How I Prepare For Guests

Whether we are having guests over for a visit, a special occasion, to share a meal or staying overnight there are two things that are a must for me.  A neat and tidy home and something delicious to serve my guests to eat and drink.  Fortunately it doesn't take a lot of prep work to make those two things happen.

One thing I do not do is spend a great deal of time doing housework in preparation of anyone's arrival.  As long as I stick to my current housekeeping schedule my 15 Minute Chores means my house is always ready no matter who shows up at our door.  If we have someone staying the night we set up our airbed (I'm hoping to upgrade that soon) with fresh sheets, a nice pillow and a quilt or comforter.

Another thing I do real quick is put up a clean hand towel in the bathrooms, make sure there is plenty of toilet paper on the roll.  I will sometimes run the vacuum over the floor real quick too just because vacuum cleaner marks tend to give off a good feel that a room is clean.  At least I tend to think so.

Because of my grocery shopping habits I almost always have something to serve my guests, even if it is last minute.  I try to keep cheese and crackers on hand at all times as well as a variety of teas and coffees, a pitcher of filtered water and, although we rarely drink it ourselves, some sodas.  I usually have fresh veggies on hand to make up a quick relish plate with dip or salad dressing along with some pickles and olives.  Between what I keep in my freezer, fridge and pantry I always have something to whip up for a quick meal and even a dessert.

If I know I'm having guests long term, as was the case this past week at Thanksgiving, I do plan out meals and make sure I have all of the ingredients on hand to prepare those meals.  I keep it quick and simple so I'm not a slave to the kitchen too.  I prefer to spend time with my guests.

Lastly I don't worry about keeping the house super tidy and clean while company is here.  A quick walkthrough from time to time to gather things up and put stuff away to make sure things don't get out of control is enough to help me stay on top of things.  I do keep up on the dishes as I cook and feed people especially because our kitchen is tiny and it doesn't take much to clutter it up.  Plus I don't want to run out of clean dishes.  Once my guests depart I find that by simply using my regular housekeeping schedule everything is back in order within a few days and I haven't had to spend a lot of time doing so.

I really don't do a lot to prepare for guests.  By keeping things really simple it allows me to entertain without a bunch of hard work and helps keep it relatively easy and stress free.  That way I get to enjoy my guests and the time I spend with them which is how it is supposed to be.