Tis’ the season when glitter, tinsel, and holiday trees invade the homes of thousands. But what do you do when the glitter and glam starts falling faster than snow and makes it’s way onto your carpet and clothing? You clean it up using these handy tips.

We’ll break it down by area and the most effective way to clean each type of falalala that has gone falalal-unk.

 Carpet

 Glitter

Vacuuming is always a great way to help pick up small particles from carpeted areas. We always suggest using a vacuum first, however, you’ll likely have to go over the same spot many times. Glitter tends to stick to anything it comes across, including your carpets. If you plan to vacuum, use an attachment without a brush, it has a better chance of not clinging on to extra twinklies.  We’ve tested a few different tricks and find using tape to be most effective. Wrap tape, ideally something thicker like duct tape or masking tape, around your fingers with the sticky side out. You’ll have to get on your hands and knees and pat the glittered area until clean, but it will help you remove as much glitter as possible. Alternatively, you can use a lint roller to pick up glitter bits. Depending how much has fallen, it may be more cost effective to use tape. The combination of these 2 options should remove all remnants of glitter.

 Pine Needles

Pine needles can be hard to clean from carpet since they can carry sap which can lead to stains. For quick clean ups, you can use a lint roller to pick up any fallen needles. If the pine needles are caught in your carpet, spritz a bit of water on the carpet and use a wash cloth or brush to get the needles into a pile. Keep a vacuum close so you can pick up pine needle piles as you go with the hose part. When vacuuming pine needles, try not to use an attachment that will cause them to get into the nap of the carpet.  You can also use a fine hair comb to ‘dig out’ any ground in needles from carpet fibres.

Tile and Hardwood

Glitter

Unlike carpets, removing glitter from tile and wood floors is a bit different. Start by using a broom to remove as much glitter as you can, especially if you’ve dropped a pile of it onto the floor.  You’ll want to rinse the broom after!  A broom should suffice but you can also use a vacuum if it’s easier for you. Next, use a wet cloth to swipe over any areas that have had glitter on them. We don’t recommend using a mop as it can be harder to rinse and will swish around any glitter bits. Most of the glitter should stick to the cloth instead of your floor. Rinse the cloth and wipe again to get any leftover bits. For hard to clean glitter messes, you can also use the tape method used on carpets to get rid of any stubborn glitter pieces.

Pine Needles

Cleaning up pine needles from tile and hardwood is as easy as pumpkin pie. Start by sweeping pine needles together and into a dust pan. For any sap residue that appears on your floors, take a microfiber cloth and dampen with water. Wipe the area with the cloth and buff dry to ensure no residue has been left. Don’t have a broom? A vacuum works just as well.

Clothing

Glitter

There’s a few tricks to removing glitter from clothing. It all depends whether you are continuing to wear it or not. You can flatten the clothing and use pieces of tape to remove the glitter. Don’t use anything too sticky, like duct tape, as it can damage the clothing depending on the material. An alternative and quicker way would be to use a lint roller. Roll it over glittered areas until all has been removed. This tends to work well for removing larger amounts of glitter. You can always wash and dry clothing as you usually would. However, be careful to remove any dislodged glitter from the washer and dryer with a damp sponge to prevent it from getting onto other items.

Pine Needles

For clothing, take a lint roller to the fabric to remove any stuck on pine needles. You can also pick them off by hand (assuming you have the time and there’s not too many!). Launder according to directions on the product care tag. Assuming there are stains from pine sap, use an enzyme booster or stain remover to help lift away any sticky residue. Follow manufacturer’s instructions and always test on a small area of fabric before using.

So, keep glitter and pine needles at bay with these great tips and tricks!