The party was perfect. The food was gone. The wine bottles are empty. Everyone had the best time.

And now you're staring at a kitchen that looks like a tornado hit it.

This is the part of entertaining nobody posts on Instagram—the aftermath. But here's the thing: if cleanup is horrible, you'll stop hosting. And that would be a tragedy because the world needs more people who open their homes and create beautiful moments around tables.

So let's talk about making post-party cleanup so easy that you'll actually want to host again next week.

The Golden Rule: Future You is Your Best Friend

Pre-Party Setup for Easy Cleanup:

Every decision you make before the party should include the question: "How will this affect cleanup?"

Examples:

• Dishwasher-safe dishware > Hand-wash only serveware (even if it's gorgeous)
• Simple tablecloth > Elaborate table runner with delicate placemats
• Large serving platters > Seventeen small bowls
• Cloth napkins you can throw in the wash > Paper napkins that still somehow create a mess

The Party Platter Principle: One platter for apps + one for dessert = two pieces to clean instead of twelve. This is why we designed everything dishwasher safe. Your post-party self will thank your pre-party self.

During the Party: Subtle Maintenance Moves

The "As You Go" Strategy:

• Load dishwasher between courses (guests won't notice a quick kitchen trip)
• Rinse and stack plates instead of leaving them scattered
• Designate one counter as "staging area" for dirties
• Put away food as it's emptied (future you doesn't need mystery containers)

Guest Management: When someone asks "What can I do to help?"—give them a task:

• "Could you grab empty glasses from the living room?"
• "Want to help me clear these plates?"
• "Can you pack up leftovers while I load the dishwasher?"

People genuinely want to help. Let them.

The Post-Party Wind-Down (Before Bed)

I know you're tired. I know you want to collapse. But future-you is begging: do these five things before bed:

1. Load the Dishwasher Even if you're exhausted, get everything in there and start it. Waking up to clean dishes vs. crusty plates is the difference between "I love hosting" and "never again."

2. Quick Leftover System

• Wrap or container everything perishable
• Label with date if you're organized (or don't, we're not judging)
• If something won't get eaten, send it home with guests

3. Take Out Trash Nothing worse than morning-after trash smell. Just do it now.

4. Quick Surface Wipe Counters, table, anywhere sticky. Takes 3 minutes. Prevents morning grossness.

5. Run a Sink of Soapy Water For any hand-wash items. Let them soak overnight. Deal with them tomorrow.

Time Required: 15-20 minutes Future-You Gratitude Level: Infinite

The Morning After: Final Cleanup

Now that you've had coffee (or several):

Kitchen:

• Unload dishwasher from last night
• Wash any hand-wash items that soaked overnight
• Put everything away
• Wipe down appliances
• Sweep/vacuum floor

Dining/Living Areas:

• Launder tablecloth and napkins
• Put away serving pieces
• Vacuum/spot-clean any spills
• Return furniture to normal arrangement

The Trick: Put on music or a podcast. Makes it feel less like a chore.

Storage Solutions That Actually Work

For Party Platters & Discs: Our discs stack flat in a drawer. Seriously, that's it. No giant storage bins. No Tetris game with your cabinet space. Flat storage = the secret to actually using your entertaining pieces.

For Linens: Keep a designated basket for "used party linens." Throw in tablecloths and napkins after each event, wash as a batch once a month or as needed. No sorting, no thinking.

For Glassware: Don't own more glasses than your dishwasher can hold in one load. This sounds limiting but it's actually freeing—forces you to run the dishwasher during parties instead of letting glasses pile up.

The Dishwasher-Safe Difference

Real talk: I will never again buy entertaining pieces that aren't dishwasher safe.

After hosting for 30 years, I've spent approximately 4,000 hours hand-washing delicate serveware. Hours I'll never get back. Hours that made me hesitate to use my "nice" pieces.

Life-changing realization: If it's too precious to go in the dishwasher, it's too precious for real life entertaining.

Your table should make hosting easier, not harder. Everything we design is dishwasher safe because beautiful and practical aren't mutually exclusive.

The "Reset Day" Strategy

Pick one day a month as your "entertaining reset":

• Deep clean all entertaining pieces
• Wash all table linens
• Reorganize serving cabinet
• Take inventory of what you need

Why this works: Keeps you party-ready at all times. No scrambling to find clean napkins or discovering your platter is still dirty from three weeks ago.

When to Just Let It Go

Sometimes you're too tired. Sometimes the party went until 2am. Sometimes you just can't.

Permission granted to:

• Leave it all until morning (as long as you deal with food safety)
• Ask family to help tomorrow
• Order takeout the next day so you don't have to cook AND clean
• Take two days instead of one

The goal isn't perfect cleanup—it's sustainable hosting. If brutal cleanup makes you never want to host again, you're doing it wrong.

The Cleanup Checklist (Print & Use)

Before Party: ☐ Choose dishwasher-safe pieces ☐ Set up staging area for dirties ☐ Put away anything fragile/precious ☐ Prep "leftover containers" station

During Party: ☐ Load dishwasher between courses ☐ Rinse and stack as you go ☐ Accept help from guests ☐ Put away food as serving pieces empty

Night Of: ☐ Load and start dishwasher ☐ Container all leftovers ☐ Take out trash ☐ Quick surface wipe ☐ Soak any hand-wash items

Next Day: ☐ Unload dishwasher ☐ Finish hand-wash items ☐ Put everything away ☐ Launder linens ☐ Final vacuum/tidy

The Real Secret to Easy Cleanup

The right tools make all the difference.

When your dishware is:

• Dishwasher safe
• Versatile (fewer pieces needed)
• Easy to store
• Beautiful enough to use constantly

...cleanup becomes simple. And when cleanup is simple, you host more often. And when you host more often, you create more memories.

That's the whole point.

Ready to upgrade to dishware that makes hosting (and cleanup) easier?

SHOP DISHWASHER-SAFE COLLECTIONS

P.S. — If you made it through the holidays without a dishwasher breakdown, you're either very lucky or very smart about your dishware choices. Be smart about your choices.