8 Tips for Getting Your House Ready for Entertaining this Memorial Day weekend!
- Prepare your patio furniture and barbecue. Take any outdoor furnishings out of storage areas and set them up; then clean each piece thoroughly. Wipe down your barbecue and scrape away any grimy or crusty substances that may still be on your grill.
- Clean outdoor lights. The glass and fixtures around your outdoor lighting sources have probably developed a residue over the winter months. Wiping all these surfaces down will help you better illuminate your next party.
- Clean out your gutters. Never mind this tip if you already have Gutter Helmet®! There may be leaves, twigs, and pine needles still sitting in your gutters from the winter. Climb up on a ladder and scrape all of this debris out of your gutters and run water through them to blow out any downspout blockages.
- Direct traffic. If you’re hosting a large party, you want to think about how your yard will stand up to the foot traffic. One way to do this is to direct people to stand in certain areas. Install tough stone or brick pathways or add a patio area where people can eat, drink, and dance. Use small fences, rocks, or bricks to make garden areas distinct from the rest of the yard.
- Clean driveways and outdoor areas. Hose or sweep off your deck, sidewalks, and/or patio. If needed, stain your deck and fix any loose boards or nails. Get out (or rent) a power washer and rediscover the true color of your driveway.
- Prepare your garden and landscaping for summer. Depending on what plants and flowers you have growing in your yard, this may entail weeding, mulching flower beds, trimming shrubs or bushes, or planting or potting seeds and flowers.
- Clean doors and windows. Wipe (or hose) off exterior doors and do the same for windows before cleaning the glass both inside and out.
- Prepare to battle mosquitoes. Depending on the size of your outdoor space, you may need to put out citronella candles, plug in bug zappers, or install more sophisticated types of mosquito or bug repellent systems.
