Thread: Note to self -- be afraid... Be very afraid...

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Since the title of this Forum cate-gory is "Party Ideas, EXPERIENCES and Recipes" I thought I would remind myself of the experience I had LAST year for weeks after 10/31 and TRY to come up with a better organizational plan to manage it all!! Otherwise - I have a feeling....a terrible sinking feeeeeling -- that this scene is lurking in the background - waiting to spring on me again November 1, 2010!! LOL HEEEELP!! HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CLEAN UP?!




Post apocalyptic party scene --- Now THIS is a haunted trail....I dare you to find the foot path through this scary maze!

No tips for the clean up (except maybe have DH do it!), but WOW, that must've been some party!!!!

That IS terrifying! I organized all of my items last year, and put labels on the outside of the boxes to indicate what was inside.

I had labels such as..

Body Parts
Cookie Jars
Skeletons, skulls, bones, etc.
Party Supplies (balloons, plates, napkins, cups, music, etc.)
String lights
Strobe lights
Misc. Lighting
Ghosts
Vintage Halloween

And so on.. It depends on how you use things. You could have boxes labeled for which room the decor goes in, or by theme. Good luck!

This is the path I've followed faithfully through the years - never go to bed messy. I always pick up trash and do the dishes immediately following any party, no matter how late it might be. It makes dealing with the decorations and storage, as well as the rest of the clean up, soooo much easier to face.

We usually clean up the food but leave the rest for the next day. Unfortunately, the next day we have to go pick up our sons from their grandparents (over an hour away). So completely cleaning up takes a few days. We have a solution to this problem this year though! We both took a day of vacation the Monday after our party. That way, we can recuperate physically & take our time cleaning up!

I always clean up before going to bed. I'm a little (ok, a lot) OCD, so I would never be able to sleep knowing that a mess was waiting for me when I got up, lol!

Originally Posted by Scarebear

I always clean up before going to bed. I'm a little (ok, a lot) OCD, so I would never be able to sleep knowing that a mess was waiting for me when I got up, lol!

I WISH I was like you, Scarebear LOL! I personally have no problem leaving the 'happy mess' for the morning. After all the hard work preparing for the party (everything must sparkle before guests arrive) I am happy to take a break. Other than storing any edible leftovers and making sure candles and lights are safely out I call it a night.
What gets me through cleanup the next morning is the reminiscing I do while cleaning and packing up. I can even appreciate a good spill stain by recalling the events that led up to the 'event' such as "ah, remember when john was doing the monster mash and tripped on his cape and spilled his punch...and we all laughed...good times!" That, and making plans for next year's party!

The food gets put away as the party winds down - usually I make people take stuff home, as I'm sick of looking at it by that point They generally appreciate it, and less goes to waste then.

My guests are fairly good about throwing garbage away, but I always find a few drinks spilled and such the next day.

Once I get anything that could rot/melt/stain cleaned up, I'm lazy about the rest of it. I think I just took the ravens out of our basement bathroom a couple months ago But when I do take stuff down, I also put it in rubbermaid bins with labels so I can access it easily.

Hallow and wow! Sooo many great ideas for staying sane after the party is over! Thanks all - just the pep talk I needed.

Now - I have just learned that my mom and her hubby will be up from FLorida and will be visiting. They are in their 80's and want to wear costumes and join in the fun! No stress here -- really - uh - none whatsoever... (Heeeeelp! -- anybody know how to keep grandma out of the punchbowl!? LOL)

Didn't I see that on a episode of "Hoarders?"