Guests Are Gone: Time To Clean Up

by Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger

08 Nov 2006 10:16 AM

When your guests get up and leave, you are left with two personal choices: you can either leave with them or clean up the mess they have left in their wake. For the most part, the choice is not that difficult, and usually the latter of the two is selected. Guests can and often do leave unintentional messes and enough work after they have gone to insure that we never let them beyond the driveway again, no matter how many times they knock on the door and scream. Here are some tips to help lessen the clean-up load.

Distribute plenty of coasters around the home to safeguard any wooden tops that are not protected. Spray upholstery and table linens with a soil repellent like Scotchgard. Most upholstery fabrics are sprayed before they leave the factory or showroom, but after every third cleaning or so, they do need a re-application (kind of like a renewal of vows and such). Avoid using paper plates at stand-up parties because if they are overloaded and spill, which they often do, they truly aren't less work for "mother." Strategically place waste paper baskets in "entertainment zones" (even the X rated ones) so guests don't have to look for a place to throw away that which needs to be thrown away. (Tell them to leave their nasty relatives at home. They may not want them, but you don't either!)

If the water supply is hard and your dishwasher is only used occasionally, pour a cup of distilled vinegar onto its floor to dissolve hose-clogging mineral deposits. Let it soak for a few hours and then run the machine as usual. Soak pots and pans while scraping and loading plates, cutlery and glassware. Load like items together to make unloading go faster. If hard water is a problem, minimize spotting by removing items at the end of the rinse cycle. (Remove children and neighbors before the last cycle, however, as things can get very noisy if you don't!)

Remember this is your house and only you can prevent houseguests. It's like that old saying about not being able to stand the heat and getting out of the kitchen. The only problem is it's your kitchen. One way to avoid all of this is to do your best not to make any friends and pick a place to live so far away from anyone you are related to that no one will ever want to come and visit!

Let me know how you do with this because I have someone coming to visit in a few days...

Related Reading:

http://forums.families.com/easy-party-ideas,t36833

"The Guest Bathroom: Scary Stuff"

Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman

Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York.

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