If you’ve taken one for the team this year by hosting Christmas dinner, you might be dreading the thought of cleaning up the mess from your delicious dinner.

You might decide to leave the cleanup mission until Boxing Day morning, but why make life more difficult? Luckily, the team at Essential Living have revealed five everyday, household items you can use to keep on top of the mess that comes with hosting Christmas dinner.

From lemons to toothbrushes, cleaning up after your Christmas party will be a breeze, even with a slightly sore head!

Dishwasher Tablets

Your crispy roasties and parsnips were the star of the show, but all of that goose fat and herbs means your oven tray will be full of grease and burnt-on sage. And the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to scrub off.

Image: Kitchn

Save yourself time with this one simple hack. Place a dishwasher tablet in your tray and fill it with boiling hot water and leave to soak for a few hours and the grease should wipe away with ease.

You’ll be pleased to know that you can also use this method to clean your shelves and grill pan too. Remove the racks and place in a large plastic container. Add a couple of dishwasher tablets, and cover the racks with hot water.

Leave everything to soak together overnight and in the morning, wipe them down with a soft cloth, rinse and dry. It’s like Christmas never happened!

Used Teabags

Whilst you would normally stock up with teabags for your guests’ after-dinner brew, they can also be used to clean your dishes!

To keep pots and pans rust-free, simply rub a damp, used tea bag around the surface after you’ve washed your kitchenware. The tannins in the tea will form a protective layer that prevents rust.

Top tip: Simply pop a couple of used teabags in a wide-mouthed spray bottle and top up with water. Use sparingly on glass surfaces and follow with a dry microfibre cloth to remove those stubborn greasy fingerprints.

Lemon
If you can cook a Christmas dinner without staining your apron, or even worse, your party clothes, you have done extremely well.

Whether it be a tough, greasy stain like gravy or even a splash of red wine on your sofa, this simple trick will help your clothes and furniture survive the festive period. Simply squeeze a few drops of lemon directly onto the stain and leave it to absorb for around 15-20 minutes.

Lemon is a great choice for stain removal as it’s a completely natural acid with a light whitening action. This makes lemon juice a good alternative to harsh chemicals like bleach, which can ruin delicate fabrics. For best results, place some greaseproof paper over the top as the lemon soaks as this will enhance absorption.

Top tip: If you aren’t sure whether the fabric you are cleaning may react with the lemon, test on a hidden area to ensure no discolouration or damage will occur.

Used tinfoil

Before you throw away any used tin foil, why not reuse it to scrub your oven dishes and stainless steel pans instead- but avoid using this hack on your non-stick pans as they are prone to scratch and ruin the pan.

Scrunch your tinfoil into a ball, then wet it and gently rub it into any stubborn spots. If the foil dries out, dip it back in the water or grab a fresh piece. The aluminium in the foil has the ability to tackle tougher grease as opposed to cloth.

Top tip: Sprinkle your pans with a thick layer of salt and lemon which will help remove dirt even more as it breaks down the grease with its acidity.

Toothbrush

You may think cleaning with a toothbrush is some sort of joke, but it actually is one of the best tools for really targeting stains!

If one of your guests seems to be a little drowsy after their dinner and drops their pud on your sofa, do not worry. Here, you can really let the toothbrush do the hard work by going over the stained area, allowing the fine bristles to tackle any marks left by misplaced dessert.

With a white cloth, dab warm water or washing-up liquid onto the stain and use your toothbrush to scrub.

Top tip: Scrub outwards not inwards and always pat dry gently.