Company’s coming. It’s time to clean up your act.
Having family and friends over can be stressful if your house or apartment isn’t clean, organized and welcoming — or if you haven’t taken stock of critical home issues, such as whether your toilet flapper valves are flapping properly.
There are three weeks until Thanksgiving, eight weeks to New Year’s Day. So we had a few experts weigh in on how to ace holiday hospitality.
CLEAR CLUTTER
It goes without saying you’ll want to clean your bathrooms and vacuum a day or two before guests arrive. But there are things you can do right now.
“Early November is a ,” says Jolie Kerr, cleaning advice columnist for Deadspin and author of “My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can’t Ask Martha” (Plume, 2014).
One reason to get rid of things, Kerr says, is that “you will be bringing a whole lot of new stuff into the house over the next two months. Make some room for it.”
Start in the living room and kitchen, prime entertaining spaces. Get rid of newspapers, magazines, catalogs, mail, old candles. Take everything off your coffee table and mantel and put back only a minimal amount.
In the kitchen, Kerr advises, clear the counters and wipe them down. Remove all the food from your refrigerator and scrub the shelves and walls with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water.
Be choosy about what you put back inside.
“You’ll be needing extra room for turkeys and hams and other holiday foods,” Kerr says — including this year’s version of the weird jellies that no one consumes. Toss expired products.
BE SEATED
You’ll probably be spending more time than usual around your dining table in the next few months. It’s a good time to give each of your chairs a test drive.
If some of them rock back and forth or feel wobbly, they might need regluing, whether they’re 19th-century family treasures or recent buys from Pottery Barn.
Next, take a hard look at the chair seats. If the fabric looks worn or stained, freshen the chair up with new fabric and maybe some additional padding. If you’re a DIY type, go at it. Otherwise, get a pro.
Spicer says you’ll need three to four yards to cover six standard dining-chair seats. His charge for labor to upholster seats and pad them as needed is $65 to $75 per seat. He also recommends dining chair seats be treated with a stain-resistant fabric treatment, for which he charges $15 per seat.
LIGHT YOUR FIRE
Imagine lighting the first cozy fire of the season Thanksgiving afternoon as the aroma of roasting turkey fills the house and guests start arriving. If this is a scenario in your future, lay in a supply of firewood and have your fireplace inspected. Now.
An inspection ($100 to $300) can clarify whether you need your chimney swept or repaired, says Ashley Eldridge, director of education for the Chimney Safety Institute of America (csia.org), a nonprofit group that also oversees a certification program for chimney sweeps. “The inspection is a snapshot of your chimney that could turn up any number of things: birds, raccoons, squirrels, branches, leaves, spider webs or basketballs,” says Eldridge, who has cleaned White House fireplaces for two presidents.
Eldridge suggests checking your fireplace damper, screen and glass doors to see they are working properly. Know where your fire extinguisher is, and make sure it is fully charged and ready to use.
CHECK PLUMBING
Plumbing companies get a lot of emergency calls over the holidays, when homes are packed and kitchens and bathrooms are in use almost 24/7.
“A lot of things related to plumbing get neglected throughout the year,” says Michael Hartman, co-owner of Thomas E. Clark Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in Silver Spring, Md. “You’re talking slow drains, shower drains plugged with hair, clogged sinks, toilets that run on and dripping faucets.”
You can make a list of issues or have a whole-house plumbing inspection. Here are few cautionary notes: Don’t put grease or other foods through your disposal. You can’t put five cups of potato peels down the sink and expect it to handle them. Instead, scoop up debris and compost it or contain it and put it in the garbage. Ask any kitchen helpers to do the same.
GUEST BEDROOM
If you are fortunate enough to have a guest room, make sure there are a few spare hangers in the closet and a few drawers empty. Inspect your bedding and towels with a critical eye, says Justin Sonfield, general merchandise manager at the Company Store.
Strip the guest bed and wash everything, including the mattress pad and pillow covers. Comforters and pillows should also be inspected to see whether they need to be cleaned or replaced.
Sonfield says pillows should be replaced every two to five years, comforters every 10.
And if your guest-room’s mattress is the oldest in the house consider getting a bed topper to make it more comfortable. Invest in a new set of white percale sheets, to provide guests with a cool, crisp hotel feeling.
Bring out the towels for guests. Do you have a matching bath, hand and washcloth? If you end up springing for new towels, always buy extra washcloths, as those tend to get worn out first.
