Stl MH Aug Blog Prompt

BLOG PROMPT:
"Lesson Learned" - Please describe an instant where your house has had an issue (e.g. trouble with events, house dynamics, logistics etc.) and discuss how the house resolved the issue, and what was learned.

We seem to go through different themes with events, we either have way way way too much help or way way way too little help. We never hit the median. Shabbat Dinners are our stand in event so we end up having lots of clean up and preparation to make sure everyone gets fed, our attendance ranges from about 20 - 30, sometimes over. We have events where people will start to clear their own plates and even wipe down our tables and then we have events where people seem to leave anything and everything. In the past what we have tried to do is make distinct times where things occur. As in there is a distinct time in which we cook everything, then we eat, then there is a clean up time after that we encourage everyone to help with. We try and kind of guilt people into doing it saying that they are at Moishe House but it is also our house, and after everyone leaves we have to clean up whatever is left only to have to do it again next week. Its our version of the Never-ending Story except no flying dogs, rock monsters, and princesses. In the end, though we have some clean up work to do after every event, we just try to make sure to share it between all of us and sometimes if someone in particular made a mess last night, we ask them specifically to come over and clean it. On a higher level, we try and let everyone know that even though our house may feel like a college party some nights, it is still our house and should be kept clean. We are also trying to have more events outside of our house either at other venues, other houses, or just even outside our house where we can just hose everything down to clean it off. All these items together have definitely helped keep our place much cleaner and each of out of each other's hair about how dirty our house is sometimes.