Growing up, my house always seemed ready to have people over. My mom was on top of keeping things organized, so much so that we developed a nickname for it: “tazzing.” My dad came up with it from the old Tazmanian Devil cartoon, because things would be moved and put away in what seemed like a flurry. Now, I spend so much of my day tazzing, and I finally understand her logic and how much work keeping our house together took. Here are a few habits I've made that for my lifestyle (both my husband and I work full-time, including a 1.5+ hour commute each way multiple times a week) so that I can comfortably send the "just pop over!” text.
Focus on Tazzing over Cleaning
I'm not saying never clean your house. I am saying to focus your energy on what actually needs to get done. Here's what I do in the 30-60 minutes before people arrive:
Step 1: Put all of the little things away: books, pieces of paper, laptop, random items left out, etc. These pieces of your life are important, but don't need to be making visual clutter. I've seen a few hacks to bring a basket or hamper around with you to easily carry things from room to room and save yourself from bouncing all around. (10-20 minutes)
Step 2: Wipe down the surfaces people will interact with. Counters, tables, anywhere where little crumbs and such collect. It makes SUCH a difference and takes seconds to do. (~5 minutes)
Step 3: Straighten up the area where you'll be spending the most time. Fluff the couch pillows and straighten out the throw blanket. Arrange the chairs so it doesn't look like everyone bolted from the table. (5-10 minutes)
Step 4: Give the bathroom a quick once-over. Wipe down the faucet and sink, make sure the toilet is (decently) clean, check the toilet paper stock, and change out the hand towel. (~10 minutes)
Step 5: Vacuum or sweep the area where you'll be. You don't have to do your whole house when people come over unless vacuuming calms you down. (~10 minutes)
I always throw on a cleaning-specific playlist and get in the zone. For me, having these steps in my mind helps me run through the bare necessities that should be done before people get here. Have I skipped some before gatherings? Absolutely. Did the party still happen and everyone had fun? You bet. But a lot of people are nervous to have people over because their house isn't clean enough. I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be spotless, it's clean enough!
I remember when my now-mother-in-law (who I love SO much, I'm seriously so lucky, but this story is important) visited the apartment for the first time. It was our first big impressive dinner where we were showing off our space. Something fell under the back of the couch, which wasn't against a wall because #apartmentlife. She grabbed it and jokingly commented to the family about how it was a mess under there and how I was probably freaking out that she even looked. I hadn't even given it a second thought, because who would be checking under my couch except for this one-time accident? I had gotten as far under as the vacuum would let me! I felt such immediate shame that it made me look like I couldn't keep our space clean, when I knew I'd spent so much time leading up to the dinner trying to make everything impressive and perfect. She was trying to calm my assumed anxiety, while I felt embarrassed for a problem I didn't even know existed. Do I hold it against her? Absolutely not! Like I said, she's the best mother-in-law I ever could have asked for. But this inadvertently taught me an important lesson: your space will never be immaculate if you live in it. You need to determine what's important to get done before people come over. For me, it's food, tidy, drinks, clean, in that order. And if all else fails, a closed door does wonders for hiding things.
Speaking of food and drinks…
Keep a (Relatively) Stocked Kitchen
Do you need to have a whole multi-course dinner ready to go at any given point? Heck no! The idea behind this is that you feel more prepared to throw together some munchies with the possibility of just ordering a pizza for a super-last-minute hangout. I haven't often had surprise get-togethers, but every time I do I feel relieved that I already have so much ready to go. My “Stocked” kitchen has these go-to’s on deck at all times:
Pantry
Tortilla chips and salsa
Potato chips
Nuts (pre-mixed or get your favorites and you can mix your own)
Ritz fresh stack crackers (the smaller sleeve is perfect for reducing food waste, even if it means more packaging)
A box of brownie mix (Ghirardelli, if you have to know)
A few sodas and seltzers
Fridge/Freezer
Ranch dressing
Carrots, celery, and/or mini cucumbers
Some kind of block of cheese (Cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gouda)
Lemons and limes
1-2 frozen appetizers (spanakopita and mini quiche are my favorites, also love frozen phyllo cups)
Ice cream (good enough to be its own dessert!)
Cabinet
Paper plates
Disposable utensils
Napkins
You'll notice a common thing through most of the foods: CRUNCHY. I love foods with texture to open a meal. But they're all also things that we'll happily eat anyways. Sometimes the only energy I have to make myself lunch is heating up a few frozen mini quiche.
This isn't to say that this list is all you need for a party. These are my safety net that help me confidently say “Absolutely, come on over!” They're back-pocket munchies, savory or sweet, that helps ease that anxiety about what to serve. They help me invite anyone over at any moment's notice, which is the kind of open arms I hope to have.