The holidays are upon us already!  Are you hosting any festive events this holiday season?  If you are, please let me gently remind you to not wait until the last minute to get your linens ready.  You know how things always seem to take longer than you think they’re going to?

Linens definitely fall into that category.

To get your linens in holiday shape, use these simple steps.

Plan which linens you will use

To have your linens ready in plenty of time, you’ll have to plan which pieces you’ll need.

For example, if you are hosting two parties this year, take a piece of paper and do some brainstorming. Plan each party’s linens down to the finest detail.  Here are some items to consider:

Locate and Examine All of Your Linens

Search every nook and cranny to find the linens you are going to use for your events.  If you have a small home with little storage space, you probably have linens tucked in various places.

After you’ve found all of your needed items, sit down with them under a good light.

Your next task is to examine them.  Are there stains that just ‘magically’ appeared since their last use?  Are they frayed on the edges?  Are there any minute holes or tears that need to be repaired?  Are there any that need to be replaced?  Do you have enough linens to cover the amount of people at your event?

If you’ve identified issues with your items, make a plan to fix whatever problem you have encountered.  If items need to be replaced, order them.  If seams need to be re-stitched, break out the sewing box.  If you don’t have enough, call your mom to borrow hers.

Prep Your Linens for Your Party

If you haven’t used your items since last year’s holiday season, you’ll need to launder them again.  Have you ever dined on dusty linens?  It’s not exactly appetizing, so make sure yours are clean before putting them on the table.

After washing, make sure they are ironed well if needed.  Some tablecloths and napkins are made from more wrinkle-free materials, so they won’t need this step.

If there is any doubt as to whether your tablecloth needs to be ironed, please just take the extra 10 minutes and do it. An ironed table cloth can make the whole room have a completely different look.

I’ve written a detailed how-to post on Caring for Your Tablecloth, so take a peek if you need some help with washing and ironing table linens.

What to Do After the Party

After your festivities are over, you’re left with a heap of tablecloths, cloth napkins and other holiday linens.  What do you do with them?

The most important step is to take care of them quickly. Don’t let them sit for days and days on your laundry room floor. If stains are present, you want to deal with them as quickly as possible so you have a chance at removing them.  The longer a stain sits, the harder it is to remove.

The next step is to launder your table linens and then store them carefully.

If you treat your table linens gently, they will last for years and years.

It’s not too early to plan your table linens.  In fact, it’s a pretty easy thing to check off of your holiday to-do list.  So grab your paper and pencil and start planning!

Looking for other posts on How to Take Care of Linens?

How to Care for Tablecloths – A step-by-step guide in washing, ironing and storing tablecloths so they’ll last for years.

Caring for Tablecloths and Cloth Napkins – How to treat and remove difficult stains on table linens.

Stain Removal Guide for the Holidays – A stain removal guide for most holiday spills.
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photo credit: esperales
photo credit: kevin dooley

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.  If you are a planner, you’re soon going to think about table linens, which china you’d like to use, and seating arrangements.

If you have ironed and stored your tablecloths well, it will take minimal effort to get them ready.  However, if they are loosely folded on your linen shelf, you can use Mama’s Tablecloth Guidelines to help you get them ready for the festivities.

So you’ve had a wonderful family dinner and now comes the time to wash, dry and iron your tablecloth and napkins so they are ready for their next use. However, you notice there are multiple stains on them.

Bad stains.  Like tomato sauce and gravy and smears of greasy butter.  So now what do you do?

Tablecloths and cloth napkins are not cheap, and while it may take some effort to get out multiple stains, it is well worth it to keep your linens looking as new as possible.

Here is how to get started:

Tablecloths and cloth napkins tend to be of a more delicate fabric.  Their fabric certainly does not have the durability of say, a cotton bath towel.  So they need to be treated gently in order to look nice and new for a long time.

If at all possible, identify the types of stains that are on your linens.  If you are certain you know the type of stain you are dealing with, you can get started on the type of stain removal it needs.  Brush or pick off all food particles, being careful not to smear them further into the fabric.

