Your Guide to Post-Christmas Day Cleanup

It’s that time of the year! Christmas Day is behind you and now it’s time to return your kitchen and the rest of your home to its usual clean state. You are probably panicking and thinking about what to do and where to begin when it comes to your post-Christmas Day cleanup!

Begin with the kitchen and get the hard work out of the way. Your kitchen is probably full of dirty dishes, your oven grimy and greasy, and the surfaces cluttered and greasy. Here’s our guide to your post-Christmas Day cleanup…

Cleaning the kitchen

Start with the dishes

The dishes are probably everywhere and until you get them out of the way, it’s almost impossible to clean anything else. Soak the pots and oven dishes in hot water and wash up liquid to remove stubborn stains. While they soak, start cleaning the rest of the dishes with washing up liquid and a sponge.

If you are using a dishwasher – as most of you probably are – make sure to soak the dishes with stubborn stains with hot water and soap first. Before placing them in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes, scrub them gently.

Clean the stoves and the oven thoroughly

We recommend using natural cleaning products when cleaning your oven. It’s an enclosed space and if you use products with harsh chemicals, it will pretty quickly become unpleasant as the chemicals travel through your nostrils and into your organs. It can lead to coughing and even breathing difficulties.

Items and products you will need to clean the oven:

• Baking soda
• Water
• Vinegar
• Spray bottle
• Sponge

Use this easy, natural recipe: create a mixture of 1 cup of baking soda and half a cup of water. Start rubbing this mixture on the interior of the oven. Let the mixture rest for a few hours to get the best result. Once you are ready to start cleaning of the paste, fill up a spray bottle with vinegar. Then take out the racks and start spraying them under the sink.

Gently scrub with a sponge, before running hot water over them. Once clean, let them air dry for a while before you dry them with a towel.

With the same bottle of vinegar, start spraying the inside of the oven, until the paste melts. With a sponge scrub away, until the interior is spotless, then wipe the outside clean.

How to clean your microwave as part of the post-Christmas Day cleanup

Your microwave was probably also overused and in a pretty dirty condition. Luckily, cleaning it isn’t a hard task.

What you’ll need:

• White vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Microwavable bowl
• Water
• Sponge
• Gloves
• Oven mitts

Both lemon and vinegar are highly acidic, which makes them great cleaning agents. The two combined can give old stubborn splatters a kick (or a serious meltdown!).

To clean your microwave using this recipe, fill your microwavable bowl with 1 cup of water, then a half cup of vinegar. Afterward, add 3 tablespoons of lemon. Once your mixture is ready, place your bowl inside the microwave.

Close the microwave and heat the mixture for about four minutes. Don’t take it out immediately; let it rest for about three-four minutes. When you do take it out, make sure your hands are protected with oven mitts.

Wearing your gloves, take your sponge and wipe the grease off! It shouldn’t be a difficult wipe down as the combination of the steam and the mixture really softens tough grime.

For more tough spots, you can use a toothbrush to scrub. Once done, wipe the outside clean with the same mixture.

Give your fridge (and freezer) a deep-clean

Before moving on to wiping the surfaces and floor – then heading out of the kitchen – consider the state your fridge, and perhaps freezer, may be in! You’ve stored away a lot of food, some of which may have gone off by now.

Take out all food items that have expired. Once you can see clearly, you will probably start to notice a lot of leaks and rotting food.

For the best results, we recommend you empty out the fridge and then begin your cleaning process.

What you will need for the cleaning process:

• Washing up liquid
• Sponge
• Towel/cloth to dry

The storage trays and racks are best cleaned under the sink. Soak them up with water and washing up liquid, and start cleaning them with a sponge. Then leave them to air-dry for a while before drying them with a towel.

Once done, begin working on the inside of the fridge. With a slightly damp and soapy sponge, start wiping the inside. After removing all the grease, dry with a cloth. Now wipe the outside to give it the same glossy look.

If your freezer has also become dirty over the festive season, similarly cleaned it using the fridge cleaning method.

Wipe surfaces

Now move on to the easy part; the wiping off counter surfaces. Squeeze a tiny amount of washing-up liquid onto a cleaning cloth and start wiping. To remove the soapy stain, rinse your cloth under water, dry it, then run it over the surfaces again.

Mop the floor

The last part of your kitchen cleaning duty is the floor. Before mopping, sweep the floor to collect droppings.

Fill the mopping bucket halfway with warm water and squeeze in a small amount of washing-up liquid. With this mixture, mop your floor twice. The first time, allow the mop to collect more water. The second time, squeeze out some of the water.

Empty the bucket and then fill it with warm water only. Dip your mop in this water, squeeze some of it out. Then run it over your kitchen floor to remove the soapy look. Put the mop back into the water to remove the soap and squeeze hard. Then begin to dry the surface. May you need to dip it back in and squeeze out more water, before you achieve a condition you are satisfied with.

Cleaning the living room and dining area

How to remove wine stains from carpet and household furniture

If you’ve decided to really let your hair down – and who can blame you after the year we’ve had! – then you probably spilled some wine. Not to worry, it can all be removed quite easily. There are wine removal products you can use, however, we recommend using the natural products already in your home or to consider carpet cleaners London service, if you have too many carpets with the signs of “well spent Christmas”. They include white vinegar, table salt, baking soda, and even milk.

How to remove red wine stains with salt or baking soda

The trick to completely removing red wine is to treat it immediately. Older stains are more difficult to remove. Dab the area with a white cloth or white kitchen towel dipped in sparkling water or boiling water. Do not rub as this can make the wine soak further into the fabric. Soak up what you can, before covering the area with salt or baking soda. Let it rest for about five minutes, then vacuum it.

How to remove red wine stains using white vinegar

White vinegar is one of the best natural cleaning agents. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of washing up liquid
• Two cups of water
• White cloth or white kitchen towel

Mix the above recipe and blot the mixture on the stained area using your cloth or towel. Take another clean, dry cloth or towel to remove the excess liquid. Repeat the process until you have no stain.

Removing red wine stains with milk

Milk is another natural home product you can use to remove red wine stains. It has absorbent properties – which are enhanced when boiled – and can act as a great cleaning agent.

What you’ll need:

• A small amount of boiled milk
• White cloth or white paper towel

Before you pour the milk over the stain, first remove excess liquid with a dry white cloth or paper towel. Then pour some of the boiled milk over the stain. Allow it to soak in before you blot the stain.

Tidy and vacuum or mop floors

Your dining room and living room floors are probably full of crumbs, pieces of paper from gift wraps, and other rubbish from the big day. Tidy up first, then move on to cleaning. Place your cushions in their right positions, move dining room chairs back to their place, pick up any items which don’t belong there and return them to the correct places, etc.

From the floor, pick up what you can before vacuuming or sweeping floors and mopping. If you are mopping, use our suggested method above for the kitchen.

Does this all sound like too much of a bother?

If this article left you feeling: that’s a lot of chores! Consider inviting our eMoppers (our special name for our cleaners) to do your post-Christmas Day cleanup! They love cleaning and are highly trained, so they will get the job done in no time! They will also handle your home with the best of care and attention. Also, if you’re thinking of unique ideas for Christmas presents, you can always treat a loved one to a post-Christmas day cleanup session. They’ll thank you for it, we promise!