The Holiday Party Cleaning Checklist  

For most of us who voluntarily accept to host parties the most important priority is to make our homes look presentable for our guests. That is why you might want to make sure that your entryway is nice and clean, your doormat is “in order”, and that there isn’t any dirt on floors and furniture legs.

These are the first things anyone will see when arriving at your home. We don’t even start thinking about the aftermath until it’s all finished. And when it does finish, when the last guest goes away, we are all left with a huge problem.

The Chaos

People like to party. And when people party they usually drink to relax. The more relaxed they are, the less they think about the repercussions of their acts. They break things, spill a drink, make chaos in your bathroom, use rooms they were not supposed to, and so on. But, on the other hand, parties are perfect opportunities to improve your friendships, have fun, and maybe make some new friends too.

After They Go Home

At the end of the night, you are probably exhausted. But don’t go to bed right away. At least collect all the glasses, wipe the counters, and load the dishwasher before going to bed (as much as you are able to). You do not want to wake up to all that chaos. The “battlefield of stains and waste” will be more than enough to make you want to go back to bed and sleep for another day, or two.

Let the Morning Air In, Let Stale Party Air Out

The first thing you should do in the morning is to spread the curtains, open the windows and let some air circulate. Get all that smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and sweat go away.

Collect the waste

Collect all the bottles and glasses you see laying around. Empty the containers and sort the waste you want to recycle. Do the same thing with food and snacks and empty ashtrays. Now, when you collect all that garbage and waste, you can concentrate on cleaning.

You Need to Prepare Yourself

Arm yourself with good tools and chemicals. You will need:

• Washing up liquids;
• Brushes;
• Microfiber cloths;
• Antibacterial sprays;
• Floor cleaners;
• Oven cleaners;
• A duster;
• Toilet cleaners;
• A few pairs of rubber gloves (you will need them).

Living Room Is Probably the “Region” to Suffer the Most “Casualties”

Even though this should not be the starting point of your “cleaning adventure” it will be the first one you see.

• Get your duster, polish, and microfiber cloths and start going from one surface to another, around the entire room.
• Take all the beddings you can find, organize them by color (if you can) and place them in the washing machine.
• A mixture of vinegar and water is naturally antibacterial and antifungal. Spray it all over the curtains and soft furnishings to refresh them.

Carpets might also sustain some heavy damage. You will probably find several stains of unknown origin and might not be able to get them out alone. Find a professional that could help you out. It is important to act quickly. Don’t let all those stains sit for long before you act.

Kitchen

People will probably want to get their own drinks, eat and chat inside your kitchen. This is why you will need to clean refrigerators, dishes, sinks, etc. But, the first thing to do is to clean up the mess. Empty the drying rack and clean the counters. Dispose of any food scraps or leftovers and start focusing on dishes.

Collect the dishes by type and start cleaning them. Organize them by size and type and start washing them one at a time. This will be a part of your main attack so be careful and take your time. While you are washing one part of the dishes, you might want to soak the silverware. A good soak will make washing the silverware a whole lot easier.

You should also place a towel over the counter for some extra drying space.

Tackle that Bathroom

Bathrooms usually get dirty because the space remains wet and damp long after use. A bathroom countertop is usually home to 452 bacteria per square inch. This means everything you put on any surface in your (or any other) bathroom is going to pick up bacteria. You can never know who entered the bathroom and what kind of bacteria is now present in that room. You can find fecal bacteria, influenza, streptococcus, E. coli, hepatitis, Staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, shigella, etc. The dirtiest place is on the floor.

Your first target should be the toilet. Just open the lid and spray the seat with multi-purpose bathroom spray. Wipe it clean with the cloth you assigned for the toilet. Then squirt the side (rim) of the toilet bowl with the toilet cleaner and close the lid.

Now fill the bathtub and the sink with warm water and add the cleaner you bought for this. Let that solution sit there while you tackle other surfaces. Like mirrors and windows.

After this open the toilet lid and give that bowl a nice scrub with a toilet brush. Flush it after that. The solution that was sitting in the sink and the bath had enough time to act while you were cleaning the toilet, mirrors, and windows. Empty the bath and the sink and clean them with a microfiber cloth.

Floors

You should leave the floors for the last. Work them from the room furthest away from the kitchen to the room closest. Start by vacuuming all the surfaces. If you have got hard flooring like wood, tiles or stone you should mop them with the mixture of water and multipurpose cleaner and let them air-dry before re-entering the rooms.

Now when you are finished with all the cleaning, mopping, wiping, and flushing just sit down and relax.

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Interesting related article: “Tips to keep your home clean.”