A Guide to Declutter Your Home Before Entertaining

Your job, family, social life, and other commitments can make it difficult to always keep everything around the house ship-shape. Many hosts have to pull everything together very quickly when it comes to wining and dining guests. Why do so many cherished furnishings and accents suddenly look so shabby and tired? What counts as clutter anyway?

Here are some suggestions to help you declutter your house in time for the party!

How to Declutter Your Home Before a Party or Event

Decluttering means letting go of anything you no longer use or love. Only retaining the items you want makes space for the things that matter in your home. You can usually figure out which items to keep and which to donate or sell by contemplating a few simple questions, such as “When was the last time I used this?” Here’s how to declutter before entertaining guests:

Start With a Quick Declutter

You might not have enough time to declutter and organize every room of your home before your party. Always start with a general run-through of the common areas where your guests will spend time, clearing any clutter that stands out immediately. For example, shoes, toys, clothing, books, toiletries, and anything else you usually leave lying around for easy access.

Decide Which Rooms to Focus On

You will probably come across a few untidy hotspots during your initial declutter. Once you know what they are, you can plan a proper house purge to eliminate unwanted items and get your home party-ready. Here are some pre-event decluttering tips for each room:

Entryway

An entryway always attracts clutter. It’s where we drop things after a long day at work or school and keep important items like car keys and umbrellas. Unfortunately, entryways are also a guest’s first glimpse into your home. Giving each family member a designated space for their belongings will help you clear your entryway of clutter in the weeks preceding your event.

Living Room

This room is where most of the action will probably occur during your party. Decluttering and organizing your entertainment console will leave extra space for party decor and accents. You may also want to upgrade your dining and living room furniture to ensure enough seating space for everyone.

Kitchen

Hosting a party at your house will put your kitchen to the test. Decluttering a few weeks beforehand can make things run much smoother on the day. Start by clearing out drawers and cabinets and getting rid of anything broken or unusable. This clearing helps you take stock of how many plates, glasses, etc., you have and whether you need to buy anything before your party.

Bathrooms

Although not a typical clutter magnet, bathrooms are one of the most important places to neaten before a big party. Your guests are guaranteed to use them, and they might need to open the cabinets to find extra toilet paper or hand towels during their visit. Pack bath toys and toiletries in tidy baskets and audit your towels to make sure only the best ones are on display.

Bedrooms

If you’re having house guests, you want to provide them with a clean, clutter-free space that promises comfortable sleep and privacy. How to declutter a room without taking away its personality? Use a process of elimination to simplify the space. If you had to choose just one piece of wall art and one or two table accents, which one(s) would you keep? Make the most of your bedroom furniture by packing away personal effects in drawers and closets.

Create a Timeline

Give yourself plenty of time. Set attainable goals in the weeks before the big day. Decide when to finish tasks — based on the room’s size and the number of items you need to sort — and plan on having time each day or weekend to establish order.

Decluttering After the Party

After the last guest leaves, you’ll need to do a thorough cleanup, which should involve packing away party favors and seasonal decor to prevent them from becoming clutter. Don’t let all your pre-party decluttering go to waste by following these two simple steps:

Plan for Regular Decluttering

Reorganizing your home regularly will help you remain party-ready throughout the year. Tips for maintaining a clutter-free home include building better habits around buying, donating, and recycling furniture, clothes, and everyday items such as papers and boxes. We suggest scheduling a house purge every season to dispose of the junk that builds up every few months.

Invest in the Right Storage Solutions

Giving yourself more in-home storage options will prevent your house from collecting clutter in the first place. Storage beds, bookcases, sideboards, and tables with built-in drawers are excellent places to keep rarely used items you don’t always need to see.

Label storage crates and baskets or fix an inventory list to their sides before stacking them neatly in a designated area. Doing so will make your life a lot easier should you need a specific item in the future. You can even consider renting an off-site storage space for bulky items you do not have room for but do not want to get rid of, such as a sofa.

Find Decluttering Solutions at Home Zone Furniture

Home Zone offers countless furniture pieces designed to help you declutter your home. From ottomans with storage to neat and tidy bedroom chests, our collection will help you maintain clean, clutter-free surfaces all year-round. Contact our Home Zone team to learn more about how to purge your house of clutter with our smart furniture solutions.