GUEST PREP IDEAS || DECORATING CLEANING AND FOOD PREP || HOSTING IDEAS

Hey everyone, it's Jenna. Welcome or welcome back to my channel. In today's video we are going to be doing some guest prep because my family is coming to town, my four sisters and my mom for a really fun girls trip. So we have a lot of things to do to kind of prep and get ready and I figured I'd just kind of take you guys through some of the things that I do when I prep for guests. By no means do I expect all this stuff to be done for me when I'm a guest somewhere, but I just figured it'd be fun to kind of make a video out of it. And if you're looking for ideas to help enhance your guest experience, hopefully you can find some inspiration from this video. So we're going to start outside at the first place they see when they come in, which is the entryway area. So we're going to head out there and just kind of spruce that space up. All right, so our front porch entry area had just become a little bit neglected over time and some of my potted plants died and things just got a little bit dirty. So I just wanted to do a quick and simple refresh. So I just started by blowing off the area and sweeping up all of the collected dirt and grime. So next I repotted an olive plant that I had as well as a sun sparkler firecracker that I got from Walmart. And just something as simple as two planters with varying heights can really make a huge difference in an entryway and just help it to look a lot more inviting and welcoming. Next, I just wanted to add a layered look to our doormat. So I popped this Sorzo rug from Ikea down. It was only $4 and really helps add in a layer of softness with a comfortable woven look and it's machine washable, which is nice. So when I was at Target, I found this really cute woven doormat. It's actually a dupe for the Serena and Lily Sailor's Knot doormat that's priced at $68. This one was only $20 and Kirkland's also has a similar one as well, but I just love the texture and warmth that it brings to our front porch area and how it looks really natural and cozy layered in combination with the Ikea rug. So moving on indoors, I wanted to make sure we had our Wi-Fi information displayed so everyone could easily access it. So I found this picture frame at Target and just went to canva.com and I found this really cute little cloud Wi-Fi template and just typed in our info. I will link the name of the template below for you guys in the description box, but I just printed it out to size. I cut it out and taped it onto the picture frame and I liked that the design of the frame was a little bit elevated so guests could easily see it. And then from there, I just popped it on one of the nightstands in the guest room in a little tray to make the styling seem a bit more intentional and organized. Alright, so you all know that when it comes to floral arrangements, usually I preach that faux is the way to go, but when having large amounts of guests over, I think it's really fun to just go to Trader Joe's, buy a couple of affordable stems, and make a really pretty arrangement just so you can have some fresh flowers on hand for your guests if you have time. So I picked these out and I learned something new today. If you didn't know and you're buying a large amount of flowers or stems at Trader Joe's, they have buckets located underneath the flowers, so you're welcome to just take those and transport them that way if you need help transporting them. So the lady at Trader Joe's got that for me. It had some water in it. It was just really nice to be able to transport it that way. So we're gonna go ahead and make our little flower arrangement. Alright, so this was a faux flower arrangement that I made several months back and I actually have a whole video on how I made it, but this time I just wanted to replace it with something a little bit smaller and fresh smelling. So I just started by clearing out our Lazy Susan because I like to work on a spinning surface so I can see the arrangement from all angles while I'm building it. So I just took this vase that was actually a DIY that I did a while back and filled it about three quarters of the way with water and then added the plant food packets that came with my flowers. Just stirred those in and then made a little grid with scotch tape. And you guys, this is such a game changer when it comes to doing simple floral arrangements. It just really helps make arranging the flowers a lot easier and gives the whole thing a more unified shape and structure with a lot less effort. Now, I just wanted to say that I am not a florist or expert flower arranger, but I do have a method that I think works pretty well for me personally. So when I start with any arrangement, the first thing that I do is I arrange all of the greenery. These are going to be the longer stems that help give my arrangement the main shape and I just want to make sure to spread them out evenly and have a pretty full arrangement with just a couple of open gaps for flowers and filler once I'm done. And once I've used all the greenery and I'm happy with how it looks, I just add the flowers. And I like to pick a larger flower that has some body to it because this is going to kind of act like the focal point of the arrangement. So once those are all placed and evenly spaced apart from each other, I add in the filler. And the filler is usually just a colorful flower that's a bit smaller in size than our main focal flowers. So I just use this to finish out the arrangement and fill in any last places where you can see through little gaps in the flowers. And voila, that is it. Just a couple of really easy steps and you have a gorgeous flower arrangement that is sure to wow your guests. I also just like