Mental Muscles

Archive for the ‘Planning A Get Together’ Category

When you are planning a party at your home, you will find that it always seems like no matter how much you clean, or how much you organize; there is always more which you could do.  The key to effectively preparing your home to host a party is cleaning and de-cluttering some very vital areas.  You should understand that as long as those areas care clean and clutter-free, then your guests will feel comfortable and welcome in your home.

However, even the most seasoned hostess can be intimidated by trying to prepare their home for guests.  So, for that reason, here are some tips from professional cleaners and organizers on how you can best prepare your home to host your party:

Tip #1 – Take a look around your home in a quick sweep and decide what you need to do.  Take along a pen and paper and make notes for each room of your home.  You will want a closet for your guests to hang their coats in and a place to store women’s purses.  While you are doing your home walk-through decide where these two locations will be and write them down.

Tip #2 – The first place you will want to start cleaning and tidying up is the entry area of your home, and then work from there cleaning the living room, bathroom, and kitchen areas.  In addition, if there are other areas in your home where your guests will be, perhaps a game room or similar, that area will need a good cleaning and de-cluttering as well.

Tip #3 -  While everyone has some clutter which they treasure; understand that clutter can give an even spotless home the appearance of being messy and unclean.  You want your guests to be able to move freely in your home and not be knocking things off of tables or shelves.  When you are cleaning for a party be brutal and get rid of as much clutter as you can bear – even if you just simply box it and place it in the garage for the night.

Tip #4 –  If you have a spouse and family, now is the time to enlist them to help you in cleaning and de-cluttering your home.  You can easily assign a room to each person and have them be responsible for cleaning and removing anything in the room which does not absolutely need to be there for the party.

Tip #5 -  If you have children with messy rooms, but are having an all-adult party, it is fine to simply close your children’s bedroom doors and not make a big deal about them cleaning their rooms for the party.  This can greatly relieve your stress pre-party.  In essence, stick to cleaning rooms which you absolutely must clean because guests will be in them.

Tip #6 -  If your party is informal, consider using casual serving dishes and casual eatery as well.  You may even want to purchase some good quality paper plates for the event if it will be a pot-luck or BBQ type event, rather than a sit-down meal.

Tip #7 -  It is important for you to know that where there are people with food and drinks, there will be spills and stains.  The easiest way to deal with these issues is to be completely prepared to deal with them before they ever happen.  Have a small box with cleaning supplies which you can use to clean up any messes which might occur during the party.

Tip #8 – Once your home is clean and clutter-free, then it is time to go around your home and add back some small, personal touches which make your home comfortable and inviting for your guests.  You can accomplish this through the use of flowers, photographs of your family, and candles.  To deal with any musty odors your home may have, you can burn candles or simmer cinnamon and cloves on the stove.

Tip #9 – Once your home has been prepared and you have a back-up plan to deal with any unforeseen stains or spills, then it is time for you as the hostess to sit back and enjoy your party.

When you are planning a party at your home, you will find that it always seems like no matter how much you clean, or how much you organize; there is always more which you could do.  The key to effectively preparing your home to host a party is cleaning and de-cluttering some very vital areas.  You should understand that as long as those areas care clean and clutter-free, then your guests will feel comfortable and welcome in your home.

However, even the most seasoned hostess can be intimidated by trying to prepare their home for guests.  So, for that reason, here are some tips from professional cleaners and organizers on how you can best prepare your home to host your party:

Tip #1 – Take a look around your home in a quick sweep and decide what you need to do.  Take along a pen and paper and make notes for each room of your home.  You will want a closet for your guests to hang their coats in and a place to store women’s purses.  While you are doing your home walk-through decide where these two locations will be and write them down.

Tip #2 – The first place you will want to start cleaning and tidying up is the entry area of your home, and then work from there cleaning the living room, bathroom, and kitchen areas.  In addition, if there are other areas in your home where your guests will be, perhaps a game room or similar, that area will need a good cleaning and de-cluttering as well.

