The words ‘party’ and ‘clean’ may not often go together, especially when you’re hosting a celebration at home instead of renting out an event venue. Guests may be a little more relaxed when it comes to rules at a private house and may even get a little merrier than they would in a public space – and all of this can wreak havoc on your home environment.
Even though you want people to enjoy themselves and not have to worry about making a mess, it’s still important to keep your home clean and protected when you’re hosting a celebratory event so that you can avoid extensive cleanups, furniture and carpet stains, or – at worst – expensive fixes for broken items. Even with guests being as careful as possible or with rules in place, accidents can always happen, too – and when it’s your treasured home space, it can be difficult to relax.
There are many ways you can make sure your home stays as clean as possible, even when hosting the biggest celebration in your home. Below is a guide to help.
Consider Hosting the Main Party Outside
This is, of course, dependent on the weather and how much space you have outside. If you’re hosting a summer event and you happen to have an adequate garden or yard space, then one great option might be to have the bulk of your celebration outside. This can be especially helpful if you have access to the garden around the side of the house so that guests can come straight from their transport to the outside space and only use the house for the bathroom and other needs.
This will help to keep your inside home space off-limits, clean, and tidy. It will also help to stop people walking through from outside with their shoes on if you do have side-house access, so you can avoid dirt or footprints on your carpet or floors.
If you can switch your celebration to a garden party or relaxed outside dining, such as a BBQ, on a sunny day, then your house will stay in the condition you’d like it.
Decide in Advance Which Rooms are Off Limits
If you do have your party indoors, you’re entitled to set boundaries about where guests can wander. Sociable spaces like the kitchen and living room may be available to all, but you might want to decide that your bedroom door remains closed or that a spare room (like an office) is off-limits to avoid the risk of drinks spilling or items being damaged. If you set these rules ahead of time, you can put up signs on the doors or lock them if you’re able so that guests know where they can roam and respect where they can’t.
Hire a Bartending Service for the Event
When it comes to parties and celebrations, drinks are where it can get messy: spills can occur, glasses can be broken, and stains can be made. If you’re leaving merry guests to fend for themselves and make their own drinks, it’s even more of a risk that things could get messy or that accidents could happen. Instead, why not consider hiring a service like Event Bartenders to cater for your celebration? That way, you have professionals in control of preparing the drinks and serving each individual so that you can keep drinks contained in one area and offer a more professional service at your home or garden party.
Have Rooms or Spaces for Particular Purposes
For the ease of your guests as well as yourself, thinking ahead about which rooms could be used for what purpose can help to control the environment. For instance, if you have a spare room just by the front door, you may want to keep this for guests to put their coats, belongings, shoes, or anything else they want to put to one side in order to enjoy the party. This means everything will then be kept tidily in one designated space, and it also lowers the risk of guests losing anything. Another example is having a designated room for eating, like the dining room or kitchen (depending on how casual or formal your celebration is) so you can contain food to one area and avoid food being dropped under couches or drinks spilled on the living room TV.
Let Guests Know of Any Rules in Advance
It will be much easier to control a party environment and keep your home clean if guests know in advance what they can and can’t do. This may sound strict (and may not sound like much fun to have rules at a party), but it doesn’t have to be anything that has to disrupt the fun. It could be a simple message before the party for guests to please take their shoes off at the door, direct them where to put their litter, or even just let them know in advance of any rooms to avoid.
