5 Tips for Cleaning Up After a College Party

You know that any great college party requires an insane amount of cleaning up the next morning, usually with no help from your fellow students. Here are some great tips for scrubbing your dorm room after a raging fiesta.

• 1. First, you've got to get help. No one should have to witness this carnage alone, so go grab some slumbering dorm pals and remind them who hosted the bash. Once you've got a crew to help you, the rest of the process gets much easier.





• 2. Grab some bags for trash collection and boxes or bins to round up recyclables and dishes. Assign each student to one or the other and quickly pick over everything that can be picked up. Don't step in the vomit! We'll get to that in a moment. Anything else out of place can be set off to the side in a pile to be dealt with later.





• 3. Get someone started on the dishes while the rest of the crew works on getting trash and recyclables into their designated receptacles.





• 4. Now comes the time to deal with those disgusting pools of vomit. If you've got cat litter or sawdust around, spread it on the vomit to soak it up, then vacuum or sweep up the remains as quickly as possible. Since you probably have neither, shredded paper towels can help absorb the nasties and make it easy to sweep. Use pieces of cardboard instead of a dustpan. Once you've cleared the chunks, use diluted bleach to disinfect hard surfaces, or use a damp sponge or towel to gently clean carpets, rugs, and other pourous surfaces. Never use bleach on carpets! Keep a trash bag around for those with weak stomach so you don't add to the mess!





• 5. Deodorize with a neutralizing spray. If you lack that, try squeezing an orange into some hot water and misting the air. As a last resort, try diluting perfume or cologne and spritzing the offending areas. Be sure to open windows and turn on fans to get the stank gone.