Tip #3 -  While everyone has some clutter which they treasure; understand that clutter can give an even spotless home the appearance of being messy and unclean.  You want your guests to be able to move freely in your home and not be knocking things off of tables or shelves.  When you are cleaning for a party be brutal and get rid of as much clutter as you can bear – even if you just simply box it and place it in the garage for the night.

Tip #4 –  If you have a spouse and family, now is the time to enlist them to help you in cleaning and de-cluttering your home.  You can easily assign a room to each person and have them be responsible for cleaning and removing anything in the room which does not absolutely need to be there for the party.

Tip #5 -  If you have children with messy rooms, but are having an all-adult party, it is fine to simply close your children’s bedroom doors and not make a big deal about them cleaning their rooms for the party.  This can greatly relieve your stress pre-party.  In essence, stick to cleaning rooms which you absolutely must clean because guests will be in them.

Tip #6 -  If your party is informal, consider using casual serving dishes and casual eatery as well.  You may even want to purchase some good quality paper plates for the event if it will be a pot-luck or BBQ type event, rather than a sit-down meal.

Tip #7 -  It is important for you to know that where there are people with food and drinks, there will be spills and stains.  The easiest way to deal with these issues is to be completely prepared to deal with them before they ever happen.  Have a small box with cleaning supplies which you can use to clean up any messes which might occur during the party.

Tip #8 – Once your home is clean and clutter-free, then it is time to go around your home and add back some small, personal touches which make your home comfortable and inviting for your guests.  You can accomplish this through the use of flowers, photographs of your family, and candles.  To deal with any musty odors your home may have, you can burn candles or simmer cinnamon and cloves on the stove.

Tip #9 – Once your home has been prepared and you have a back-up plan to deal with any unforeseen stains or spills, then it is time for you as the hostess to sit back and enjoy your party.

Planning a surprise party can be very fun and enjoyable for all of the people who are involved.  And, if you and your co-conspirators can keep up the charade until the party happens, then you can have one very surprised and happy guest of honor.

Even though the secret of your surprise party lays with all of the people who will be in attendance, there are some simple things which you can do, as the party planner and host, to help ensure the best outcome possible.  Here are seven tips to get you started to planning a surprise party which your friends and relatives will be talking about for years to come:

Tip #1 – Find out from your guest of honor, or even better from their significant other, what their schedule is like within the timeframe you are considering for the surprise party.  Use this valuable information to set the date for your surprise party.

Tip #2 – Enlist the help of someone who can devise a fictitious activity for the guest of honor to partake in on the day of the party.  The closer to your home this activity is, the easier it is for your helper to “have to stop in at your home for a moment” on the day of the party.

Tip #3 – Extend your invitations to all of your invited guests.  When you make your invitations make sure that each of your guests understand that the party is a surprise and should be kept that way.  Ask them to please not share the information with your guest of honor or anyone else who might mention it to them.

Tip #4 – Come up with a planned event which everyone who may run into your guest of honor can use as a diversion if they need to.  However, if your guests don’t think they can “lie” to the guest of honor with a straight face, suggest that they avoid them for the time leading up to the party, whenever possible and practical.

Tip #5 – Ask all of your invited guests to arrive at least thirty minutes before you expect your guest of honor to arrive.  If your guest of honor generally arrives early to events, then you might want to ask your invited guests to come a bit earlier, just in case.

Tip #6 – Ask your guests to park down the street and out of sight.  The only caveat to this is if the guest of honor believes they are attending another event at your home on that day.  If this is the case then it won’t really matter much were people choose to park.

Tip #7 – Once you have done all of the other things suggested, then the only thing you can really do is pray and hold your breath that no one will slip-up and tell your guest of honor about your planned surprise party.

Planning a surprise party can be a lot of fun.  If you take the time to build in some diversions into your plan, you are able to help those who might be asked questions by the guest of honor.  This will ensure that they are not caught off-guard and without a good, solid, quick answer to give to any questions that they may be asked.  By doing this you can have a wonderful surprise party.  Good luck!