Preparing your home for spring parties doesn't have to be over the top or stressful. While it might be the first time you've invited friends and family over since the holidays, my printable checklist will help you get your home party ready!
This blog post, helping you get your home ready for hosting spring parties, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
Taking just a little bit of time to clean your home and prepare for guests can make hosting at home less stressful!
Our weather is pretty stinking awesome in California. But just because we have a lot of sun doesn't mean that we keep our outdoor areas kept up year-round. Coming off of winter, there is a little bit of prep we have to do before we can start entertaining again.
How to Prep Your Home for Spring Parties
With just a little bit of preplanning and preparation, your home will be ready so you can invite people over whenever you want.
Even if you don't want to host but just want to sit outside with a glass of wine and a magazine, this list (don't forget to download the checklist!) will give you a simple framework to follow.
I love to entertain and while some parties require a lot more work to plan (like a kid's Lego Dance Party for a birthday) than others, getting your home ready for visitors can be overwhelming.
I've made a printable checklist of things to do to help you make a plan and get everything in order to throw spring parties. In California, we can do this long before other parts of the country.
But if you live elsewhere, pin this post for later - after everything has thawed and you won't freeze getting your yard in order.
After winter, your indoor and outdoor areas will need a refresh.
This is the only time I'm happy we have a small home and it doesn't take that long to get it clean. And while our outdoor space isn't as pretty to look at as I'd like it to be, it's still great as long as I've given it a refresh.
Most people love the feeling of a clean home, and spring is the perfect time to start fresh. Cleaning your home can make your living space more enjoyable for yourself, your family and the friends you'd like to host.
*Reminder: Your friends and family love you and don't care if your home is spotless or not. I think we all should cut ourselves some slack about our homes and just enjoy time with our favorite people.
Use this guide if you want, but don't let an unclean house stop you from inviting people over!
Spring Cleaning
After taking down the holiday decorations, the last thing I want to do is a deep clean of the house. I prefer to declutter in 15 minutes and keep it moving.
But as we head into spring, I usually have more energy to make the home feel fresh.
I like to stock up on cleaning essentials so that I always have what I need to make sure my house is guest ready. I use the Lysol All Purpose Cleaner for just about everything!
It's perfect for detailing your outdoor patio furniture plus it cleans up any kitchen mess, easily. Lysol kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria which is awesome.
Their toilet bowl cleaner is my favorite and I always make sure I clean the bathroom right before the guests arrive. With two boys, well, I'm sure you can imagine what my bathroom can look like...I trust Lysol with all my cleaning needs - in and out of the bowl.
I'm not saying you have to reorganize the closets before inviting friends over, but cleaning all the surfaces in your home can give you a whole new attitude.
Keep Supplies Together
While I may have hosted a few events over the holidays (I love a good cookie exchange or a wine and oils party) it seems like spring parties happen way more often for me.
Whether it's just a girl's night in or a happy hour, gathering things you can reuse over and over again can be really helpful.
I make it a point to pull the items that I know I will use a lot, like appetizer plates, wine glasses and serving pieces making them easy to access.
I never want my parties to look exactly the same, but the basics were made to use multiple times.
I try to carve out a small space in a cupboard or in an area of my garage to keep things nearby.
Especially for BBQs or parties where you will be outside, I make sure to have trays ready. When you are bringing out drinks or bringing in dirty dishes, a tray keeps it efficient. They also can make a lumpy couch cushion a sturdy place to set a drink for your guests.
I have quite a collection of trays happening. Trays can be super inexpensive and really colorful which is the perfect way to easily add some color to your party.
Deep Clean Your Glasses and Dishes
Now is also the perfect time to make sure that your glasses and dishes are clean and looking good. I'm sure I'm not the only one whose glassware looks terrible from the hard water and inefficiency of my dishwasher.
I use a Finish Jet-Dry Rinse Aid to help me get my glassware spotless. And I don't have to do any extra work which is my favorite. No extra elbow grease is needed (well, until you start prepping your yard...).
Finish has tons of great products to keep your plates and glasses looking great. The Drying Aid is perfect for getting drier dishes (I HATE it when I go to put the clean dishes away and end up flinging water all over my kitchen!) and the Detergent Booster helps to remove tough stains.
Plus their Machine Cleaner cleans your dishwasher which it totally needs from time to time. I use Finish Max in One to help me with party clean up too! The dishes are perfectly cleaned, every time and ready for the next shindig.
Prep Your Pantry
If your food cabinets need to be organized, you may want to start there. If I know that I want to host, I will pick up extra items to keep ready.
People like snacks. You can have a major food catastrophe or a sucky menu but as long as there are snacks, people enjoy themselves. I like to go with things that are easy to keep on hand, like pretzels, and things that are nostalgic, like these chocolate candies.
The guests can nibble on them easily, they last for a long time in your pantry and require only a few cute bowls to serve them in. Simple and tasty.
You can also pick up a little extra wine so you don't have to make any last-minute trips to the store. If you need it, Drizly is a great alcohol delivery service that will bring you what you need, right to your door.
Add Pizzaz
When I'm out shopping, I always keep my eyes out for fun, bright napkins and cool straws. They are easy to keep on hand and make a casual get-together seem more thought out.
I use empty jars to hold the straws and set out the napkins for the guests to grab as needed.
These items are usually inexpensive (this is not where you want to break the bank - save extra money for the liquor!) and also make great hostess gift ideas!
You can use them for multiple parties and when you start to run low, you can always mix and match the patterns with other party goods you already have.
Refresh Your Patio
Depending on how large your yard is and how much decor you have out there, cleaning up the outdoor area of your home may not take that long. But there are a few key things you should do before entertaining.
Clean off your outdoor furniture cushions (Lysol is great for that too!) or bring them out of storage to freshen them up.
Deep clean the outdoor dining table. A hose, some dish soap and Clorax wipes will help you get it back to where you need to be.
I like to hose off the exterior of my home. The way our siding lays allows for spiders to make webs and then dryer lint to get stuck in the webs. It makes the house look dirty.
Clean up the umbrella if you have one and find your citronella candles. While the bugs aren't too bad in the spring, they may help you to protect yourself and also create ambient lighting.
If you want to refresh your decor, you can buy new outdoor pillows, rugs and other patio or porch decorations.
Print Out the Checklist
Click the link below to download the printable checklist to help you get your home prepared for spring entertaining.
Click here -----> Home Prep Checklist for Spring Parties
On the left-hand side, there are line items to remind you of the tasks you can tackle to get yourself and your home ready to party.
The other side is a space for your party grocery list so that you can hit Target and not forget anything!
Target is the best for your party prep shopping because you can get all your grocery items plus you can pick up anything else you might need like hand towels for your guest bathroom or citronella candles for your patio.
Make sure to include Lysol and Finish products on your shopping list! With these simple tips, you'll be ready to throw tons of spring parties in no time!
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- 7 Ways to Make Your Home Feel More Like a Spa
Melissa says
Oh, girl! I've been looking for a spring cleaning checklist! Thanks.