The Perfect Fall Party…
…is just around the corner. Being a great host can become overwhelming without a few tricks up your sleeve. Follow the steps on this roadmap, and your fall dinner party will be the one that everyone will be talking about.
Step 1. Cleaning Tips for a Party-Ready House
When you’re making your party to-do list, add “Clean the house” near the top, but don’t think of it as a chore. Organize the tasks into easily achievable components. With a little planning, cleaning the house for a party is so simple, you’ll be tempted to use these hints for your regular cleaning routine.
- Use household cleaner and a soft cleaning cloth to give bathroom surfaces a quick shine. Pay attention to water spots and residue on the faucet and liquid soap dispenser. Hide toiletries and countertop clutter in an out-of-the-way spot.
- Clean bathroom mirrors. A sparkling mirror reflects the light and makes everything brighter.
- Use a damp towel with water and vinegar to clean the kitchen and bathroom floor.
- Apply toilet bowl cleaner, and give the toilets a quick brushing.
- Hang fresh hand towels in the bathrooms. Put out fresh hand soap or fill the liquid soap dispensers.
- Vacuum the carpets and use a dust mop on hard-surface floors in your living spaces.
- Fluff sofa cushions and pillows. Straighten stacks of magazines or books. Fold or arrange throws. Make sure tabletops are clear of clutter and dust-free.
- Polish kitchen counters, faucets, and sinks with household cleaner and a soft cleaning cloth.
- Empty the trash from the containers throughout the house. Wipe off the outsides of your trash receptacles. Insert clean liners. This simple detail makes the kitchen and all your guest spaces feel fresher.
- Set up your party area. Arrange fresh flowers. Light candles. Turn on music. Set up your food and beverage stations. Finish food preparation.
Developing a Visual Theme is the fun part of event planning. Use it as your guide for all decisions from invitations to party favors. Need some inspiration? Click Here for Fun Fall Party Themes.
You don’t have to go over-the-top to create a stunning scene. You can enhance standard grocery store bouquets of roses or mums with a few natural elements like feathers and dried wheat. Hurricane lanterns are another great option for outdoor dinners. They add light for function, glow for ambiance, and their shape and size make them practical in windy settings. For some centerpiece inspiration Check out –> Jentatertots 19 Gorgeous Fall Centerpieces!!
Pair a fun, seasonal beverage with your meal or appetizer. There’s nothing like warm, spicy apple cider to break the ice when you’re entertaining on a chilly day. It’s a timely and tasty choice! Recipe –> Hot Spiced Cider
Spice things up with a signature cocktail. Welcome your guests with a drink that puts them in the mood for the cool, crisp days of autumn. You could try a Spiced Pear Collins, which is made with gin, pear puree, and rosemary. Find out how to make –> 7 different pumpkin martinis!
Welcome guests with a snack, like a rustic cheese board. Try these three for a start: blue cheese, apricot Stilton, and pepper-crusted Brie. “I serve them with a fresh sliced baguette, dried cranberries, apricots, and cashews. I also love including an organic honey to complement the blue cheese. Look to –> The Kitchn for some new ideas for cheese platters.
Also Check out >>Food Networks Appetizers for Fall Parties << and start your guests off with seasonal appetizers that complement crisp weather, like cheesy small bites, crisp rosemary chips and more.Step 6. The Perfect DIY Party Favors! 
Via Martha Stewart
If you plan on giving out a party favor, we advise choosing something cheap, but useful or consumable. Martha’s go-to gift for autumn? Caramel apples. –> Recipe: Caramel Apples
via Simple Booth
Create the look and fun of an old school photo booth with an iPad, fun apps and a few props. Try mounting an iPad mounted with a photo booth app fed images directly to a printer.
Some apps also allow you to instantly upload and share your photo strips on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Props, such as masks and mustaches, can be downloaded online and printed at home. Just attach them to dowels or other long items. You can buy packages of props that are ready to go from many online outlets including Amazon. Etsy is a nice source for printables.
Here are a few apps to choose from:
- Incredibooth by Hipstamatic
- PocketBooth (also available for Android, iPhone, Nokia and Windows phones)
- InstaBooth
- SimpleBooth
Remember to relax and have fun. Make sure you’re having a good time at your autumn fête, and your guests will, too! 
Here’s to a chill in the air, falling leaves, and Autumn parties that delight the senses!
Fall in love with your home!
If you’ve fallen out of love with your home, let our team of talented house cleaners help rekindle the relationship. Whether it is having fun setting up family dinners at the table, cleaning out a closet to make room for a neglected hobby, hanging a new charming light fixture or thoroughly cleaning your old one, changing out throw pillows, prepping walls for painting a color you truly love, or working on something bigger, like fixing up a bathroom or kitchen. They can all add up to your home’s “love bank.” It’s worth investing emotional energy in the home you have, because you’ll feel that love coming right back to you.
