bbqqq

Host an organised and clean BBQ this summer.

by with One Comment Home Organising

Hooray BBQ season is here, its time to start cooking and enjoying our outside spaces and  host lovely get to together with family and friends. Hosting a BBQ can be busy and to host a good BBQ you need to be prepared. We had a really big BBQ last year it poured with rain and the gas run out!!!!! so it really was a bitof a disaster but this taught me to be much more organised and prepared for the British Weather.

Lets get started in hosting the perfect BBQ

Cooking Equipment & Utensils

Have you got all the equipment to enable you to cook safely. Different utensils for raw meat, cooked meats and the vegetation option.
If you are using a gas BBQ do you have enough gas
You may also want to have a cooking thermostat  to hand so you can check your meats have been cooked well. Nothing worse than all of your guest getting food poisoning from undercooked foods.
Tubberware and kitchen foil are essential.
A small table for the chef is also a great idea so they have a little more room
Cool bags to keep uncooked meat to save you going in and out.

Cleaning Materials

Big tip for BBQ’s is always use disposable plates and cutlery this way it can be chucked away straight away
Have a few heavy-duty bin bags in the garden so people can easily dispose of their rubbish.
Scatter hand sanitziers around so people can freshen up their hands
Have a bowl of soapy water just for the cooks hands so they can wash their hands after handling different types of meats.
Keep cleaning cloths and sponges with an antibacterial spray or washing up liquid to hand so spillages can be dealt with quickly
Keep kitchen roll or napkins in easy reach areas for everyone to use
Anti bacterial wipes and good to have near the BBQ.
Plus  tea towels for drying hands

Weather

Check the weather and makes sure you can bring the BBQ inside if needed. Do you have enough room, can you still cook outside. This is so important to plan and if you do cancel give your guests plenty of notice.  Gazebos with sides can be a good investment with the great British weather.

Garden

Make sure your garden is in top condition. You don’t want your guests to be wading through over grown grass. Cut the lawn and tidy up any edges along with hanging baskets and flower beds.

Seating

Make sure you have plenty of chairs and table space. If you don’t ask people to bring their own or ask neighbours.
Picnic blankets make a good option for children so scatter a few off these around and maybe add a few cushions if you have them. When they have finished eating you pick these up and put them straight into the washing machine.

Nibbles

Snacks like crisps and carrot sticks with dips should be on offer to starve off hunger, while you guests are waiting for the meat to cook, and to prevent them from getting too drunk too quickly.

Drinks

Make sure you have brought plenty of drinks and non alcoholic drinks for the drivers and younger guest.  If it’s a warm day store them in a cool place. I brought this amazing cooler ice table last year and it went down so well.  I just simply filled it with ice and drinks.  This also saved people from going in and out of the house and into my fridge.

Dessert

Delegate this task to your guests, people will always ask if they can bring anything and take them up pn this offer. Don’t try to be a superhero and manage every single thing. Let other people contribute slightly after all you are hosting.

Sun cream

If it’s a warm day have sun cream to hand that guests are welcome to use. It may also be a good idea to have plasters to hand too for any little accidents that may happen.

Set the mood with your music

Certain songs just scream, “SUMMER!” and will keep your party guests in a great mood all afternoon and evening long. Prepare a BBQ playlist with plenty of songs so your guests don’t keep hearing the same song over and over agin. That would really annoy me!

Keep garden decorations simple especially if you have young guests

There’s really no need to overdo it with decorations  string up some garden lights around our patio and bring out some mason jars with tea lights for after sunset. I absolutely love these flower bulb ones

Toilet

Assign one toilet for your guests so that your other bathrooms and toilets stay clean.  Make sure you have plenty of loo roll and a hand towel.  Also have a spray to hand incase anyone does an embarrassing smell.

Have fun

Now the boring bit is over its time to go and enjoy yourself with family and friends

My summer stains post will help will help with any ketchup and grass stains Take a look here

Thank you for reading
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxo

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Christmas,Presents,On,Dark,Background

Christmas present hiding

by with 3 Comments Christmas

Hiding Christmas presents is something I have to think about every year. I like to be super organised and start my Christmas shopping as early as I can, the summer sales can be great for picking up bargains but my issue is where do I hide them?

I always have to think of clever ideas where no one in my family will be quick to look. I also have to remember where the hiding spots are.

Being organised is always the key with Christmas.

I am sure some of us as children we went off looking for Christmas presents, you may even as gone as far finding them and then opened up your presents to see what was inside and then quickly stuck it back together again. Naughty Naughty!

I have come up with a list of places that you can potentially use as hiding places. But make sure you keep a list of what you have brought, who you have brought for and where you have hidden the present.  Print of my trackable printable to help you keep track of your Christmas shopping.

I have been known to hide presents to well and then I can’t actually find them when it comes to wrapping them up! Not a good move.

My top hiding places are

  • Garage or shed – Hide them in empty boxes or thick bin bags.
  • Laundry Basket – Hide items in a disused pillow case and then leave this at the bottom of the ironing pile.  I mean in my house I tend to be the only one who does any ironing so the chances of anyone looking here are very slim.
  • Suitcase – The holiday suitcases have been put away and are no longer in use so this is the perfect place to hide items
  • Family – Use the family for deliveries and to hide items, they may have a spare room where you can leave items that no one will see. This is good for larger presents such as bikes.
  • Car boot – If you have a boot tidy in the back on your car this is another great hiding spot but always ensure you lock your car.
  • Empty shoe boxes – You may have a few of these in the bottom of your wardrobe so empty out the shoes and fill the boxes with presents.
  • Loft – Perfect place that children will struggle to get into.
  • Plastic Tupperware tub – We all have quite a few of these in the kitchen cupboards, keep a few empty and use these to hold small gifts.
  • Filing cabinet – If you have a home office the filing cabinet is a great place as this can also be locked.
  • Ottoman – Mine is full of bedding and towels so I can hide items in between.
  • Underwear drawer – This is a personal space where no one should go so hide a few items in here.
  • In books – Gift cards, iTunes vouchers can easily be hidden within a book

I hope I have given you a few ideas to make your Christmas present hiding a little more stressful.

Plan your perfect Christmas with Meal Planning, Card Lists, Gift Lists, TV viewing, 10 Day Count Down and more with the perfect Christmas planner and keep all your wrapping paper, gift tags, ribbons together in the perfect fabric storage organiser. This is literally a must have!