The Chicago Faucet Shoppe

Snow is starting to fall, your turkey/tofurkey/meatloaf/turducken is in the oven, and the doorbell rings. Your cousins are in town and before you can welcome them aunt Susan has walked out of your bathroom letting you know the toilet is clogged. For some reason, the twins have water guns in the middle of the winter and you’re the only one who has a problem with that. Then in walks Justin (or whatever his name is) and you realize you didn’t prepare the house enough for this disaster in the making.

It’s the holidays and come hell or high water you’re determined to be a good host, and that means PREPARATION. A lot of it. Make a list and check it twice.

1. Making a Clean Break. Stock up on cleaning supplies. If you’re running low, it’s going to be a lot easier to shop now before a 2 Liter of soda manages to pour 10 gallons of pop on your floor.


2. Scrub a Dub Dub. Put those supplies to use. Clean the main living areas, the front of the house/apartment, where people enter, bathrooms, and where your guests will be sleeping if they are overnighting it. Check your appliances, faucetry, toilets and garbage disposal now. Nothing like the holidays overpowers the weaker dishwashers or tests how well your oven works.





3. Sort Your S*** Out. Organize and declutter. You know all about that lamp cord and never trip on it, but maybe move it to the corner so that it doesn’t trip up grandpa Norm using his walker. If you need more space, designate a closet to cartoonishly pack full and denote with a “Do Not Open” sign.


4. Pop a Squat and Sit for a Spell. Bring out your towels or chairs. Searching in someone else’s house for these can be a serious hassle when you know they’re needed. Same goes for making things like toilet paper and paper towels easy to spot.


5. Deflating Disaster. Bust out your beds. If you have a guest room, make sure it’s prepared. If you’re using an air mattress in the living room, give a test run ahead of time so that your guest doesn’t wake up at 2 am on the floor in a floppy mess and shift to the uncomfortable couch because it’s too late to wake anyone up.





6. Don’t Get (Game) Bored Out of Your Mind. Plan some back-up outings to combat cabin fever. If there is a breaking point where somebody says the two words, “I’m Bored”, do not scramble for a stack of activities to be rejected. The kids may bust out their phones and sit upside down on the couch instead of telling you this, so look for the signs. Plan a couple options ahead of time that work whether or not the weather complies: Movies, restaurants that will be open, indoor malls, city attractions, and landmarks are some simple solutions. If your family is more of the indoors type get some board games and cards ready (maybe try out some new ones instead of starting a family feud after a monotonous game of monopoly).


7. Curate Your Cuisine. Denote Dietary Restrictions. Griffin has gone vegan and although you can’t imagine a life without short ribs, consider an additional main course option or a simple substitution besides “Is Salad okay?” Food allergies also are fairly common, so make sure your main entree, your piece de la resistance, isn’t a forbidden fruit to your family and friends.





8. Brace the Place for Munchies. Stock up snacks (on snacks on snacks). Even if you cook and have plenty of ingredients, guests aren’t as likely to bust out the hardware and do the same. Get a mix of snacks to have ready, possibly in contrasting pairs if you aren’t sure (salty or sweet, healthy choices or guilty pleasures), and an assortment of drinks for your guests.


9. Fill Up On Pharmaceuticals. Restock your medicine cabinet. Chances are if you have a medicine cabinet or box of assorted medicines, some are expired. Grab some of the general basics (such as aspirin, ibuprofen, antihistamine, heartburn meds and bandages) so that the whole house doesn’t get down with the sickness. \m/





10. Don’t Go Barking Mad. Prepare for your pets. Is it too much to handle Molly who barks every time the door rings? It may be time to prepare for a dog sitter.


11. Indicate Your Informative Inventory and Itinerary. Make a short and concise list of household info. Wifi password, address, what channel the game is on, any “tricks” for the house (such as if you need to lift the toilet handle after flushing because you haven’t fixed the fill valve). Try to keep this as short as possible since handing out a whole page will get skimmed over.

    

12. Call It a Day. Finally, know when to stop preparing. Perfection is something we can’t achieve. There comes a point where the time spent isn’t going to bear any noticeable results. Take care of yourself during all this because the holidays are for you too (unless you’re trying to outdo your mother in law, in which case we hope you make your house as amazing as possible). 

Here at the Chicago Faucet Shoppe, we wish you the best of luck entertaining with your family and friends. Chances are they will be expecting your house as it is normally. So, remember what’s important. Spending time with everyone (or reveling in your team’s victory over Travis’ favorite) is truly what the holidays are about.