Four Steps to Fall Bliss at Home:
#1 Fall is for crafting! When planning a craft room, accessibility is key. All the materials you need should be within reach. It’s time to spark that creative energy with an organized clean craft room. The Cleaning Crew can help clean and organize your craft supplies and save you time. So, whether you’re into card making, scrapbooking or one-of-a-kind gift-wrapping, you’ll have more time for the things you love.
#2 Decorate your home with fall! Decorating for fall means rich colors, warm throws and a welcoming feeling of coziness that is hard to match in other seasons. One of the simplest ways to add a touch of fall is to use lots of texture and vibrant warm colors. Clean up summer and pull out fall curtains, pillows & throws.
#3 Fall Food! Is a treat for the eyes, Start with a clean home, Organize and put away the past sun seasons decor and decorate your home inside and outside with gourds, leaves, pumpkins and nuts, place bowls of apples ready for a bite or for dipping in caramel. These fall aromas add enticing flavors to your autumn table.
#4 Fill the air with falls fragrant smells Wafts of freshly ground cinnamon, dried orange slices, sappy pine cones, and vanilla bean. That’s the cozy smell of fall. Now that the weather is cooling down, it’s time to turn your fall clean home into a feast for your senses and bring some of those seasonal scents indoors. Just imagine the pure happiness you’ll experience when you’re cuddled up on the couch catching a fall flick with the fire going, inhaling those fragrant hints of pumpkin drifting through the air and clutching a mug of your favorite fall beverage. Enjoy more Scented Home ideas on The Cleaning Crew, LLC’s Pinterest board.
Enjoy more Scented Home ideas on The Cleaning Crew, LLC’s Pinterest board.
Fall into blissful love with your home today!
It’s that beautiful time of year again. The leaves are changing, the weather is colder, and the hot beverages taste better than normal. Enjoying the fall season is far more than warm coffee and yellow leaves. These things would not mean half as much without an organized and clean house to enjoy them in.
The Cleaning Crew Fall Cleaning Chore Checklist will help you prepare your home for the coming winter season:
- Re-Organize and Clean Out Pantry – Throw away expired goods. Re-arrange as needed. Write out a pantry inventory and make a grocery list of the things you will need to stock up on.
- Clean Out Spice Cabinet – Throw away stale spices. Wipe down inside of cabinet. Make a list of all spices needing to be purchased.
- Clean Oven – Prep your oven for holiday cooking and baking. If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, The Cleaning Crew can offer some quick and easy oven-cleaning solutions.
- Wash Windows, Inside and Out – This may be your last chance to clean the exterior windows this year!
- Wash Curtains – Pull down any curtains that can be washed and clean them. If you can’t wash them, take them outside to shake the dust off.
- Wipe Blinds – Wipe down the blinds of the interior windows.
- Dust or Wash Light Fixtures – Most light fixtures are removable and unscrew so you can dust or wash them. Make sure to turn the switch off and allow bulbs to cool before you do this!
- Vacuum Furniture – Vacuum your upholstered furniture and/or dust & wipe down any wooden furniture.
- Wipe Down Kitchen Cupboards – Wipe down your kitchen cupboards. Wipe the insides and the tops, if you feel ambitious!
- Vacuum and Shampoo Carpets and Rugs – Be sure your carpets are clean before all the winter mud and snow, schedule a carpet cleaning in early autumn. The same goes for your rugs. Check out HTTPS://BAZAARVELVET.COM/ for some great rug care tips and they also have a gorgeous collection if you are looking to purchase a rug.
- De-Clutter the Closets and Re-Organize – Clean out the closets and make several organized piles. One for donating, one for keeping, one for trash, and one for seasonal clothes.
- Bring Out Winter Things for Closets – Don’t forget to bring out your winter gear!
- Dust the House from Top to Bottom – This means everything from the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling to the baseboards. Go from room to room and dust everything!
- Prepare For Holiday Guests – Guest rooms should be not only clean, but also inviting. Try Setting out flowers or other special touches to make guests feel especially welcome.
- Clean all Bedding and Bring Out Winter Comforters – Bring out heavier bedding and winter comforters.
- Test Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors – Don’t skip this step, especially if you have any kind of wood fired heat. Just a simple push of a button is all it takes.
Brisk and breezy days are best for overcoming the deep-cleaning chores necessary for a clean, comfortable winter home and a wonderful autumn season. Happy Fall!