to replenish the things that are out on my table, like the salt and pepper shakers. I make sure I have enough coasters for everyone and I always like to restock my napkins as well. So when I was at Trader Joe's picking out flowers, I made sure to grab a couple of extra spiral eucalyptus bundles. And these were really affordable at Trader Joe's. They were only like four dollars. And when I'm picking out a bunch, I just like to make sure that there are several v-shaped pieces so I can use them to hang on my shower heads. So I just drape them right over the top and I feel like this is just so spa-like and relaxing. The shower steam helps release the oils in the eucalyptus, so it just smells really nice and it's a peaceful and calming experience for your guests. Another thing I like to do is just prep some special ice cubes for drinks. And we were planning on doing a taco and margarita night, so I wanted to make some lime infused ice cubes. And I found these little cactus ice trays at Home Goods and thought they would be perfect for margaritas. So all I did was I just squeezed a slice of lime into each cube and then I filled the rest with water. And you can do this with lemon juice just to add to some water, or you can get creative and add berries or mint leaves. Lots of different options depending on what drinks you're planning on that week. Now because we were planning on doing tacos and margaritas, I stocked up on the limes. So I just wanted to replace my faux bowl filler with some real limes because it's kind of like the fresh flower thing, you know. It's just nice to have some real fruit out on the counter in my opinion. So since I had them on hand and was planning on using them anyway, I just swapped them out real quick and put the real ones out on the counter. And then I figured I'd get the coffee situation all set because majority of my family are coffee drinkers. So I just made sure that I had the K cups out on the counter and ready to go. And another great way to prepare coffee in bulk is to make cold brew. And this is my favorite way to make it. I just buy the Duncan cold brew packs and I fill a pitcher or a jar with some water. And then you just let that sit in your fridge overnight. And then in the morning you have some really delicious cold brew coffee. It's so, so good. I make this for myself and then I just drink it all week long, but it's great for a crowd as well. Another thing that I like to make sure that I do before guests arrive is refill my tissues. And it's just nice to have tissues all throughout the house, especially when there's a lot of people staying because I can't tell you how many times I've been at someone's house and needed a tissue and they are nowhere to be found. A lot of my family also does have pet allergies and we have a dog. So just wanted to make sure that they were spread around the house. And I've also collected some affordable tissue covers. So that's a nice way to kind of help them blend into the decor a little bit more. I also have a leftover luggage rack from my flight attendant days, and it always came in handy when I was unpacking and repacking my suitcase. So I just like to make sure that I put it out so someone can prop up their luggage if they need to. All right. So something that I like to do in the kitchen, just to prep for meals, if we decide we want to have a game night in, and I just want to have something on hand is I make pizza dough. It's super affordable. It's so easy. You can freeze it, you can have it in the refrigerator, or you can make it day of. So I'm going to make mine and just freeze it and then take it out and defrost it the day of. It takes like maybe an hour or two to defrost. So we're going to make this. I will link the main recipe below. I alter it a little bit, but I'll show you that here. So first I just start with two fast rising yeast packets and I'm doubling the original recipe, but it's nice because this does make about six personal sized thin crust pizzas. So then I add two teaspoons of sugar and two cups of warm water. And then I set that aside for five minutes to give the yeast time to activate. And while that's activating, I take a large mixing bowl and add three cups of flour. And then I add in a generous sprinkle of Lowry's garlic salt. The recipe just calls for regular salt, but I feel like this gives the dough some extra flavor. And once the yeast is activated, it will look all foamy and bubbly. And that's when, you know, it's ready to be added into the flour. So I just mix that together really well until it forms one big dough ball that I can start to knead. I also just want to note that I used to buy the cheapest flour that I could find, but recently I've been finding that paying a dollar or two extra for organic flour really makes a difference. So once that's all stirred together in one kneadable ball, I flour my surface pretty heavily and I set a timer for five minutes and I just knead the dough. I just dump more flour on the dough throughout this process as needed. Get it? This is also something that you could use a mixer for if you had a dough hook attachment. I don't have one, so I just do it the old fashioned way. So once that's done, I just form it into a ball. I put it back in our mixing bowl to save some dishes and then drizzle a bunch of olive oil on top. Make sure that it's all covered in olive oil. So just kind of pat that around and then I cover it up and let it rise in a warm place for a couple of hours. I personally feel like the longer you wait, the better and the more flavor it has. But you know, if you're tight on time, you can just do a couple of hours like I did here. So once that dough is all puffy and fluffy, it's time to form the dough balls and I typically