The wine bottles are empty. The candles have seen their last flicker. And the last guest has gone home. You want to put your feet up with a big sigh of relief, but wait — there's cleaning up to do. Doing any type of cleaning when your holiday party is over might not seem like a particularly glamorous way to finish the evening. But taking care of a few housekeeping matters right away will lighten your load when you wake up the next morning. And tidying up actually isn't that hard when you have a game plan. Clear the mess first Close Go around the house with two bags — one for trash and one for recyclables — and start clearing all the tables. Toss paper cups and plates, crumpled napkins and food in the bag designated for trash, and place bottles and cans in the recyclables bag. Preventive measures help too: for my holiday parties, I decorate big boxes with wrapping paper and put bows on the front with tags that say "Trash" and "Recycling." Then I line the boxes with big trash bags, so at the end of the evening, most of the work is already done for me. Round up the dishes Gather all the real plates, glasses and utensils, take them to the kitchen and place them in the dishwasher immedi...

Useful thin plastic blades can clean smooth surfaces of paint and glue, decals and stickers without damaging surfaces beneath the coating, as well as make sharp crease lines in paper without cutting through the paper. The plastic blades can be used to spread glue and the short handle makes it easy to work in limited spaces. Very good for cleanup and removing paint splatters or over spray on smooth surfaces. A safer, smaller version of the putty knife on delicate surfaces. Pros Blades available in different flexibilities for work on different surfacesBlades will fit paint scrapers that hold standard razor bladesSmall plastic razor blade holders are a great size for work in confined spacesEasily scrape paint and glue off smooth surfaces, and some slightly more irregular surfacesBlades last a surprisingly long time Cons Not available everywhereWork best on thin materials, a kitchen grill scraper is still best for resin spills. Description  Small double edged thin plastic blades great for scraping a variety of surfaces, resistant to many solvents.  Good way to remove labels, decals, masking tape and sticker glue, without damaging painted surface underneath.  Small handle...

Most everyone who owns a car washes it at some point. I say "most" because I sometimes wonder if some people ever wash their car. They seem to wait until it rains or the lawn sprinkler rinses it. For those who do wash their car themselves, this short article may help keep your car looking better longer. Two things happen to car paint over time, fading and scratching. The most common ways to reduce paint fade are to keep the car protected from sunlight using a car cover, keeping it in a garage, and waxing it. As far as scratching damages goes, that requires a little more care. Aside from accidental scratching, most small scratches occur while a car is washed. Automated mechanical car wash technology has only mildly improved since the days I used to run a full service car wash, some 30 years ago. Unless the brushes and cloth parts that touch the car are changed frequently, they will damage the paint as they collect small particles of dirt and slap against the painted surface. Spray only systems eliminate this risk but usually leave a thin film of dirt which still needs to be rubbed off somehow. Weekend driveway hand washing is most damaging. Dirt and grime on the car is added to the ...

One of the worst problems in the cleaning of cars is the wide variety of stains that appear on the seats, carpet and interior. We will discuss the ways to clean such tough stains in car interiors as Oil, Grease, Butter, Vegetable Oil, Margarine, Cosmetic Crème Stains. First off the important thing is to use a Neutral soap or Neutral products with a ph of 7. (PH is measured on a scale of 0-14 for acidity or alkalinity) 7 are in the middle meaning neutral. This way none of the products used will form chemical reactions while using them.  Mobile Auto Detailing and Mobile Car Washes use a variety of trade secrets to clean such stains effortlessly and efficiently and charge quite a bit to do it. The average cost to detail the interior two front seats of a car is $25.00 plus carpet shampoo of $25.00.  Some companies recommend certain brands to their mobile car wash teams. The best types of cleaners for these stains are solvent based and should be used carefully. They can combine and make more of a mess if not used properly. Caution is important and a virtue and this is truer in this scenario than in any other part of auto detailing. First clean up the main mess by scraping exce...

Kids, we love them dearly don't we? But they can be little monsters at time, especially when their idea of creativity can lead to lots of cleaning headaches! Ok, relax, help is at hand. With a bit of know-how and a little elbow grease, mopping up their little masterpieces will be as easy as 1-2-3. Do you want to know how? Of course you do, read on...  How to remove adhesive stickers from paintwork..Tear off the paper surface and spray the sticky residue with oil lubricant (WD40). Allow to soak, then wipe away with paper towels. Use a plastic scraper if you have some really stubborn marks. How to remove chewing-gum from carpet and fabric. How many times have you walked in some discarded gum on your shoe and brought it into your house? I have done it on many occasions. This tip works like a charm! Rub the culprit with an ice-cube inside a plastic bag until the gum goes brittle...then lift off. To remove crayon from the carpet. Using a knife, scrape off as much as possible. Then put several layers of paper towel over the marks and press lightly with a warm iron. Like magic the towel soaks up the waxy residue. No more crayon, no more tears! Finally, to remove crayon from the radia...