Cleaning Up After New Years Eve

14/12/2007

The New Year’s Eve party is over and the hostess is feeling the after-shocks of too much champers. What to do with the mess? Party clean up experts say the mess doesn’t have to be tackled immediately. The detail work can be done in the morning but a bit of organisation before bed can make facing the New Year a bit easier.

The book Five Minute Fixes produced by Reader’s Digest give these tips after you have put the New Year’s Eve perishable foods away:

1. Collect bottles, cups, and glasses. Look for spills and deal with them right away.

2. Empty half-filled glasses and cups in the kitchen sink. Toss out plastic and paper. Set the glasses on the counter. Do the same with plates and utensils.

3. Fill the dishwasher with as many dishes as you can fit in and start it when it's fully loaded.

4. Gather up the rubbish in plastic bags, starting in outer rooms and working your way toward the kitchen, so that you centralize the clutter there. Take rubbish out as soon as bags are filled and tied, to prevent accidental leaks and odors.

5. In the morning, after a good night's sleep, finish up by dusting and vacuuming, again working your way toward the kitchen. Clean the kitchen last.