5 Tips for Cleaning Up Worksgiving So Your Office Custodians Don't Hate You

1. Don't expect them to clean up for you.

Your office custodian is not your mom — their job is to maintain the office, not clean up after you. So whatever you do, don't leave serving pieces in the sink for your custodians to wash up! If you use items that are commonly kept in the office kitchen, like serving pieces or utensils, then wash and dry them and put them away before you leave for the night. If you rearrange furniture to accommodate your Thanksgiving party, put it back in place afterwards.

2. Properly dispose of waste.

Please don't shove all of your food trash into the conference room trash can! Usually, those trash cans are on the small side, meaning there's a potential for spills when they're jammed full of plates. Plus, most conference room trash cans don't have lids, so any odors of half-eaten Thanksgiving grub will be wafting through the office until after-hours, potentially attracting pests in addition to just being a nuisance.
Instead, bring a large trash bag to the event to collect everyone's used paper plates, then bring that to the appropriate place (whether it's just into the kitchen or to your building's service area — ask your custodian or building manager ahead of time!) after you're done dining.