So you’ve got your house nicely renovated and it’s about time to host your housewarming party? After one big project comes another, but you can take some consolation knowing that planning a housewarming party is way more simpler than doing your home renovation. Nevertheless, our friends at SGHomemaker.com have put together this simple 4 step guide to help you plan for and clean up after your housewarming party.
Step 1 – When is it happening? Who are you inviting?
The first thing to do is to plan out the guest list. Once the guest list is put together, start sending out RSVP invitations so that you will know the actual number of guests who will be attending on the day itself (important for the next steps). There are many ways to send out your invites, from traditional ways such as making individual phone calls, sending out SMSes to Facebook event invites, Whatsapp group chat, etc.
Step 2 – Planning food for guests
Most house-warming parties are planned for lunch or dinner. From the confirmed guest list, you will have a rough estimate of the amount of food required and can decide to order from food caterers, your favorite pizza house or even prepare the food yourself. Remember to make your orders early if decided to get from food caterer. If your guests are a sporting bunch, you may even want to do a potluck and have everyone bring a dish. This would make it more fun for the guests and also put more variety into the party food menu. Stock up your refrigerator with drinks and beer so nobody gets thirsty.
Step 3 – Prepare disposables
With a feast about to happen and many guests invited, it is important to have enough disposable plates, cups, utensils, and serviettes stocked up. This is the easiest way to reduce the amount of cleaning up after the tiresome day of hosting.
Step 4 – Pre-party tidy up
Housewarming is an opportunity to show off your house, but not if its messy and dirty. A person’s living environment can tell a lot and you don’t want guests to have the wrong impression about you. Take the effort to ensure nothing is left lying around the house and use essential oils to make it smell good. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstands, don’t forget to lock up and keep out of sight any sensitive items such as jewelry and cash.
Bonus Tips! What happens when the party ends? It’s time to clean up!
Even though it may seem like a good idea to leave the cleaning to the next day when you’re feeling more refreshed, there are, however, some tasks that should be done before calling it a night:
- Dispose of all empty beer cans, disposable cups and empty the rubbish bin to avoid bad odour the next day.
- Place uneaten food back in the fridge. You not only can save the trouble of chucking it in the bin, it will also save you the trouble of cooking the next few days.
- Re-cork any open bottles of wine that haven’t been completely emptied to keep it from turning sour.
- Attend to any spills and stains as soon as possible. Apply stain remover, gently jab and allow to soak. You can then leave the washing to the next day.
- Fill your dishwasher or sink with dirty dishes to avoid waking up to an army of ants the next day!
After a good night’s rest, it’s time to get your house back in good shape… and smell.
- Ventilate your apartment by leaving the windows open and place a cup with some orange peel and boiling water in your living room. The citrus will not only helps to absorb the stench, but it also emits its own aroma that smells fresh and clean.
- Collect any other rubbish that hasn’t been cleared up and take them to the bin as soon as possible.
- Dump any fabric napkins and tablecloths that you applied stain remover to the night before, into your washing machine.
- Most parties end with food crumbs all over the place, which is difficult to clean up by hand. A useful tip is to take out your handy vacuum cleaner and spend time on the spaces in your sofa and other furniture, beneath and behind the furniture.
If cleaning up after the party is too much of work or simply not your kind of chore, you might want to consider hiring a cleaner with Helpling to clean up the mess.
About SGHomemaker
SGHomemaker is a home decoration idea book and sourcing platform for homemakers in Singapore. From interior designers & contractors to plumbers, electricians and furniture shops, SGHomemaker aspires to be Singapore’s best guide for homemakers seeking home-related products and services.
