- Clean the bathroom. If you only have time to clean one room in your house other than the kitchen, make it the bathroom. Most guests can handle a little dust on the coffee table or lint on the carpet, but a dirty bathroom is most unpleasant. Scrub and and wipe down the toilet and sink, wipe the mirror, re-stock the toilet paper, empty the trash can, put out a fresh hand towel, and then light a candle right before everyone arrives.
- Wipe the kitchen countertops. You've worked hard over the last few hours, and your kitchen shows it — but it'll show it less if you wipe off your counters
- Vacuum. Quickly run the vacuum in the rooms where your guests will be: entryway, bathroom, dining room, living room, maybe a guest room.
- Empty the kitchen sink; load and start the dishwasher. Let the first of (likely) many dishwasher cycles run while your guests are arriving. If you have time, unload it before everyone sits down to dinner. If you don't have time, no worries. At least you'll have a clean sink and no dishes stacked on the counter.
- Sweep the kitchen floor. The same goes for the kitchen floor. Sweep away the crumbs and quickly wipe up any drips or splatters you see.
- Straighten and dust. Again, focus on where your guests will be. Remove clutter and then dust the major surfaces. I usually focus on my coffee and side tables, electronics, and low shelves.
- Fluff the living room pillows.
- Adjust the lighting. Turn off overhead lights and turn on lamps. Light some candles. This draws the eye away from any areas that weren't deep-cleaned, and just makes everyone feel cozy.
- Clear a place for coats and bags. If you have a coat rack in your entryway, empty it to make room for your guests' belongings. Or, make up the bed in your bedroom or a guest bedroom for everyone to drop their coat and bag.
- Put on some music. You've done the minimum amount required to get your place looking good, and that's totally fine! Now, put on a little music and you're done.
1) Who's coming? Getting a head count so that you know how many place settings you may need and the size Turkey.
2) What is on the menu? Getting a menu in place will hopefully prevent having too many casseroles and not enough pie.
3) Grocery list~This is key so you make sure that you have all of your items needed for dinner
4) Last minute cleaning
Our office will be closed on Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24, 2017 in observance of Thanksgiving.
“Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Halftimes take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.” -- Erma Bombeck
Until next time..........
