Sometimes, even the tamest of parties can create the biggest of messes, and whatever your reason for hosting a party at your home, these tips can help you clean the place up in next to no time:
Hit the stereo!
First things first – crank up the stereo to blast out some of your favourite, mood boosting music! This will help you get fired up for tackling the task at hand, and might even help you burn a few more calories as you dance your way around the home, trash bag in one hand, vacuum cleaner in the other.
Get down to the nitty gritty
Once the music is blaring, grab a trash bag and start throwing any trash lying around into it. As you’re going around your home (hopefully the mess is limited to one or two rooms), also pick up any dirty glasses, plates, dishes or bowls and take them to the kitchen.
Once the space is clear of trash, plates and glasses etc, you’ll be able to see just how much (or ideally, how little) cleaning there is to be done.
Load the dishwasher
Put all soiled plates and glasses into the dishwasher and set it going.
Clean all surfaces
Grab a sponge or cloth and your favourite cleaning spray, and start wiping down all grubby surfaces. As you’re doing so, if you spot any items that are misplaced, or belong to a party goer, either put them back in their rightful place or set them aside for your guest to collect at their convenience.
Move on to the floors
It’s inevitable that the floors will be messy after any kind of party, even if your guests removed their shoes and tried their hardest not to drop any crumbs or spill their drink. So, whether you have wooden, tiled or carpeted floors, vacuuming is the best way to kickstart the cleaning process.
Vacuum carpets thoroughly and mop all hard floors.
Tackle the furniture
Hopefully your furniture won’t be stained, but if a guest did manage to spill their drink on your upholstery, you’ll either be able to get rid of the stain yourself with a home stain removal kit or fabric cleaner, or ask a professional cleaning company to tackle it for you. Stains and spillages on wooden furniture and hard surfaces should be relatively easy to remove with a regular cleaning product.
Lastly, clean up in the bathroom
For a party with a larger guest list, your bathroom (or multiple bathrooms) is sure to be grubbier than it was at the beginning of the evening, and you may be faced with some spillages, soggy towels and even clogged up toilets! Unless you hosted a shower party, this and your tub should be how you left them, so you can focus your efforts on the sink and toilet area.
Grab your favourite disinfectant cleaning solution, and wipe down every surface that guests are likely to have touched or used. Tackle the toilet last, leaving it with a good dowsing of a powerful cleaning solution in the bowl to soak before flushing.
Once the toilet is clean and everywhere else is either sparkling, or back to normal (a lot will depend on your cleaning efforts!), you can turn your attention to the floor. Vacuum it first to pick up any dust and debris lurking there, and then give it a good mopping, taking time to get into every corner.
Once you’ve completed your post party clean-up, you should throw the windows open and let some natural air circulate. If this isn’t possible, simply burn some scented candles or oils to freshen the place up even more.
For parties that turned really messy, don’t stress over the clean-up, simply hire a cleaning company and they’ll blitz through the place in no time, leaving you wondering whether you dreamt that party last night!
