Boyfriends, brothers, dads--girls love them, of course, but they don't always know the unwritten rules for having company over. Sometimes they need help, especially at the last minute. A boy volunteers to host a party at his apartment for a sporting event, and his girlfriend arrives early. Everything is a mess--dishes are in the sink, the toilet bowl is gross and his stuff is laying all over the floor. Not to mention, he didn't think about what people were going to eat besides hamburgers and hotdogs. Caroline Jones, senior in accounting, said it is important to clean up the bathroom and get things out of the way. "You've just got to cover things," Jones said. "Hide things behind couches or in the closets or in the pantry."
Jones said she is trying to help her fianceYen become more organized in general so she doesn't have to scramble to clean up. "I'm in the process of trying to train him," Jones, said. "Like, for Christmas I bought him an organizer thing for his cell phone and iPod chargers, and he keeps all his cords and receipts and stuff in there. That way it's not on the floor, but in his organizer." Bethany Cochran, junior in social sciences education, has a lot of first hand experience with helping boys clean up.
"I grew up with three brothers, and they're all pretty disgusting," Cochran said. "They would leave their clothes all over the bathroom, spit in the sink and leave it there or not flush the toilet, so I was always really embarrassed to have my friends come over." Cochran said she showed her younger brother how to clean up, but he still lacks the knack for tidying up correctly before company arrives."Say if my brother's girlfriend was coming over and everything was disgusting like normal, first I would probably give him a lecture about how girls appreciate it when their boyfriends or husbands are clean," Cochran said.
Cochran said after the lecture she would help her brother clean quickly so the girl wouldn't be completely disgusted. "I would try to shove everything away and then wipe everything down in the bathroom so it would at least look presentable," Cochran said. Splitting up the tasks is a good way to get things cleaned up fast, Cochran said. "Also make sure the floor is swept, because people don't want to be walking around in dirt," Cochran said. The kitchen is the most important room to clean if a guy is having company over, Cochran said. "If the kitchen is a mess and someone is coming over in a few minutes, I would say especially make sure all the dishes are clean," Cochran said. "If somebody walks into your house and your kitchen is dirty, that says a lot about who you are."
Archana Dodhia, senior in finance, said guys just don't think everything through before having people over. "They usually don't do much other than to plan what they are eating," Dodhia said. "A lot of the times, they have people over, and they haven't done their dishes, so they have to rush to do them or run to the store to buy paper plates." Guys have suggestions as well. Graham Nixon, junior in math education, said help with preparing food is appreciated. Nixon suggested a few easy ideas to help a guy prepare food quickly. "If you have a Crock-Pot, a homemade cheese dip is good," Nixon said. "It's simple and tasty and it looks like you did a lot of work, but you didn't."
Nixon said grilling is the ultimate easy guy food, and the best part is that guys can do it themselves. "It kind of gives a center point of the party," Nixon said. "It gives you a little more importance and prestige because people are seeing you cook." Dodhia said grilling is overdone and suggests other options for guys before the party. "They can buy a bag of wings, grill them and mix them in store bought wing sauce," Dodhia said. "Also, fish with an easy dry rub doesn't take long to cook, and sides are not hard to get hold of--like ready-made mashed potatoes and creamed corn and things like that."
Variety in food choices is impressive to guests, as is a clean house. Guys don't always think of these important factors when socializing. Most guys need and appreciate all the aid they can get from the women in their lives, so the best idea may be to co-plan the party and get there early to help with last minute details.
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