saturday,after a 10 hr. day of competitive cheer regionals(my youngest's team),2 1/2 hours away from home-I invited the whole team,parents,grand parents,coaches etc.to our home for a party to celebrate after State Finals this coming Friday night.i started with a grocery list and a to do list. then I got to thinking-i better start looking around for stuff to consolidate, put away, or remove for whatever reason. do you know what? i could barely find anything to put away. sure, I will have to vacuum, clean sinks and toilets, but other than that, this home is golden. this is what i'm talkin' about people. time to entertain and enjoy.
anyone care to share a similar story?
Overall Rating: votes
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Posted 1 year ago #
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Irishbell, what a wonderful strate to have got to.
Oh how I look forwards to the day when I don't have to hide stuff under our bed in preparation for having a house full of guests. At least under the bed is clear the rest of the time.Posted 1 year ago # -
Irish, I went to bed last night feeling like the house was trashed. I woke up thinking about the mess waiting for me, but it only took a few minutes to pick up and wash a few dishes. It's funny how my sense of what is messy has changed. However, I still have some catching up to do in the cleaning department.
Posted 1 year ago # -
How wonderful for you! I love to have people over as long as I don't feel uncomfortable regarding my stuff everywhere out in the open, but after having merged three households (long story) our little studio is crammed. Not quite there yet, but your story is my ideal of how to start the preparations of entertaining.
Posted 1 year ago # -
wow irishbell, congratulations!
i have a similar story to tell. we had guests in our house while we have been on holiday. i thought i would have a lot of work to do because of people in my home, without me. but i just had to clean and to put away some private documents. it took me one hour. i decided to clean all the windows even if they were not really dirty. another 20 minutes. i bought some flowers. 10 minutes. put all the decoration stuff that i still have on the shelves and on the tables. another 10 minutes. ...end of the story. :)Posted 1 year ago # -
Me Too!!! I had a similar experience this past week as well (is it something in the air? :) We invited over some friends for our first dinner party in about 15 years. It was HEAVEN not having 3-5 days of cleaning the house before someone came over. I don't miss the stress and panic and I am sure my hubs doesn't miss his "snippy," frustrated wife barking at him :) And clean up took 20 minutes!!! I am grateful to be at this point and wish and hope for this peace to those that are struggling...you'll get there!
Posted 1 year ago # -
irishbell, that is terrific and YES, stress-free entertaining is one of the main reasons for decluttering imho.
last week, i was throwing a barbecue dinner for seven.
i had arrived home from overseas three days beforehand.
a house guest had arrived two days beforehand.
at 3.20pm, i was driving home with the food and absolutely nothing prepared, for a 6.30 meal.
the house looked perfectly fine; all we had to do was make five salads from scratch, all with different dressings, some onion marmalade, fresh mayonnaise, marinate chicken breast, make spicy beef rissoles, chill wine, drag out and set a big table, light some candles, pick some music.
we were lounging around for a good ninety minutes before anyone arrived....and all the prep dishes were done and the kitchen floor was mopped!
we were congratulating ourselves but we shouldn't have been....because we all used to work as chefs, lol.three days later, we were doing it all again, for another 7 people...this time for dinner and breakfast.
with two helpers, it all came together very easily.Posted 1 year ago # -
GROAN, lounging for NINETY minutes before guests arrived??? I wish :D I'll get there though. Sounds like you could have anyone over anytime really (as in me?).
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yay, irishbell - and everyone else! \o/ <-- *raises arms excitedly*
Now that you mention it... Yes, there MUST be something in the air - at my birthday two weeks ago I was as organized as never before: I did all the shopping a few days before and also prepared food the day before if possible, found the barbeque at once (right where I thought it was! wow!), and when the 15 people started to arrive one after another, everything was prepared, and I was all relaxed and actually able to welcome them and to get them something to drink. Three years ago, there would have been a huge pile of dishes and I would have been all sweaty because of putting stuff behind closed doors; friends would have helped with the dishes so we'd have something to eat off of while I was scrubbing the toilet; and I would have been a little distracted all evening because I didn't manage to vacuum in time and would inconspicuously try to shove the unholy alliance of dust bunnies, long hair and tobacco crumbs under the couch with my feet... And the most amazing thing this time was that it didn't take a lot of work the next day to restore things back to normal, maybe two hours overall, including taking borrowed chairs back to my neighbor and having a chat with her.
