Prepping – The Salty Exchange

From May of 2021 to January of 2022, we hosted 16 people in total at our home (one of those 16 visited twice totaling about 2.5 months). As a hostess, I have nailed down the art of preparing for people. With warmer months fast approaching and the lifting of pandemic restrictions, I expect many of you will be together for the first time in a long while. I also expect that you may feel a bit rusty on what to prep for. Luckily, my OCD tendencies have your back. Here is a list of things I run through when preparing for guests in my home.

Food:
– First, determine if any visitors have food allergies or sensitives. This may impact your budget.
– Set a budget (take in to consideration the length of visit, number of people, dietary restrictions, and how many meals per day you will be responsible for) and review it with your partner or roommate.
– Meal plan. Once you know the meals you will need to provide, plan them out! This helps with not only staying in budget but giving you a fairly definitive grocery list. Don’t forget to write your meals down so that you don’t forget why you put a particular item on your grocery list.
– Make a grocery list. Consider your meal plan, snacks, and a few contingencies.
– Split up your grocery list. Don’t shop for everything in one place. I know it’s really easy to just try and get everything from Costco… and you might be right! But what I have found is that even with large parties of people, products from Costco can be wasted or under utilized. I like to buy certain items from Costco, Trader Joe’s, and the local Hannaford or Shaw’s Supermarket. It’s a lot of shopping but honestly is worth it because I know I am making the most financially sound decisions. This can get quickly out of hand if you try and stick to one stop shopping. While the idea of one stop shopping is sexy, it’s also a marketing tactic.
– If shopping in advance, freeze certain products like meat. Find a way to label it all so that you don’t forget what you have/ can’t recognize an item through the haze of freezer things.

House:
Welp, if you know me you know that I have an unnatural compulsion to have a clean home. And, it is… it’s always clean; always ready to house people or entertain. But if you aren’t me (which hopefully you are not), you need to clean your house. I don’t care if you live in an apartment, condo, or sprawling estate. Make sure your home is ready to welcome people. It might take some extra prep to sit down and clean up but just do it. No one likes walking into a mess. For me, I make a list (surprise, surprise) of things that need to get done. Do guest bed sheets need to be washed? Guest towels? Inflatable mattresses blown up? Once your friends or family have arrived, I highly suggest maintaining the cleanliness of their bathrooms or any shared bathrooms. There are a lot of germs floating around these days and bathrooms house a lot. Look for daily cleaners that you can just spray and leave. Staying on top of it makes everything a lot less work for you when you are cleaning up after your guests depart.

Activities:
Skiing? Hiking? Lounging? Make sure to mention to your guests things that they should bring to make any activities you have planned possible. For example, if your guests want to ski, make sure they know to bring warm clothes. Find rental spots in advance so that you know where they can call to reserve equipment/make a rental appointment for said equipment. Trying to find that stuff out on the fly can waste a lot of time. And then, what’s the point? As we head into warmer days, our pool will be opening so I make sure to tell all summer guests to bring a swim suit. I then prep all of the swim towels (cheap at Costco and Target). Headed to the beach? Make sure you have a beach bag and a cooler prepped and ready. Have sunscreen for all to share in case your guests forgot!

General Entertaining:
This is my gas and booze spiel. Considering the state of gas prices and the predictions for the foreseeable future, budget OR plan for gas to cost more. Don’t overlook this. To fill up my car is now about $70-$85 dollars. I have no tips for you here but want to encourage you to THINK about it. And now, for booze. Booze can be an expensive part of entertaining. Some ways I have found to keep it simple is to have main staple alcohols like vodka or rum. From there, some tonic and citrus, of course. If you have a summer guest, have a themed cocktail or two that is easy to whip up and doesn’t require any speciality ingredients or liqueurs… that can add up- trust me. Or just have some beer in the fridge. Keep things simple. If your guests want something, head to the store together so that they can purchase what they want. And while you are out, fill up the car… just in case.

