Guest Author - Heather DeGeorge

Every year our family hosts two major events: Christmas Day dinner and our son's birthday party. Both of these are held during winter--so the joys and ease of a barbecue are out of the question. Over time, we've found some great tips to help keep the cleanup easy...

Disposables

Inasmuch as I believe in saving the environment and to that end, our household uses as few disposables as humanly possible (cups, diapers, napkins--no disposables)... parties are the one place where I divert from this when possible. We also like to have events as tasteful as possible and so, if we can't find disposables that work well or look good--we just don't bother.

But if you can manage to use disposables for at least some aspect of your party--you will cut down the cleanup. At Christmas, we only use disposables for dessert. We use paper hot beverage cups and paper plates (and paper napkins--the "banquet" kind that look nice and are strong). Believe it or not, this makes a big difference when you're hosting 13-25 people.

Likewise, my inlaws often offer to make something to bring for one of our events. Lasagna and other things arrive in foil baking dishes (disposable, but easily breaks down--so somewhat environmentally friendly).


Timing

A well-planned party will account for cleanup. This might include making some of the meals ahead of time and storing them in the freezer (or fridge) and freeing up a lot of time for you on party day. Instead of preparing all the food, you are warming it up or just setting it out. Even making things the night before or several hours early frees a lot of your time.

Make sure that if you are serving more than one course (main meal and then dessert... or appetizers, meal, dessert) that you plan and time food presentation, clearing and preparing or presenting the next course to give you time to clean up well. I make sure that as we are clearing and cleaning the main meal, I am putting on coffee that is brewing while I clean from the main meal so that my cleaning doesn't delay things. Usually, I set up the next course before I clean the prior course. This way, nobody notices what's going on.

If the garbage is getting full before the main meal, I remove the bag and put a new bag in. If my dogs are running around and I can't leave the half-empty bag next to the garbage can and fill it that way--I put the half-empty bag in my porch (where it's safe from the dogs) where I can fill it later. But I now have a completely empty garbage bag to work with. It makes a huge difference in the amount of cleaning I can get done.

If you can fill the dishwasher at any point (and you should fill it with whatever dishes are ready--as you go--instead of placing them on the sink or counter) run the dishwasher. Unless the dishwasher noise will significantly impact your entertaining, run it as soon as it's full. If you don't have a dishwasher, but you have a moment, rinse your dishes for faster hand-washing later.

Sometimes, timing is also about when to leave it alone. If you're able to leave the bulk of the work until the next day--do so. Enjoy your company and allow yourself to rest. After your guests leave, gather the obvious trash (disposables, unfinished foods) and empty all of the liquids into the sink (to prevent them from leaking or spilling overnight) and then leave the rest until morning if you can. Some people rest better knowing the place is clean and they can sleep late; but some people are worn out and it's better to just do the basics and get your rest.


Organization

This is going to sound so silly but so obvious. Make sure you are set up to clean. Make sure the dishwasher is empty. Put a moratorium on sink use. Make sure the sink rack is empty. If you're not using disposables, set up a space on your counter for the dirties to pile up. And PILE them: clear the plates into the garbage and pile them neatly on the counter with all the silverware on the top plate. Put all of the glasses together. Stack what you can, and sort what you can't.

By having things orderly and organized, it looks like there's less work to do. This way, you and your guests will have an easier time leaving the cleaning alone and enjoying one another's company.


Last, if you have friends and relatives that want to help and you feel comfortable with this--by all means, let them help. But make sure that you focus on the things that will really cause you aggravation afterward. Choose your battles and don't try to complete ALL of the cleaning with your guests unless you're in a difficult situation... like you have a child that got sick during the party and you need to tend to them later; or you're leaving for a trip the next day. If you can just use their help to make your job easier instead of doing the job with and for you, they're going to love coming to your home.