Mmmm-hmmm . . . it's officially Company Season.  Does that make your heart skip a beat? Here's a series I wrote last year about getting your home ready for guests: The posts include: Take a Decluttering Tour Feeding Your Overnight Guests - Freezer Cooking Getting from Cleaning Day to Party Day (Without Losing My … [Read more...]

This week, I've shared a few of my strategies for getting my home company ready. I've talked about decluttering, cooking for guests, daily upkeep, and deep-cleaning the kitchen . . . but then there's the most obvious.  Cleaning the house. Like . . . all of it.  Or at least all of it that your guests will get to see. (Like I've said before, … [Read more...]

Speaking from experience, slobs tend to be procrastinators. Sometimes, with good reason.  When it comes to cleaning house, we know how things go. "The house is clean?  Woo-hoo!!!  I love it like this!!  I'm going to keep it this way forEVer!!" "Ummmm, what just happened?" "It's like  . . . I blinked . . . and the disaster is back . . … [Read more...]

Back when having my own home was only a vision in my not-terribly-realistic head, I dreamed of serving elaborate dinners and breakfasts and snack trays and such to my overnight guests. Honestly, when I lived alone, and then when first married . . . I did. I remember spending an entire newlywed Saturday making seafood gumbo for another couple, … [Read more...]

The kitchen is the heart of the home. That's not just a warm-fuzzy saying to embroider on your dishtowels.  It's the truth.  One of my biggest adjustments to motherhood was realizing how much my family expects to eat. Like . . . every day.  More than once. When your goal is to create a company ready house, a thoroughly cleaned kitchen is … [Read more...]

This week, I'll be participating in a "5 Days of Christmas" series.  My topic?  Getting Your Home Company Ready Not because I feel the need to tell the world what to do, but because I need to do it!  Taking this end-of-November/beginning-of-December week to focus on making my home a welcoming place for our holiday visitors will help our entire … [Read more...]