Prepare Your Home for Holiday Hosting
Be a happy host with tips and tricks to help you get your home ready for holiday hosting on time and on budget. Your guests won’t believe you could do it all!
Here are some easy ways to prepare your home for guests this holiday season. These tips will help you create a warm, organized, and decorative space that will surround your guests in holiday cheer!
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Let Your Bathroom Clean Itself — while you sleep! Before bed, pour 1/2 gallon of vinegar into the toilet bowl. Next, spray a cleaning product containing bleach onto paper towels, and spread them out on your tub or shower tiles. Let everything sit through the night. In the morning, all you have to do is flush and rinse off the tiles!
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Clean Your Garbage Disposal — Before guests arrive, take the deodorizing baking soda out of your refrigerator and pour it down your garbage disposal to clean it and eliminate odors.
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Don't Spend Hours Polishing Glass and Crystal — Fill your dishwasher's soap dispenser as usual but add just a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the second dispenser. Load your favorite dishwasher safe glassware and say goodbye to spots and film.
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Get Your Microwave in Top Shape — Is your microwave dirty or emitting a bad odor? The solution is simple: cut a lemon into quarters and put the quarters into a microwave safe glass. Add one cup of water on top of the lemons and microwave on high for three minutes. All odors will be dissolved!
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Find a Great Recipe for Mulled Cider or Wine — Make sure the recipe you choose includes cloves or cinnamon sticks, and have it simmering on the stove for an hour or so before guests arrive. Not only will it make your house smell festive and welcoming, it will provide you with a delicious beverage for your guests as they enter your home.
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Create Festive (and Affordable) Decorations — Table centerpieces, mantel decorations and even front-door wreaths don't have to cost a lot of money. Take a stroll through your garden or nearby green space and keep an eye out for foliage you can gather and take indoors. Besides the usual evergreen boughs and pinecones, you can gather berries, birch branches, camellia sprigs, eucalyptus and holly. Simply add ribbon, ornaments or candles that you already have in your home, and you can transform any space into a festive, welcoming environment for your guests.
For even more tips on how to make your home a holiday paradise for guests, check out The Everyday Answer Book.
- FC&A Staff Writer
