Summer is officially here and that means many parties and many hours of cleanup.  If you read my blog regularly or follow me on Twitter, you might know that I moved again.  Moving is always a good excuse to have a party — a housewarming party.  Here is some of the aftermath of my recent housewarming and some tips to help you clean up after your next shindig.  Enjoy…

• The real after party is when you invite a few friends over the next morning for breakfast, AKA “The Cleanup Crew.”  Lure them in with some fresh bagels, mimosas and fruit (items you should buy ahead of time).
• Change into clothing you don’t mind getting a little dirty.
• Work your cleaning process one room at a time.  I prefer to start in the living area, then dining and finally to the kitchen – the resting place before it all goes away.
• Before you begin washing dishes, utilize your disposal and pre-rinse all soiled dishes.  You don’t want your vat of meatball sauce in your dish water do you?
• As you wash, have The Crew dry and put them away.
• Have heavy duty trash bags on hand to sort trash and recycling.
• Before refrigerating any leftover food, decide if you will really eat them.  Most party foods don’t hold more than two days before they are stale or start to stink.  Choose wisely!
• Reserve a clean and empty surface for items once clean and another surface for items that must be put back into storage.  NOTE: I highly recommend having a storage bin that you use to store your party items like paper plates, cocktail napkins, stirrers, etc.
• After any party vacuuming and/or washing the floors is important.  Trust me you will find many hidden treasures waiting for you in odd places.  I found a meatball under my sofa and almost a half of bag of chips behind my side table.  Oh and if you have plants you might want to go on a cigarette search.  Cigarette butts end up in the darndest of places. I LOVE MY FRIENDS.

See my video below for a quick and easy way to wash your party dishes if you don’t have a dishwater.  It’s also a great way to conserve water and cut down on making a mess.  Also check out my after-party pics with a few  more tips.  I Dare You To Be Domestic!