Tips for Cleaning up after a Big Meal

So you have had a great big meal, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Only now you have a mess equally as big that you must clean. The following tips can aid you.
Do not wait
It is important to clean up as soon as possible after a big meal. When you leave food out it can go bad. Food on plates and other dishes harden and require much more scrubbing. You may want to procrastinate when seeing the big mess, but you will only give yourself more work by putting off the inevitable.
Start by putting away the food
After a big meal, you are likely to have leftovers. You want to get those away as soon as possible to avoid any risk of spoilage or food poisoning. The only reason to wait is if something is still very hot and you will be putting it into a plastic container because it is not generally recommended to have hot food in plastic containers. If the big meal included guests then you can decide whether to offer any leftovers. It will be easier to separate all of these now than to worry about it later. Make sure that you put the items into containers that will hold them. Many choose to store in glass.
Clear the table
You now want to bring everything into the kitchen. Take all of the dishes off of the table, but make sure that you put them somewhere safe so they will not fall and break.
Do the dishes
It is best if you can get the dishes done right away. It will probably take less time than if you wait, and you will be less likely to attract ants or other undesirable creatures. Some people will just clean everything right away, or you may load a dishwasher instead. If the dishwasher is full before you have entered all of the dishes because the meal was so big, then run it and at least rinse off the other items so that they are ready to go in as soon as the dishwashing cycle has ended.
Clean the table
How you clean the table will depend on the surface and what was on it. If it is a tablecloth then you might just take it off, shake it out outside and then throw it into the washing machine (or follow the other cleaning instructions). You may be able to just wipe it down. Depending on the surface you may want to use a cleaner of some sort, although of course make sure it is suitable for surfaces off of which you eat.
Straighten up the table
If you have items that remain on the table such as a centerpiece or salt and pepper shakers, then arrange these nicely.
Clean around the table
Make sure that all of the chairs look okay and clean them if needed. Of course how you clean them will depend on the materials of which they are made. Sweep and vacuum the floor underneath and near the table if necessary.
It is important to clean up right after a big meal, especially if you have guests. Use the above steps to accomplish this process.