floor, will likely demand additional care while cleaning. Begin with scrubbing the toilet seat and bowl, then the sink, and finally the floor. Other components, such as the area around the sink, your medicine cabinet, and the faucets, may also require a quick washdown.

Clean the washroom

After you’ve finished cleaning up after the party, take a nice shower, find a comfortable spot to relax, and savor the peace of mind that comes with knowing your home isn’t what it was after your guests leave after the party.

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Hellamaid is a top-rated cleaning company in Canada that’s changing the cleaning industry. Led by two engineers, Ahmed and Abdul,  Hellamaid is on a mission to make cleaning services a better experience for both ends of the market: homeowners and cleaners. We offer value to homeowners through easy online booking and impeccable customer service, while offering a flexible and well paid opportunity to our cleaning partners. Learn more about us here!

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