I blamed it all on getting older and wiser *giggles* and being more of a grown-up *manic laughter* ... but in the end, it's just some Unclutterer fairy dust, isn't it? :o)
Posted 1 year ago # -
trillie, that is an awesome improvement in hostessing style!
i bet you had a wonderful evening too.
unclutterer fairy dust, yes....but you put in the hard yards to get it where you needed it to be.nina, it was a new high point for us, that 90 minutes.
it was thanks to having a third pair of experienced chef hands around the place.
i loved it though and i want that buffer of time EVERY time i entertain, now.
oh if you are ever in australia, we LOVE hosting people.
i've made some wonderful friends off the internet over the last 10 years, and lots have visited us for meals and beds.Posted 1 year ago # -
Couldn't we have an Unclutterer meetup somewhere? These people have changed my life and I'd be happy to spend my euros and cents on a plane ticket.
Posted 1 year ago # -
i am going to be in paris, london, ireland and denmark this april and first week of may.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Oh yes, I did! Success on all fronts, I'd say. Food was delicious, people got along very well, lots of laughter, and party on until 7 in the morning :o) Best of all: I was relaxed! That was new. And in all fairness, I did have my boyfriend and three overnight guests who helped preparing stuff during the day, but always at my initiative - so it is definitely my time management that is improved, yay :o)
ETA: Unclutterer Meetup? I'm in! ... Other people show each other pictures of their wives/husbands/kids/pets, we'd be the ones to oooh and aaah over pictures of organized closets, LOL
Posted 1 year ago # -
LOL on the photos trillie! I have actually also had meet-ups with people I've met on threads like this, most of which have been great! Sadly, the only place we'll be in the next 6 months is in New England the first two weeks in April.
Irishbell and all you others who are "there" - congratulations. I pretty much have my public rooms "there" and so could throw a party by just getting the food and opening up my table, but my sewing room is still not done, and while the office looks good, I know what lurks in the file cabinet. LOL
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think I'm about 90% there in terms of inviting people over, other than the dangling (literally) projects that DH needs to take care of. The dysfunction is mostly stashed somewhere and needs organizing (mostly paper.) If friends showed up unexpectedly at the door I could invite them in without a backward glance, which is something I don't think I would have done 6 months ago.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Not even close here! However, I am really happy for those of you who have reached this point! It just gives me more incentive! :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I used to freak at the thought of spontaneous guests but when my DH came home with his mother and informed me she would be with us for 4 days, I welcomed her and showed her to the guest room.
Life is SOOOO much easier decluttered! She even asked me how I kept such a clean house.
You know, things really do seem cleaner when there isn't clutter.Posted 1 year ago # -
Things do seem cleaner when there is no clutter. And it certainly is quicker to do the cleaning.... *off to consider what to pitch next, perhaps everything except for the DBF, dog, kitchen and computer?* ominous music begins softly, the wheels in my head turn quickly....
ooh, I'd better keep some clothes and shoes!!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I rarely have visitors, but I've been keeping up with the uncluttered look I started with when I moved in here. It's lovely to not have to worry on the rare occasions when someone does come over. There aren't dishes in the sink or stacks of papers on the floor or junk mail in a pile by the door. The bed gets made every day and 99% of the time, things get put back in their proper places as soon as I'm done with them. I could still stand to dust and vacuum more often, but this semester of classes has been crazy, so if I get to it every two weeks, I figure I can live with that for now. I did have some homework on the desk when my sis came over last week, but considering I'd been working on it non-stop for days, I didn't bother to shift it. Notebooks and papers on the desk of a college student isn't unexpected! The only thing I did do when I knew she was coming over was change the cat pan a day early. I don't know if she would have noticed the difference, but the cat was happy anyhow!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've always been a PEEP kind of girl, compulsive at times, but fairly tidy. being decluttered, however, means there's so much less stuff to put back in its place- wonderful! another thing -and probably the biggest change in myself in the last few years -that has helped with this being ready for guests situation is- I don't worry and fret over every little thing anymore. things are not and never will be perfect. i don't clean and tidy and arrange to perfection when i have guests- i clean til i am pleased with it. my expectations of myself are more realistic, thank goddess. i read once that a hostess should have everything ready for her party an hour beforehand, she should sit down, relax and drink a cocktail before the guests arrive... but then just sip for the rest of the evening...bandicoot- sounds like you have the being ready to sit and have the drink down pat!
however, i don't agree with the "just sipping" for the rest of the evening!
for all of you who think you aren't ready to just have guests over any ol' time, you will be eventually, and if you're not so hard on yourselves, that time may come sooner than you think!Posted 1 year ago #
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