Is there METHOD to your Holiday Cleaning Madness?

I am in the process of writing up my Thanksgiving re-cap and can’t wait to show you my table-settings! After some debate, and the generous Laura (Pink Cake Plate) offering me all of her nice dishes for the occasion, I determined that we needed to use real plates at Thanksgiving this year. Here is a sneak peek at the after-shot of our Thanksgiving table that I posted on Instagram.

Hopefully, when I post the before shots, you will agree that it was worth the effort. I feel like it really was!

But there is no denying that big events like this make big messes, and even though we have made it through Thanksgiving (We had a great crew jump in and knock out the dishes together!), I will admit I am a bit nervous about all of the holiday messes I have coming through the rest of the season. That may just be the thing that is stressing me out the most this year, since between my music classes, house guests, and holiday festivities, my home will be a constant buzz of activity this Holiday season. But there is help…

I’ve always been drawn to the cool design and eco-friendly attitude of the Method brand cleaning products. This year, Method is giving us a few more reasons to love them, by helping us out with our messy situations by sharing some great tips and tricks. When you like the Method Facebook Page they will give you all kinds of suggestions for ways to deal with your holiday messes. Tips like these:

• Turkeys cook for hours, embedding the trickiest stains you will fight all year into your favorite roasting pan. Don’t fight this battle alone! Drop a tablet of Smarty Dish Plus into your roasting pan and fill with hot water to soak while you enjoy your feast. Come cleaning time, you will be amazed at how little scrubbing you have to do after dinner.
• Did your tablecloth suffer the wrath of cranberry sauce or red wine during Thanksgiving?  Remove those fast-setting stains by adding one tablet of Smarty Dish Plus to a load of laundry (a warm or hot water cycle) for a bleach-free stain fighting boost. (Who knew you could put dish soap in the washing machine??)

But you don’t have Smarty Dish Plus tablets, yet? Never fear!

Method products can be found at many local retailers, like Target (every bloggers home away from home). Or if you’d like to receive 15% off your order, purchase

Smarty Dish Plus

from the Method website! Enter your coupon code: SMARTDISH in the “promotions and savings field” and press “apply” to receive your discount.  Checkout is through Soap(dot)com and offers free two-day shipping on orders $49 or more.

So aside from purchasing Method Smarty Dish Plus or hiring an Hour Maid, what tip can you share with me about cleaning up for and after holiday events? I have a couple of ideas but mostly, I can use all of the help I can get. Here are my best tips:

• (I think this one I learned from Ms. Rachel Ray) While prepping a meal or baking holiday goodies, keep a designated garbage bowl or bag right beside you on the counter. It is amazing how much mess a meal makes. If you can throw away all of the waste as you go, there is so much less to do after. And how much time will you save having the garbage bowl right there, instead of making trips to the garbage can.
• If you are hosting a party or event, it is nearly impossible to have all of the dishes done up before guests arrive, since you are cooking all that time. The dishwasher makes a great place to stash all of your dishes! Who cares if you are going to hand-wash them later, or stack them more neatly. Throw all the left-overs into the dishwasher to make it look like you cleaned up all of your messes before guests arrived. Then tackle those dishes when the party is over. (This was from my friend Jen, who’s home always looks immaculate).

This article is sponsored by Method