1. People eat more than you think. In the past we've ran out of food because when I counted portions, I counted the way I eat. For example, chicken thighs. I'd assume that I'd need 1 chicken thigh per person. Wrong. Some people eat more than that. Sometimes they're on a keto diet. Sometimes they're really hungry. Sometimes that's their normal portion. So what I do now is I count portions according to the way I eat (or according to the package/recommendation), then I double it. That way we have no issues feeding everyone, including surprise extras, and leftovers is always a good thing when you've got folks day drinking and staying the weekend. Hungry? Go scrounge. Still got food left when people leave? Freeze it or send it home with someone.
2. Towels and water bottles WILL be abandoned. It's okay. We just buy double the cases of water and plan for extra laundry. The plants will get fancy water for a while.
3. Laundry. When it comes to sheets, I've seen it all. And only once have I had to throw them away and buy a new one. Body fluids, blood, food smears, sweat, barf... I don't actually handle the barf but that time the sheets were hosed off and tossed right into the machine. Most things get Spray N Wash and peroxide as a pretreat, and bleach goes into every whites load because that's the way it should be. If it sits in the laundry room for a week, who cares? It will get washed eventually. When it comes to big crowds when every bed is slept in and every towel is used, I truck it all to the laundromat and in 2 hours and a chat with a random old person, it's all washed and dried for about 20 bucks.
4. If someone wants to bring something, a bag of ice or a case of water is always a good choice. We have a friend who always brings dessert. We have a friend who always brings a case of beer and enough food to feed an army, even though we don't request it. We have a friend who knows he's expected to bring bloody mary ingredients. We have a friend who never spends the night but we can always count on him to come help us with a project and he will drink the random beers left in the fridge and will 100% be staying late and fishing. There's are some definite established patterns with the regulars and I love that.
5. Some folks will invite themselves when they want to come over and some will wait for an invitation. Both are acceptable.
6. We block off weekends for no visitors. At the beginning of the summer, we designate weekends that are open for guests and those that are not. That helps prevent burnout, mostly on my end. I can't handle people every single weekend.
7. Speaking of, if my social battery runs out, I simply go upstairs and take a breather. Everyone hangs out downstairs anyway so upstairs is kind of a refuge for those who need a break, and I've noticed several times someone taking advantage of that as I trot past them.
8. Schedule the maid for AFTER guests leave. The house will get dirty approximately 0.5 seconds after guests arrive anyway, so scheduling the clean afterwards is so much more refreshing.
9. Keep a bag of chicken nuggets in the freezer and some apples in the fridge. Kids are picky and I'm not trying to convince a 4 year old to eat chili or have a parent trying to raid my kitchen for an acceptable meal. Also kids go nuts over glow sticks and popsicles. And while you're at it, get a big variety pack of chips. They don't need to be name brand. They will get eaten.
10. Squeeze condiments for everything. Streamlines the whole process and virtually eliminates gluten cross contact.
11. Delegate. If I don't ask someone to load the dishwasher, I will be the one doing it. If I ask, guess what? I will get several volunteers. Then the next time, they feel more comfortable pitching in without being asked. Psychology.
12. Buy extra toilet paper. And paper towels. And paper plates. I don't know how but the supply dwindles in the blink of an eye. It's like the water bottles. During the summer it feels like we buy them with every grocery delivery.
13. There will be messes. Embrace the chaos. There's no rules at the river. I've gotten really good at this one but FH's eyes still twitch and I have to remind him that it's fine.
That's it for now. We have a couple of months left of summer and we're all booked up through October but our regulars will still come out for hot tub & fire weather. Some visits I'm looking forward to more than others, but overall let's bring on the fun!
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