When it comes to entertaining, I have a few priorities. The top three being to make sure the house is tidy yet still feels lived in, to be sure that none of my plans result in being super stressed when the party starts, and absolutely NO weird pet smells allowed (I’m looking at you, litter boxes).

I think we can all agree that nothing is worse than being a frazzled mess right before the party starts! Hence the importance of anything that’s easy-to- use, effective and doesn’t smell or look like you waited until the last minute to clean up. Though let’s be honest, I probably did, ha!

Of course, I always have to throw in a few decor tricks too, so I’ve compiled my top 6 hacks for easy entertaining in partnership with Clorox® Scentiva™. After all, it’s not a party until it smells like a bundle of tropical flowers… with a five-minute flower arrangement on the table to go along with it, am I right?!

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Have you all ever seen the video of the man pretending to be his wife running around the house before guests yelling “Get cleaning people!!! We don’t want people to know we live here!!!”? It’s a HILARIOUS video, but also sadly so true for a lot of us, haha!

I’m all about a good pre-party clean up so that you’re starting with an empty dishwasher and sink for easier post-party cleaning, but let’s not go overboard. Half of the things we always slave over never get noticed by guests anyways! Just focus on a few key things instead.

You want to make a good impression on your guests, but even when things look clean and tidy, your home’s smell can tell another story. With Clorox’s® Scentiva™ products, you can clean, disinfect, and deodorize all in one step, impressing your guests while saving you time in the process.

Nothing plays up the wow factor quite as much as a pretty floral arrangement when it comes to pretty tabletops. My trick for putting together impressive arrangements on the fly is to use clear floral tape in a grid pattern on top of a vase to easily position the stems.

I literally want to hug the person that invented balloon tape! How freaking genius is this?! It’s perfect for making the really fun balloon garlands and clusters that you’re seeing everywhere.

All you have to do is blow the balloons up, knot them, and then stick each balloon knot through the holes in the tape and voila!

Nothing is worse than having a spill and realizing you have nothing on hand to quickly clean it up. It seems lame to plan clean up supplies in advance, but it’s a real life saver in a pinch or when guests want to offer a hand to clean up. Isn’t that the dream?!

Instead of creating a mound of work for yourself at the end of the night by having a room full of dishes to clean, mix paper plates and disposable items with your reusable serving platters and trays. I promise, your guests won’t be any the wiser!

The best part of mixing disposable with your nice serving trays is that it almost takes ALL of the clean up out of the evening.

Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner works hard to help kill  99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses on hard, non-porous surfaces, delivering the disinfecting power you trust to help keep your home clean and germ-free, which is a party clean up dream come true.

That said, always make sure to check the product label and follow instructions before using, no one wants any tears shed over your favorite serving tray.

What are some of your favorite go-to entertaining hacks for easy cleanup, set up, and staying stress free?! The longer I can make my tips list, the better!

Thank you to Clorox® Scentiva™ for partnering with us on this post! Sugar & Cloth has chosen to donate 5% of all sponsored campaigns to charity, which you can read more about right here.