The B Spot

Our Holiday and Special Event Prep Check List contains the most common organizing to-dos when preparing for incoming guests, food, kids, luggage, gifts, and stuff.

Start today:

Clean the house room by room. Pick a room each day or call your cleaning lady to discuss a plan for getting it done.

Purge and declutter to make room for guests: First, take inventory: Who will sleep where? Where will guests put clothes and suitcases? Make room: Organize the guestroom, playroom or home office. (Click here for our article on how to tackle organizing any room.) Start by relocating toys and papers. Remove decorative items from tables to allow for toiletries and personal items. Make space in closets and provide extra hangers. Purchase over the door hooks for extra hanging space. An air mattress is a quick and space efficient solution. Purge: Throw out or donate unneeded stuff. Have 2 boxes in a main hall and mark them donate and toss. Get the family involved.

Get your guest items organized. Gather and launder extra blankets. Do you need to buy guest towels, bathrobes, magazines, travel sized toiletries, candies, etc.?

Start your shopping list. Ask guests about dietary needs. Select recipes, check your pantry, continuously add to your list. Cooking for a large group is easier when you work around your weaknesses. Terrible at desserts or appetizers? Buy them and give yourself a break!

1 week before:

Clear the clutter off your dining room and kitchen tables and your counters. Put a special table cloth on it to force people to remember it’s cleared off for a reason!

Organize and get dishes ready. Make a list of what you think you’ll need. Borrow or buy special serving dishes. Collect them on the dining room table day by day.

Consider making dinner reservations at a restaurant if guests will be staying for a few days (so not every night requires cooking and you can all relax together).

De-clutter your fridge. That bird, ham, roast, etc., needs lots of room!

Prepare for leftovers. Organize food storage containers and lids. Kids love doing this. (Go figure.)

Prepare for takeout. Purchase takeout cartons in multiple sizes. (You won’t have to scramble to find containers and guests won’t need to return dishes.)

Organize and tidy front and back entry closets. Store out of season shoes, coats and sports stuff in a box to be sorted later. Better yet, do it now! (Click here to read our article about organizing these areas.

1 to 3 days before:

Go shopping. Bring your list and stick to it!

Create an environment for guests. Lay out towels, robes, water jugs, etc.

Prep food ingredients. Measure, chop, blanche veggies, make sauces, etc. Have ingredients in containers ready to go to make cooking faster and at the end you’ll have less to wash.

Recheck your lists! This is supposed to be enjoyable. Clean and organize in advance, so you can relax, have fun, and visit with a smile!

Got an organizing challenge? Email us your questions at: tina@spotonorganizing.com or visit: www.spotonorganizing.com

Categories: home organization, special occasions.
Tags: checklist, guests, holidays, organizing, special events.