These 5 Tips for Keeping Your House Company Ready are a life saver during the holidays! It will be easier than ever to entertain!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GLAD . The opinions and text are all mine.
During the holidays, I feel there are always people coming and going from my house. Whether it’s a friend that’s in town, the neighbors, or family that’s staying with us, this time of year my house is full of people. I adore holiday entertaining and hanging out with everyone while we snack on appetizers and have a glass of wine or two. Some nights we head out to our backyard fire pit and other times we commune in the kitchen. It doesn’t have to be a formal occasion. Sometimes just having some time with our favorite people is reason enough to celebrate.
While my family loves the company, keeping our house company ready can be a challenge. What’s company ready you ask? It’s having your home ready for guests to come over – tidy rooms, inviting smells to welcome them at the door, and good food to make them feel at home. Since we actually live in our house (and it’s usually on the messy side with two boys dropping things EVERYWHERE), I’ve found a few go-to tips and tricks to make sure my house is ready in just a few minutes for anyone that might stop by.
5 Tips for Keeping Your House Company Ready
One of the easiest ways to make your guests feel welcome is an inviting smelling house. When you keep your house smelling fresh and pair it with one of your favorite seasonal scents guests will feel extra special. Like you spent all day cleaning just for them. A delicious smelling candle or potpourri sends things over the top for a warm and cozy feeling everyone appreciates during the colder months.
Whenever we have company over, we usually end up in the kitchen. It’s where the food is usually laid out and it’s a central place in our home. One of my favorite ways keep my kitchen smelling fresh are Glad ForceFlex OdorShield trash bags with Febreeze. Since the bags have stretchable strength, we don’t have to take the trash out as often which might make some hostesses worry. However, with Odor Neutralization, I don’t have to worry about my guests smelling anything they shouldn’t. Instead, they can enjoy the food I’ve put out for them and the comforting scents coming from the candles. It’s a little change that helps make a big difference around my home this time of year.
I took the 5 Day Odor Challenge to test out the bags. We didn’t take the trash out for 5 days. I wanted to really put these guys to the test so I did it during shoot days. A few weeks ago we shot most of the food I’ll be sharing over November and December. That means I have a lot of trash in there and it’s food related so it can smell!!! Well we lasted the 5 days!! These bags passed with flying colors! This little guys has a super nose and they passed his test!
I was talking to one of my friends, Tammy about them and she said she uses them all the time now too! She has two little cuties and the youngest is still in diapers. The diaper pale is upstairs and she doesn’t always want to go all the way up to throw away a dirty diaper. With these bags she just tosses them in the regular garbage and no one knows!!! That’s amazing!
Surprise guests always seem to show up at my house. Instead of panicking, I keep a selection of easy to serve appetizers, snacks, desserts, and drinks on hand so I can be ready to go in a moments notice. My favorite appetizer to put together is a cheese board. Everyone loves them, they’re great for grazing and easy to refill as needed.
Some of my to-go items keep on hand are:
- Crackers
- Cheese
- Salami
- Nuts
- Dried Fruits
- Pre-Made Appetizers (kept in the freezer)
- Pie
- Christmas Cookies
- Wine
- Beer
- Ingredients for a great seasonal cocktail
Making a last minute, mad dash to clean my house when company is on the way is the last thing I want to be doing during the holidays. To help combat the mess, I try to stick to a cleaning schedule. This way I keep the mega-messes at bay and only have a little tidying up to do before our guests arrive. The day-to-day messes can be dealt with easily and I don’t look like a hot mess because I didn’t have time to freshen up.
These are a few of my favorite cleaning guides to get you started on the right track.
- Weekly Cleaning Schedule
- Weekly & Monthly Cleaning Check Lists
- The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Home in 1 Hour
Oh clutter. It’s practically unavoidable with a busy family, especially with younger children. My secret? Keep a couple of well placed baskets around the house, everywhere from the back porch to the staircase, to throw small items and random stuff in. Then at the end of the day, the baskets get emptied.
The real benefit to all these baskets is when company is coming and I don’t have a lot of time to clean. I can have my husband and boys round up any clutter we may have missed during the day, toss it in the baskets, and then hide the baskets while I hit the big stuff.
The bathroom is always the biggest challenge when guests are coming to my house. That room gets used by everyone and is at the top of my “must clean” list. If you have an extra guest bathroom, clean it, and lock it up until your guests arrive. It’ll be one less thing to worry about.
If that’s not an option at your house, keep cleaning wipes on hand to wipe down the toilet, counters and mirrors each morning or night. This will make getting the bathroom in company ready condition a breeze. And don’t forget to stock the toilet paper!
Lucille says
Wow! Amazing ideas! I personally appreciate your post. Very useful post. Thanks for sharing and keep it up!