Dinner Party

Tonight we have between 20-25 people coming over for dinner.

What's the state of the union on the house? 

I'd say semi-clean.  There are flip-flops on the floor, a few school papers on the table, the guest bathroom needs to be cleaned (de-tooth-pasted and other issues around the toilet thanks to life with young boys), still need to sweep, mop, feather dust and run a quick vacuum.

Oh, and did I mention I will not be here for dinner since we double booked and I have a jewelry show tonight?  Yeah, good times.

Here's the biggest thing I try to remember when company is coming.

 

The house doesn't have to be perfect, but there are a few things I can do last minute to make it seem like it is.

That can be hard to believe, but it's true.  My mom and I had a conversation a few weeks ago about cleaning.  When a person comes over, they don't know if you feather dusted, ran a quick vacuum and lit a candle, or whether you slaved away for hours cleaning.

Here's a quick run-down of what happens at my house before company comes.

• Clean my kitchen counters.  By this I mean I spray 409 on them, let it sit a minute and wash them off with a hot washcloth. 

• I always sweep and mop my white tile kitchen floor and the guest bathroom.  It shows dirt so easy and I like it to sparkle.  Plus, the smell of good lemon floor cleaner makes the house feel and smell fresh.  This takes about 15 minutes.

• Quick feather dust in the living room.  It knocks that little pesky layer of dust off and makes the wood look nice and clean.

• We vacuum.  New lines in the carpet looks fantastic.  The best part is our boys vacuum these days.

• Windex the front door and any other surface that has fingerprints.  Such a quick easy thing.  Not every single thing gets Windexed, just hit the smudgy spots in the main areas (Living Room, Kitchen, Guest Bathroom)

And of course, light a candle.  Today I picked up one of my all time favorites at Wal-Mart, Mulled Cider.  They are $5.00.  It smells like Fall in here.

If you are having a larger group over, keep the menu simple.  Tonight we are having BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans, Salad, Dinner Rolls and Sweet Tea.  Do you know how simple that is?  I bought really good BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's), it will cook in the oven, the beans are in the crock-pot, the salad is a nice Spring Mix already prepared, the Hawaiian Rolls are ready to eat straight out of the package, and Red Diamond is making the tea tonight.

Since I'm not going to be here, I had to keep it really simple, but there is nothing wrong with serving a simple dinner anytime you have friends over.

Well, that's it for today.  I'd better hop off and get a bathroom cleaned.