15 Simple Party Cleaning Tips -

I would say my least favorite part of throwing parties is the clean up! More like my least favorite party of life is cleaning. I’m not afraid to say it, I don’t like cleaning, but it is a necessary evil. When you throw a party sadly after all the fun you have to clean up the mess. Since I am a blogger that focuses heavily on parties I know a thing or two about making glittery confetti messes. I am creating things on a daily basis and with that comes tiny pretty messes. Since making messes comes more naturally to me than cleaning them up I have come up with some shortcuts and ways to make the cleaning party a bit easier. I also have thrown enough parties to figure out what does and doesn’t work with the clean up. You can see my messes above, that top picture sure has a lot of dirt haha. In Arizona we get these lovely dust storms that bring massive amounts of dust all around, I decided that dust needed some confetti on top. My bottom more Instagram friendly mess picture I was playing around with confetti while wearing my unicorn slippers! Grown women need unicorn slippers too! I never outgrew my love for fairies, unicorns, and mermaids. Luckily I had a daughter so I can still play with all those silly fun things. Those are just a few of my many party messes that I have made and had to clean up!

Here are some simple party cleaning tips:

Clean before the party. Yes, this may be a given but the more tidy things are before the party the easier it will be to clean up after. Of course you also want everything to look nice when guests arrive at your house. You don’t want to have to clean for a while after party day so make everything shiny clean before the party!
Put away anything that is breakable. I don’t mean just for kids parties because I find that adults can be just as clumsy and curious as kids. If you have a lot of decorative vases or other glass items that could easily be knocked over put them away.
Use paper plates and cups. Unless you are having a nice sit down dinner party and want the fine china paper plates are very convenient! Especially with a large party, you may not have enough glasses or plates anyways without using paper plates. Using paper products makes the clean up easy.
Don’t invite a million people! The more people the more potential for mess. Limit the guest list for less chaos and cleaning.
Have trash and recycling cans spread out throughout the party. If you have seating outside and inside make sure there are trash cans close by. If they aren’t convenient people are more likely to just leave plates on the table. You can borrow extra trash cans. Just don’t have them right next to pretty staging areas like a dessert table, slightly off to the side will do.
Clean a little as you go. If you do a little at a time throughout the party it wont all pile up at the end. Clean mid party to keep things looking nice and make it easier for you at the end of the party.
Find a cleaning buddy! It is always good to recruit a friend to help after. Help a friend clean up with her party and she will help you with yours.
Keep the party going while cleaning! I like to make the dull tasks of clean a bit more fun by listening to music while I clean. If it still feels like a party this makes the cleaning time go faster. Make it a fun challenge to finish a certain task before the end of a song.
Ditch the confetti. I have to say I love confetti and glitter but you cannot get rid of it! I will never stop seeing confetti because I have used too much of it in my day! Stick to large confetti if needed because it is easier to clean up. Think of the potential mess when picking out decor for the party.
Use your vacuum extensions. Use the vacuum in any way possible to clean floors and get into hard to reach places. Food and party messes always get in places you can’t see so using those vacuum extensions, dust buster and Swiffer can help get into corners and hard to see places. You don’t want to be finding confetti and food weeks later!
Have baby wipes and paper towels handy. Someone at every party is going to make a mess! It is inevitable that someone will spill or kids will get messy. Having baby wipes and paper towels that you can grab in a second can make this easier. My daughter is 5 now but I still carry baby wipes in my purse to wipe off sticky hands and messes(not just my daughters messes mine too!).
Use table cloths that are disposable or easy to wipe off. You want countertops and surfaces covered with something you can remove and dump off into the trash or contain the mess.
Delegate! Have assigned cleaning jobs for everyone that lives in the house. One person is on trash duty, one person is on dishes, and one person is the counter cleaner. If everyone has a small job it all adds up to a clean house!
Have food and drinks that are easy to clean up. Some foods are messier than others. Avoid foods that have extra crumbs or sauces to reduce the amount of mess. Of course have fun and have lots of food! I think messier foods can be harder to eat too so think about easy foods to serve and ones that aren’t as messy. If you have messy food be prepared with lots of napkins and baby wipes!
Keep the mess contained to certain areas. If you have a large house have a set area that is the party area. You can keep people out of certain rooms and keep the mess in one place. If it’s nice outside having most of a party outdoors is always a good option. Especially for kids because they can run around!