Things to do before the party begins
You have a little time to start your preparations, and once the parties starts, you've had a hard time escaping chaos and moving on with another thing. After the party clean up, you'll have no worries when the cleanup is over. Let's take a look around the plan to clean the house. Determine the equipment and cleaning materials you're using to spot clean the after party clean up, putting everything at your fingertips for quick accessibility. Please keep in mind that the houses are different, therefore the list is possible to customize for your particular situation. I can list out some things you may need.
- Additional seating is generally created to accommodate guests if you do not want them wandering around places they should not be in
- Easy access to plates, cups and paper towels should be a given, so if red wine stains do happen, for example, your guests can be courteous enough to clean it up themselves
Gather all your cleaning essentials
The first step in a post party clean up is to determine how many cleaning materials and equipment are necessary. Storing cleaning essentials in one storage space can help you save time. Because each residence is individual, the products will vary according to your requirements. Let's assume we can't all clean ourselves. Alternatively you could hire an experienced cleaner after an extravagant event to help yourself. In the end, it helps you to reduce the burdens on you.
Food and beverage stations
Setting up designated party spaces with food containers will help make your clean up easier. For chips and other dry snacks, get big round bowls to put them in and tongs for people to grab. If you want to save even more time cleaning up, try buying individual snack packs for your guests. If you are putting fruits and veggies on plates, insert skewer wood sticks into them will save you time washing the silverware. If you do not want a dishwasher full of plates, setting paper plates next to your food station will be the easiest solution.
For drinks, if you host parties regularly, think about investing into beverage dispensers. If you do not own one, getting small cans and individual water bottles would work as well. Third option for drinks would be getting big bottles of soda and water and setting up plastic cups next to them that can just be thrown out right away. Do not forget to set up a large garbage bag or trash cans.
Setting up a table for food and drinks will ease your after party cleanup, as everything will be in one place to put away or dispose of. To not ruin your furniture, use table cloths for the table and put plastic sheets on top, they are very easy to wash or wipe down. Having paper towels folded nearby will also help accommodate guests to clean up after themselves.
Do just a little cleaning during the party
When the party starts, you should not be washing plates and cleaning everywhere. Your house getting dirty can not be prevented and so is the inevitable post party cleaning tasks. If you wash surfaces and clean the plates when your guests arrive, then you will not have the opportunity to relax with the guests. Obviously you have a duty of removing spills and minor damage from your home as early as possible and you may also collect empty plates and glasses for storage during the evening. Make sure you never clean dishes or do a lot of washing at parties.
Keep your guests in designated area
Try to block off any areas of the house you do not wish people to go into by putting unnecessary furniture there and closing doors to rooms you do not wish for guests to stay in. Invited guests staying within your party area means that you have less space to clean. Guests can party inside by closing doorways and opening off-the-limit rooms, decorating party areas with themed décor and placing tables in designated spaces. Use light at an outdoor party to brighten up areas in the shadows.
Same-day post party clean up cleaning tasks
It's been a long time since the last guest left, so you could decide to take care of all the cleaning for the next day, a decision you will probably regret later! It will probably be an absolute nightmare when the party ends, but you knew what you were getting yourself into when you decided to host. If you leave sticky stains on the carpet or the sofa overnight, you might run into the problem of marks not coming off the next day.
Below, I have listed a few tasks for your post party cleanup to look at below.
1. Get a large trash bag and start putting away food scraps and any trash that was not thrown away by you guests. To avoid sorting trash out for recycling bins later, be sure to have multiple trash bags to put things into.
3. Food scraps should be discarded as soon as possible to avoid ants and other creepy crawlies in your house the next morning. Do not leave food that you are planning to eat to avoid spoiling.
4. Leftover chips should be put into sealed bags or clipped with a kitchen bag clips to not go stale. Not everyone is a fan of eating food that has been sitting in the open for hours, so the choice is yours
5. Do some spot cleaning on your sofa or rug if you see that it has been stained. Here is an article on how to get rid of carpet stains
After party cleaning: Next day party cleanup checklist
Once you have completed the main cleaning job of cleaning up after the event, cleaning up the next day is not as overwhelming. Regardless of what you must do to keep your house clean and spotless, it is only a matter how organized your cleaning tasks are to not take up your whole day. You must give yourself plenty of space so that you don't get stressed. Having these considerations in mind each of the cleaning tasks you do should help make it easier. The day after the part, complete the following steps to do your post-party cleaning.
