The Perfect Powder Room for your Party

If you are hosting a party in your home, you've likely decided on the food, the music, the drinks, the guest list, the decor, getting the house cleaned, setting up the proper flow, and the countless other details that need attending to for a successful event, but one thing many hosts neglect to properly prepare is the powder room.  That's right, you didn't think you needed to do anything special besides clean up in there, did you?  Well, when I'm brought into someone's home to do a party, large or small, I always make sure the pay attention to all of the restrooms that guests will have access to as well.  Below are six tips for making sure your guests are comfortable through and through.

1.  Load up guest bathrooms with paper towel napkins so guests do not need to share a yucky soggy towel with everyone else.  I always like to put those towels into a pretty container, too.  Think outside the mirrored tray box and look at your serving pieces, there might be something really pretty to use. 

2.  Make sure the wastebasket is empty.  If it's already even partially full before the party starts, by the time guests start throwing those paper towel napkins into the trash, it's going to get ugly.

3.  Always have extra bathroom tissue nearby.  Perhaps a little basket filled with extras just under the roll will do the trick.  You wouldn't want to be the guest that found themselves stuck without, would you?

4.  Soap should be in a pump, not a bar.  This rule should never be broken in a party situation.  Even better is a no touch dispenser.  Nobody wants to go into a powder room and be forced to use a wet bar of soap.

5.  Candles and sprays should be present.  I always like to light a long lasting scented candle so guests feel comfortable and warm when they enter a powder room, and I like to leave a spray within view in case anyone wants to freshen up the room before they leave it.

6.  Finally, have Lysol wipes hidden away somewhere in the bathroom, because the last step is to inspect the room regularly and clean it!  About every two hours in the beginning of a party and every hour toward the end of the party, I go into all of the restrooms guests have access to and make sure they are stocked up on bathroom tissue, napkins and soap; make sure the trash can is not overflowing, inspect the burning candles, and wipe down all of the surfaces with the Lysol wipes, including the soap dispenser.  All of the work you've done before the party getting it ready will be lost on the poor guest who waited to use the restroom until the end of the night and walks into a mess of a space.