In the upcoming month we have one visitor here for two weeks and potentially another here for three weeks. I am actually doing ALL of the above to make sure I don’t miss anything. We often have visitors because our families don’t live nearby! They hail from Seattle or Houston and with a toddler and being pregnant, it’s just easier if people come to us. Sometimes though, it can also be tough. If you missed the news: I am pregnant with baby #2. I am now in my third trimester. I am big. I am tired. I am swollen. Planning ahead IS THE way to keep things simple not just on me from a planning standpoint but from a physical one as well. I am limited in how long I am on my feet. Some days, I am good. Some days, my feet are so swollen and my pelvis is so achey that I am off my feet by 5:30 pm. I am planning for all of this so that everything goes smoothly. Normally, my husband would jump in to help and takeover beautifully BUT right now he is not only working but doing grad school in the evenings. We just have a lot on our plates. So we plan for it together. You need to think the same way. What’s going on with work? Are you going to be home? Can you take time off? Do you have someone to help and split all the things up with? Or are you solo? Be realistic. I know lots of people want to visit us after our new baby is born. I’ve said no for the first month and half after. It’s not because I don’t love people or want them to meet the baby. It’s because we will have a whole new dynamic to adjust to. It’s because I want to be able to breastfeed freely without covering up. I want my husband to be able to be on paternity leave and finish his final grad school class so that after we can freely entertain together. I want to focus on myself, my body, and my family- selfish? Probably. Needed? Very. Postpartum is tough and I learned the first time that I have to take care of myself before I start worrying about others or else I can’t be a decent mom. I get distracted. It’s my own failing but it’s one I recognize I have. It’s also why sticking to the above lists and considerations are so important! I don’t want to let any guests down because we didn’t plan for it. I always want a guest to leave feeling refreshed and happy!

As we emerge from our homes and into the world, I want to say welcome back! I hope this is the start of not being limited or afraid of the pandemic. I hope this sticks. When you are hosting or visiting your loved ones in the coming months, don’t take it for granted. Who really cares what you eat or do? Sometimes it’s just being together that counts. I think that’s something we can all agree on. Stay safe.

Next week? Tips on being a great house guest!

When I was growing up, my mom always kept an emergency stash of supplies on hand. Since we lived in Washington State (the anticipated home of the “next big one”), this made sense. My dad was also a big advocate of having a go-bag of sorts stored in the car trunk. After all, you never knew what could happen, where that something could happen, and what you may need. The end result? I am a bit of a prepper.

Not one of those hardcore ones that are ready for the world to end (though, let’s face it- they are on to something). While the world was running out of cleaning supplies, food, and toilet paper last year, my household was ready. Normally I always keep water and extra paper supplies on hand. I think it’s weird that people covet toilet paper but I also never run out because I shop in advance for things I never want to be caught pants down without. Thus, my prepper stock was already in good shape by the time the pandemic hit. As things started heating up across the country and in China, I started to prep almost instantly. I read articles about what supplies were low in different areas, compared emergency lists from the CDC and WHO, and planned ahead for what we would want to eat should the world come to a complete standstill. Needless to say, when everything shut down- the Arguello household was open to friends and family who needed anything from wipes to bleach to paper towels to ground beef.

To this day, there are certain things I keep in a corner of my pantry that are deemed part of the emergency staples. Canned beans, canned chicken, canned vegetables, pancake mix, bottled water, a bag of rice, and an emergency backpack are just some of the few things we have available. When I am out and see a particular cleaning item or pantry staple that I may not need in the moment, I always pause to think if I will eventually need it or if someone else might need it in the coming months. This thought process has helped to keep our supplies fresh and plentiful not only for ourselves, but for others as well. And I manage to do this without being a hoarder. Everything is somewhat tidy.

Buying everything you need all at once isn’t always practical. Whether the issue be space availability or financial, the bulk buying of emergency supplies can become, well, annoying. And if you wait too long, competitive. SO. Last year, toilet paper sold out (or if you are from WA state, every time it snows the toilet paper flies off the shelf). This year, the extreme weather conditions in Texas left its citizens looking for water, food, and warm clothing. My advice is to first, make a list. Make a list of everything and anything you would want if you were stuck at home and could not leave your house for a month. Sadly, this isn’t that far fetched. Next, categorize those items in a way that makes most sense to you. For example, our categories are:

Food/Pantry
Water
Emergency Supplies (think first aid, masks, medicine, etc)
Clothes for the seasons (tip: if you have kiddos in diapers- always have a pack or two of diapers that are a size up)
List of all utility phone numbers and account information (because who knows- but that’s just the smart thing to do)
Emergency docs (things like birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other important paperwork should be kept in a fire safe place)
On the run (this may sound scary but it’s sort of the most efficient way of keeping the most essential items together and in a place that you can throw in to your car and, well, run, should you need to)

This may seem extreme. I get it! It kind of is. Who wants to live their lives prepped like this at all times? Even I do not have all of the above organized and put away. I mean, we have all of it- just not put together in nice little boxes everywhere.

If the past year has taught me anything, it’s that prepping (in moderation- don’t go buy 50 freezers and then purchase the whole meat department at Costco to put in the said 50 freezers- that’s just excessive) is not a bad thing. Knowing what you have, what you don’t, what you want, and what you need is just common sense, right? Purchase things over time. Keep an eye on any expiration dates, be aware of any family changes, and adjust your stock/shopping schedule as needed.

As the world begins to return to “normal,” I encourage you not to forget about that initial panic that you felt 13 months ago. Keep a little bit of that with you. That feeling is what we learn from; it’s what we’ve grown on.

Shop away, my friends. And stay safe.

Tag: Prepping

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