Your New Year's Eve Messes, Solved

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New Year's Eve can be great fun, and with great fun can come great messes. And also great hangovers. Which make cleaning up those messes even more unpleasant. While I can't do much to help your throbbing head (other than to suggest getting your paws on some Berocca), I can help you to remove champagne stains, save your sequins, and clean up messes made by confetti.

Dealing with Champagne Stains

The good thing about champagne stains on clothing, upholstery or carpeting is that it's pretty simple to get out, even if you've waited until the next day to deal with the stain. And let's be honest, we're all waiting until the next day to deal with our champagne stains. Actually, if we're being really honest, we're all waiting until at least January 2 to deal with our champagne stains.

We're all waiting until at least January 2 to deal with our champagne stains.

Before I tell you the simple way to remove those pesky champagne stains, I have to tell you the bad thing about them. They're light-colored, which means that it's easy to forget they're there. And that's a bad thing, because storing your fancy or not-so-fancy clothes and accessories with stains still on them can lead to irreparable damage, because the stains can set, darken, and/or potentially cause the fibers to break down. So! Don't forget to deal with your champagne stains, please!

Here's the easy way to do so: Dilute a small amount, perhaps a teaspoon to a tablespoon, of a mild detergent like dish soap, liquid laundry detergent, or a product like Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap in a bowl of warm water. Dip a light colored cloth or sponge in the soap solution, wring it out so that it is damp and sudsy but not dripping, and gently dab at the stain, repeating as needed until it appears to be gone. Allow the garment to dry flat, check for any residual staining, and repeat if there is still a trace of the champagne.

Caring for Your Sequins

There are a few rules when it comes to keeping your sequins looking extra flashy. The first is to be careful where you walk — beware of furniture that wants to snag your beautiful sequins, or rough surfaces that will dull the shine of your sparklers. Related to that, if you do get a snag DO NOT PULL ON ANY LOOSE THREADS, lest your favorite sequined top become the subject of a Weezer song.

Always hang your sequins up on a good hanger before you pass out from all that champagne.

The last rule may pose a challenge on nights, such as New Year's Eve, when we tend to be a bit over served. But if you only remember one of my rules, please let it be this one: Always hang your sequins up on a good hanger (or carefully lay the garment flat) before you pass out from all that champagne. Tossing a sequined garment on the floor, or over the back of a chair, can lead to snags or crumpled spangles, and no one wants that.

When it comes to cleaning a sequined item, the dry cleaner is one good choice. You may also hand wash, being careful to use cool or cold water in the event the sequins are glued, rather than stitched, on. Heat can cause the glue to melt, loosening the sequins and leading to bald spots. Let's put an end to sequined-patterned baldness.

Confetti Clean-up

Confetti is such a wreck. I'd suggest that you just not allow it in your home, but I would hate to be accused of killjoyism, so I'll keep that to myself and instead move straight into what to do when you wake up with a killer hangover and a living room covered in brightly colored bits of tiny paper.

Confetti is such a wreck.

If you've got hardwood floors, first start by sweeping up as much of the confetti as you can. There will still be confetti left behind, even after the most thorough of sweeping efforts, and those stragglers can be dealt with by pulling out your trusty vacuum cleaner. There's a hitch, however! You should switch out the attachments and use the hose — using brush attachments will result in some of the confetti getting stuck in the bristles, which will then be distributed all over your house for months to come. If you have carpeted flooring, skip the sweeping and head straight for the vacuum cleaner (same thing goes about the hose attachment).

If the confetti landed on the floor, where it became wet and trampled, leaving behind dye stains, fret not! Rubbing alcohol can be used to lift the color off surfaces, both hard and textile, like rugs or carpets.

And now, go forth and party, secure in the knowledge that there's no mess you can make that you can't clean up. Happy New Year!