How to Clean up Glitter and other Crafty Messes

One of the many joys of having daughters is the crafty fun, involving  the many things I used to love prior to becoming a parent.   Yesterday, my daughter celebrated her 100th day of school and was tasked with creating her own decorated hat to commemorate the occasion.  Well, her go-to craft supplies were joys like glitter, glue, paint, and markers.   Just as much as they landed on her beautifully decorated hat, a nice pile of it all also ended up as a seemingly permanent fixture on our floors, table, skin, clothes, etc.

Fortunately for me, we just recently took a trip to Dollar General and were able to get a pretty good stockpile of some ultra durable and efficient Scott paper towers and other supplies needed to clean up glitter along with other crafty messes formed from spilled glue, paint, markers, etc.  If ever you are faced with this very fun challenge (whether it’s the 100th day of school or the aftermath of a slumber party, here are some tips for how to clean up glitter and other messy craft supplies from multiple surfaces:

How to Clean up Glitter

To clean up glitter from a flat surface, such as a wood or laminate floor, table, etc., start by using a damp paper towel to help “sweep” the glitter into one place.   Any glitter that remains can also be picked up by a dryer sheet.

To clean up glitter from a carpet, start by vacuuming the glittered surface to get the bulk of the glitter out.  Any remaining glitter can be picked up with a roll of scotch tape, which will act as an adhesive to pick up the glitter pieces.  Finally, a blown up rubber balloon charged with static electricity will also help pick up stray glitter pieces from the carpet.   Rub the balloon against the carpet to charge it and then hover it over the remaining glitter.

How to Remove Hardened Glue

Once glue has hardened on a surface, it may seem impossible to remove, but it’s actually quite simple.  For standard water-based craft glue that has hardened, you first need to soften it.  To do so, saturate a few sheets of the Scott paper towel with warm water and place it on top of the glue.  Let it sit there for about an hour or so until the glue is soft enough to scrape off.

How to Remove Marker Stains

For a non-permanent market stain, apply some alcohol to a clean Scott paper towel or sponge and place on the stain.  You may need to repeat this process a few times to fully remove the stain.

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