The holiday season may be over, but it certainly left its mark in our homes.

If your home is speckled with stains, spills, smudges and scratches after hosting for the Christmas or New Years’ Eve, then the following tips can help you deal with the dirt in a fast and efficient way. Get your place back to normal without using dangerous chemicals. All you need are common household items and a bit of elbow grease.

Fingerprints & Spots on Stainless Steel Appliances

If your stainless steel appliances (microwave, refrigerators, oven’s door) have fingerprints or grease spots remaining after your guests get some denatured alcohol. Apply a few drops on a clean rag and to rub off the spotted area. Every spot will go away, leaving the surface shiny and clean.

Scuff Marks on Wood Floors

Remove scuff marks from your wood floor in seconds by applying a small ball of non-gel toothpaste onto a clean dry cloth, then rub it on the marked area. Scuff marks will be gone in moments. Non-gel toothpastes can be used successfully to remove crayon marks also.

Wood floor and furniture get scratched really easy, but there’s a way to deal with this

Scratches on Wooden Furniture or Floor

Don’t worry these scratches left from the party won’t stay on the floor forever. To remove them, mix 3 parts olive oil and 1 part white distilled vinegar. Apply this onto a clean dry cloth and gently rub onto the marks. They should disappear almost immediately. In the end make sure to buff the slippery mixture to avoid incidents.

Water Rings on Wood

After a party or dinner at home there often are water rings on your wooden furniture. Here is a tried-and-true trick to remove water rings from wood: rub a little mayonnaise onto the stain using dry rag. Water rings should be gone within seconds.

Red Wine Stains on Furniture or Carpets

They say it’s not really a party unless someone spills red wine. There is very easy way to remove red wine stains from carpets, furniture or fabric. Get a damp sponge and tap it on the stain to lift as much of the wine as possible. Mix 1 part peroxide and 1 part dish detergent in a spray bottle. Spray onto the stain, wait 5-10 minutes and rub it out gently with a clean dry cloth.

You can remove candle wax easily from your carpet or tablecloth.

Candle Wax on Fabric

Usually after every Christmas dinner there are some candle wax stains left on the tablecloth or the furniture. Candle wax can be removed easily with piece of paper and iron. Put the paper onto the wax stain and iron over it. All the wax will soak into the paper leaving the fabric spotless.

Soot Stain on the Wall

If there are soot stains left from candles on your wall, take denautered alcohol and rub some using dry clean cloth. The alcohol will remove the spot without damaging the paint.

Ash from the Fireplace

Cleaning ashes is a dirty job — unless you act smart. Pour some wet coffee grinds onto the ash before removing it then push the ash into a dustpan. Coffee grinds will keep the ash from spreading into the air as you clean it.

Bonus Tip – Call Professionals!

If you want to be sure you home will be spotless after the holiday celebrations and you don’t have the time or motivation to deal with stains, spots and other dirt you can call professional cleaners. Nowadays many companies offer one-time cleaning – an inexpensive service, which is very suitable for after the holiday celebrations.