like to make my dough sections slightly larger than a fist in size and I find that this works really well and I like to roll the dough out pretty thin when I'm making the pizzas. So that's the size that kind of works for us and here with the amount of dough that I made, it makes about six balls in total. And from here, you can either go ahead and make the pizzas. You can also put them in the refrigerator if you're going to use the dough within the next couple of days or you can put them in the freezer. And I just put them in sandwich bags. I squeezed all the air out of them and then put them in the freezer since I wanted to have them on hand, but I wasn't exactly sure when I would be making them. All right, so the pizza dough is made. It's in the freezer and ready to go. That feels really good to have done. And before I put the sauce and toppings on, I really just like to spread the rim with spreadable butter and then sprinkle Lowry's garlic salt on top. That just really enhances the flavor because it is a very simple dough recipe. I feel like that really just takes it to the next level. So when I'm baking it, I bake it at 425 for 10-ish minutes. I just watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. So yeah, that's the dough and now we're just going to kind of move on to some other little things that we have to do. Okay, so something else I like to do before guests arrive is refresh all of my linens. I usually leave my towels out for decoration in between guest stays, so naturally dust and pet hair gather on them and I just like to run them through the washer before guests use them. I also like to make sure that I have fresh washcloths on hand and I just think it looks nice to roll them up and put them in a little basket somewhere, usually within arm's reach of the shower or sink is really nice so guests can easily access them. I also like to refresh and refold the back hand towels because there's nothing worse than going to someone's house and drying your hands on a mildewy or crusty hand towel. So I just like to make sure those are washed and clean. Same thing with the sheets. I usually wash the sheets after guests leave, but sometimes it's just nice to have freshly washed bedding. So if I have time or extra space within my loads, I'll just go ahead and rewash and remake the bed just to ensure it's all crisp and clean. Once the linens are done, I like to make sure the bathroom guests are using is all stocked up with the essentials. So things like wipes and potty spray are a must. I always make sure to put them somewhere easily accessible right near the toilet. And then something I always find myself forgetting to pack on trips is lotion. So I like to make sure that I have some out just in case anyone needs it. So I just pop that right next to the soap so everyone can see it's there. And then a candle is just a nice cozy and decorative touch that I like to make sure I have in there as well. And if I'm having multiple guests stay, I make sure I put out a toothbrush holder so that they have somewhere that they can set their toothbrush. And then I just like to fill my canisters with things that people might need in a pinch like cotton balls, band-aids, and q-tips. And when it comes to stocking the shower, I feel like the essentials are body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. But I always like to make sure that I have a face wash in there as well because I cannot tell you how many times I forgot to pack my face wash on a trip. So that's just a nice little extra one to have in there as well. And then it's not an essential or anything, but I always like to make sure that I have a couple of cheap toothbrushes on hand in case anyone forgets theirs because we all know it happens. And then when it comes to the last minute clean, I just like to start with dusting because that can kind of spew some stuff onto the floor. So I just like to do that first. And then I will go in with a vacuum because we have a lab who sheds a ton. So something I like to do is just put the small attachment on our vacuum and make sure that I vacuum the sofa. So we have a high performance fabric on our sofa that holds up really well to the vacuum and it's just a great way to freshen up the sofa and get all of that dust and dog hair out of it. Another thing that I like to clean are our stainless steel appliances since they can really build up with fingerprints and grime over time. So I just have a simple stainless steel cleaner that I use and it's nice to just wipe away all that stuff and have some clean appliances. And then I also do the same thing with our sliding glass door because our dog loves to press her nose up against the glass. So it's just nice to get rid of all that stuff and have a clean and clear slider, even though I'm sure she'll dirty it back up within like a day or so. And then the last thing that I like to do is just wipe off all of our commonly used surfaces with my Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaner. These always smell so good no matter the scent and I just use them on our coffee table, our kitchen countertops, and bathroom counters. All right everyone, that about wraps up this video. I hope that you enjoyed seeing my little guest prep routine. If you did, please give this video a thumbs up because it really does help to support my channel. Also make sure you're subscribed if you're not already because I post new content every single week so make sure you hit that notification bell so you don't miss any more of it and I really just want to thank you all so much for watching this video. I'm so looking forward to a fun week with my family and I hope you all have a fabulous week as well and I will see you in my next video. Bye!