Bathrooms should be completely cleaned and sanitized, as you do not know what type of accidents might have happened there prior. Getting specially formulated cleaners for your bathroom with bleach will help you save time cleaning and sanitizing.
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Party cleanup checklist
It's so quickly that you get into an unpleasant situation in your home. Guests have no coasters or slippers, it seems improbable. All these factors are irrelevant if we have fun. Is that true? But that matters after guests leave the premises and the party is over! When this is done it becomes very important to think where the clean-up is going to take place. Floors and furniture in your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom will never go back.
Post party cleaning essentials
Here is a list of things every host needs for their after party cleaning tasks:
- vacuum cleaner
- a damp cloth
- cleaning solution (Windex has a great multi purpose spray that works for all types of hard surfaces)
- a pack of sturdy trash bags
- airtight boxes (ziploc or any plastic boxes)
- microfiber cloth
Dirty dishes
If you chose to not use plastic plates and cups, you will probably have a lot of dirty dishes to wash. Things that are large enough to fill up the dishwasher quickly like big bowls and large dishes should be hand washed. Cups, glasses, personal plates, and silverware can go in the dishwasher. Always make sure to fill up your dishwasher in the back first. That way, you will know if you have enough space and distribute things properly. Try to leave dirty dishes for the next day, as they tend to produce a smell when left for too long.
Commonly asked questions about house cleaning
How do you disinfect a house post party?
Even though using a cleaning product that has bleach in it or disinfecting wipes will help you in the cleaning process, the new alternative cleaning solution is a steam cleaner. Most steam cleaners are mops that release steam into microfibre cloth you are using, thus killing the bacteria on the floor with a vapor. However, there are steam cleaners that are meant for house cleaning tasks, not just your floors.
Steam cleaning is environmentally friendly as operators need little or no additional detergents or other agents to sanitize and deodorize many different surfaces. Steaming's biggest advantage is its ability to kill and remove more than 99% of bacteria, viruses, germs and other pathogens.
The Fortador Volt Mini highly portable steam cleaner is lightweight, weighing only 16.5 lbs., allowing operators to move it easily throughout the house. Like other Fortador steamers, the Volt MINI's boiler heats quickly, taking only five minutes to produce steam. Unlike other small commercial portable steamers for cleaning, the Volt MINI also works at high pressure and temperatures, giving you 101.5 psi power of steam at a maximum temperature of 338 degrees Fahrenheit. The builder is made of high-strength AISI 304 stainless steel, attesting to its durability.
The Volt Mini comes with a set of accessories for your floors as well as hard surface that is sure to keep the whole house clean. The steam is going to help with your post party clean up like no other cleaning product! Here is an article for how deep cleaning your house with a steam cleaner
How do you clean a floor after party ends?
Depending upon your flooring type, it is important to use different things including hot water, vinegar or steam mop. The easiest way to clean up dirty surfaces is sprinkle baking soda on them and leave it there for several hours.
Learn more about hardwood floor cleaning in this guide
How do you clean a bathroom post party?
If there are no plans for it you may use mine: Sweep. Scrub the toilet. Spot cleaning of the counter may be needed as sticky spills can happen anywhere. Spray and clean the mirrors from any stains or smudges that they may acquire. Refresh the room by turning on the fan and spraying your favorite room spray or lighting a candle. Clean the floor or scrub it from a few sticky stains that it might have acquired, then mop it.
How much should I pay a friend to clean my house?
Across all states cleaning costs are around 45-50 hours. The total cost is dependent upon your house size, type of cleaning, and location of residence. A 3-bed home costs $160-200 per square foot. The average price for a 1-bedroom home ranges from $80-110.
At the end of your post party cleaning, take a hot shower or a bath, find a comfortable place to relax and enjoy whole house being clean again, knowing that your house does not look like what it did last night.
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