The next step is to start your stain removal:

• Tomato-based stains almost always require The Soak.  As do stains like mustard.  Do not soak your linens with any other clothing items.  They always need to be soaked separately.
• Greasy or oily stains such as gravy, butter, ham (and if you’re in the South, green beans) require the Blue Dawn method of stain removal.
• Tea stains are hard to remove, but can be removed effectively if you move quickly.

For an item as large as a tablecloth, it is very likely that you’ll have multiple stains.  If that is the case, you’ll need to treat the stains individually in order to remove them completely. First, do The Soak if it is needed.  Wash the tablecloth on the delicate cycle, but do not dry it in the dryer. Then move onto the Blue Dawn Method for grease removal.  You might have to let the linen air dry first in order to see the grease stain easily.  Then use the Blue Dawn Method as you would any other garment or linen.

After your stains are successfully removed, you can wash, dry and iron your linens using Mama’s Tablecloth Guide.  When it comes time for you to use your tablecloth again, you’ll be so thrilled that you’ve taken the time now to make them easy to use at your next event!

For more other must-see Thanksgiving Ideas, visit these fabulous blogs:

• Nony from A Slob Comes Clean talks about how to get a (very) messy house ready for guests
• Amy from Raising Arrows has a great post up on eating Thanksgiving Dinner…and not your children

I am pleased to link this post to WFMW over at We are THAT Family.  Having things ready to roll works for me!

Unfortunately, my house is not so conducive to tablecloths in this season of my life.  At least not at our kitchen table where we eat multiple times a day.  Little people under 5 and tablecloths don’t seem to be a good match in my house.

However, we are fortunate to also have a small dining room in our home and I love for it to don a tablecloth during the holidays.  For some reason, it just seems more festive.

And a tablecloth also makes a room seem more put together.  A nice finished look.

But aren’t tablecloths fairly high-maintenance?

Well, they certainly can be.

But if you know what steps to take, maintenance can be predictable and easy.

Washing Rules:

Always wash your tablecloths on the delicate cycle.  And preferably wash them in a front loader.  They can easily wrap themselves around the agitator in a top-loading machine.  This just puts more strain on the cloth than necessary. And it’s also a pain to try and unwind after the cycle is completed.

If you need to pre-treat with a stain remover, make sure it is not going to bleach the fabric by testing it on the inside seam.  Some tablecloths are not made with color-safe dyes and will  bleed/fade/bleach easily.

If there are no greasy spots on the tablecloth, wash on Delicate/Cold.

If there are greasy food stains, treat with blue Dawn dish detergent and wash on Delicate/Warm.

Drying Rules:

Dry your tablecloth on the Delicate setting until it is mostly dry.  When you touch it, you want it to be just barely damp – like when you can’t decide if a fabric is cold or wet.

Now is the best time to iron it.

Ironing Rules:

Iron your tablecloth on the highest setting the fabric can tolerate.

Be very careful with this part – you don’t want scorch marks on your fabric!

If it is a heavy 100% cotton, you can probably iron it on a relatively high heat.  If it is a delicate fabric or has hand painting (or something equally delicate), iron on a very low setting.

As with the stain treatment, test the iron on an inside seam.

It is best to iron a delicate tablecloth on the reverse side of the fabric.  That way, you don’t run the risk of creating that shiny appearance on the correct side if you have to use a hotter heat.

If you’ve chosen to fold your tablecloth directly from the dryer, it is going to have the classic square folding lines.

Only ironing will get rid of these.  Despite what other resources claim, a hot steamy shower or hanging on a curtain rod just won’t do the trick.

Take the time to steam them out with your iron.  It will look so much more presentable, not to mention professional.

Storing an Ironed Tablecloth:

Martha Stewart recommends wrapping a tablecloth around an old inner tube from a roll of carpet.

But I don’t know too many people that have easy access to that.  Or a place to store something that big inside the house.  Although I do really like the idea.

I have found that the best way to store an ironed tablecloth is to lightly fold the cloth in thirds or quarters and ever so gently drape it across a strut hanger. (A strut hanger is the classic pant hanger you’d receive from the dry cleaners.)

If you’ve taken the time to care for your tablecloth, it can be a lovely focal point to an otherwise simple room.