Getting ready for the Holidays: Tips and tricks to prepare your house!
With Christmas and New Year just around the corner, our houses are sure to be filled with friends and families once again. Hosting holidays at home is a lot of work and can be quite tedious in the aftermath. But don’t fear as here are some tips to keep your house in tip-top shape before and after all the holiday fun.
- Strategize
A few days before the party, it is important to evaluate what needs to be done and strategize a way to have the chores accomplished more efficiently. Walking through the house as if you are a guest and listing down areas that need to be cleaned or fixed is a good way to evaluate the whole house. Be especially focused on the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms as these are areas where the most foot traffic would be. Once done with the list, ask help from the rest of the members of the family to accomplish all of them.
- Give your house a brighter look
After strategizing, it’s time to get down and dirty and start the actual preparation. You can always begin by giving your whole house a brighter look. Washing and wiping down windows can go a long way and make the house appear prettier and glowing amidst the party lights. Clean the glass, if any, in your front door and sweep your front porch, steps and walkway to give your entryway a fresh and welcoming appearance. Lastly, if time permits, toss window and shower curtains in the laundry to give a fresh clean smell that can diffuse within the whole house and highlight the newly cleaned windows.
- Clean the bathrooms
You can impress guests with a sparkly clean bathroom or powder room. Give the toilet bowl and the tub a good scrubbing and squeegee the shower walls and mirrors. It is important that you clear the counters of any clutter and organize the contents left on the surface. If you have a medicine cabinet, remember to organize those too and tuck away anything you want to keep in private. Lastly, refill all the bottles that need to be refilled, such as soap dispensers.
- Clear guest areas
Make sure that guests have enough space to mingle in and that means areas in the living room and the dining room. Review your list of fragile items and put them aside a few days before the party. Clear clutter from these areas and put all stray objects such as clothes, shoes, paper, books, etc. in a laundry basket then sort them out, later on, to put them back in their proper places. Clear walkways and tabletops so guests can also have surfaces to put their plates and drinks on. A day before the party you can turn your attention to polishing spaces where guests will spend the most time. You can add flower arrangements and other decorative pieces to your tables.
- Clean out the kitchen
The kitchen will be the busiest area of all before and after all the festivities. Starting off, it would be wise to clean out the refrigerator and throw out any expired food to make room for all the food for the party and possible leftovers. Organize kitchen utensils with what utensils will be needed the most. Plastic containers ready. Lining garbage cans twice. lean out the refrigerator.
- Clean the fridge. Make room in the refrigerator for party food. Move large containers and infrequently used items to the back. Make room in the freezer for ice for the party.
- Clean the range or cooktop, including all the surfaces and grates.
- Use an appropriate household cleaner to wash off cabinet doors, frames, drawers, and handles.
- Clean the floor.
- Empty recycling containers into outdoor bins or take the material to be recycled to the recycling facilities.
- Clean party spaces the day before and some touch-ups.
A few things always have to be finished just before guests arrive. Dust all surfaces, including bookshelves, framed photos and art, and other decorative pieces. Dust the ceiling fans and sweep the entryway. Add decorative touches to your front door as desired. And make sure to pay attention to water spots and residue on the faucet and liquid soap dispenser.
Using a party planning checklist and creating an event timeline are just some of the many things you can do to make sure everything goes smoothly. Even if you don’t have any experience with party planning, you can still throw a memorable get-together. Go grocery shopping. Pick up your bakery order. Prepare tip envelopes for party entertainers and staff.
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