Most people dislike the cleanup after a soiree. For me, its a magical time for Eric and I to relive funny and interesting moments from the evening. Giggly, a little tipsy and elbow deep in sudsy water makes for a romantic after party for two.

I’m not telling you that you have to be responsible for clean up after a huge gala of 100+ guests. There are services that handle that. But for a small dinner party (6 to 24 folks), this time can be your time to decompress while getting your kitchen and dining room back to its sparkling clean state.

Start with your toughest dish/platter/roasting pan. If you served a dish like lasagna in a ceramic/glass dish, I know that baked on cheese and sauce can be a bear to get off. TIP TIME: Put a dryer sheet in with the soapy water in your pan and it will be spotless in no time. You can take the wet dryer sheet and just wipe up the remaining gooey-ness.

Load the dishwasher with your pots and pans first and then stack the dishes in the sink. This way you can leave it until tomorrow if you are just too sleepy to deal with it right now. Place them in soapy water and you will be much happier in the morning. Line all of your wine glasses up and pop a little drop of dish liquid in each one so you won’t have any red wine stains on your nice stemware. Filling them with a bit of hot water will make you feel happy the day after, too. It’s all about making it easy on yourself. Not that giving a dinner party is easy – it’s entertainment and have you ever seen all that goes into a Broadway production? Great entertaining is not easy, if you really set out for the summit every time. And you should. Welcoming people into your home and feeding them is one of the most personal things you can do for those you love (or want to impress), so why do it half way?

xoxo, Patti