If you celebrated Valentine’s Day the way it was meant to, your house should look like a rose-petal-covered, candle wax, chocolate, and wine paradise, or a set of Valentine’s Day, depending on how thorough you were.
Now that Valentine’s Day is over, and all the red, heart-shaped candy boxes and stuffed animals with cupid arrows are sitting in a clearance bin at your local pharmacy, it may be time to clean up the mess and get your house back into “normal” mode.
Candle Wax
The amount of candles required for a properly romantic Valentine’s Day home setting is enough to make any Fire Marshal toss and turn at night. However, all those candles mean a lot of dripping wax, and a LOT of mess to clean up. We are kind of hoping you did not try to clean up hot wax the night of… going to the emergency room on Valentine’s Day with a non-romantic medical emergency is disappointing and probably humiliating. No, the best way to clean up wax is to let it set — let it solidify into the waxy solid that it is on the candle. Once solid, most of the wax can be broken off and lifted in big chunks. For whatever is left over, lay a cloth over the leftover wax, and apply gentle heat. The wax should lift right off.
Another cool home tip for Valentine’s Day candles is to put them in the refrigerator or freezer prior to setting them out. The cool wax will burn slower, and cause less mess.
Heart-Shaped Chocolates
Granted, this will work for any chocolate, but really, we are mostly talking about the heart-shaped ones. Let’s just say that Valentine’s Day is a day in which chocolate is consumed in more places than just the dinner table. If chocolate found its way onto surfaces throughout your home, use much of the same principles as wax. Dried, solid chocolate can be flaked off in chunks. For everything that does not come off that way, use a mix of dish soap, or a household fabric or carpet cleaner.
Red Wine
If you JUST spilled red wine on your clothes, furniture or carpet, there are about a million and a half methods to get the stain out: club soda, milk and salt are all good ideas for lifting the stain before it sets. However, let’s face it… who is going to stop their Valentine’s Day fun to battle a stain? Come on! Most likely, the discovery of a wine stain happens a week or so after Valentine’s Day, when you finally notice a spot during cleanup on the clothing you wore that night. No worries, your clothes are not yet ruined. Grab some shaving cream, (yes, shaving cream!) and work the lather into the stain. Let it set for a few hours, and wash as usual. The shaving cream should be able to lift the stain!
Flowers and roses
Women love flowers, or at least the majority of them do. So offering flowers to your beloved is an easy escape if you lack inspiration when it comes to gifts. Also, for a romantic dinner at home, it is common to spread rose petals all over the place to impress your partner and give it that Valentine’s Day vibe.
But as beautiful and romantic as it is, Flowers dry out and rose petals all over the floor turns your house into a dirty and unromantic place. Flowers eventually dry and most of their leaves and petals fall, so dispose of them before that happens, so you don’t have to clean the table or the floor again. Cleaning an entire room of rose petals is unpleasant, but rose petal stains are even more unpleasant, so get rid of them as quickly as possible.
Kitchen and dishes
Valentine’s Day is not always celebrated with a night out to a fancy restaurant for a romantic dinner and most people prefer the intimacy of their own homes. Here partners can get creative, and cooking dinner for your significant other can really impress and strengthen the bond between the two of you.
Even though romantic dinners are well planned and dishes are well put together, not the same can be said for the kitchen. A romantic dinner usually leaves a complete mess back in the kitchen and if you are cooking rarely or just for special occasions like Valentine’s Day you are probably using a lot more kitchen tools and appliances than you actually need.
So if you want to make cleaning easier, after your romantic dinner, plan meticulously beforehand to the level where you know what tools, bowls, pans and pots you are going to use for preparing everything. This is going to reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do and if you have a dishwasher this is going to be very helpful when doing the dishes.
Furry companions
It’s not unusual to have a pet around for a Valentine’s Day or even gift one to your partner for this special occasion. If you already have one you know that they tend to be very curious and they might ruin your romantic decor, spoil a surprise and you need to be aware of that. Make sure to keep a close eye on your companion and maybe spoil it a bit as well since it is a special day.
If you plan to give a pet to your partner, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with having a pet and cleaning after them is going to happen more often than you expect. So, first of all, take into consideration all the aspects that are associated with owning a pet, and if you are not prepared to take care of a pet companion then you might want to reconsider your gift.
Good luck, and happy cleanup! Just one more way for RealEstateAgent.com to help homeowners… after all, wax and chocolate on the floor, and a wine stain on your shirt is certain to detract potential buyers! All of us at The Official Real Estate Agent Directory ® hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day weekend!
