Ah, the Fourth of July. A celebration of our country’s history, a chance to get the family and friends together for fireworks and barbecue, and for many of us the last long weekend before Labor Day (not that we look forward to time off or anything)! If you’re fixing to have some company over for the weekend of the Fourth and you’re looking for a little advice or inspiration, your friends at The Shelving Store have just what you need: Get the Grill Ready: At this point in the year you’ve probably used your grill a few times, so while you might not need to give it a super deep cleaning you might want to get your wire brush back out and take some time scraping the crud off. To keep up with the demand of burgers and hot dogs you’re probably going to encounter, get a rolling kitchen cart to hang onto ingredients, spatulas, and anything else you might need to keep your guests fed! Set Up the Porch: Depending on how many people you plan on having over, you might want to get the porch ready for the amount of guests you’re having and whatever you plan on serving them. Get some wire shelving to hang onto extra drinks, snacks, and refreshments to keep up with demand, make sure everyone has a place to sit and somewhere to keep their plates and drinks, and try to remember the napkins, eh? Clear Out Your Entryway: Depending on the weather (or where you live), your guests might bring light jackets or hoodies with them to prepare for the temperatures to drop as the night goes on, or they might have extra packages (diaper bags, etc) they want to keep somewhere. Clean out your coat room or entryway, set up some extra coat hooks to give your guests somewhere to hang onto their jackets and hoodies, and an extra shoe rack might not hurt for your guests who plan on mostly hanging out inside. Keep The Fireworks Safe!: The last, but maybe most important step is to make sure the fireworks are kept somewhere they can’t cause any accidents! Take your fireworks and separate them by type - things like sparklers and poppers that are safe for kids can be kept in plastic storage bins and passed around when the sun goes down, whereas the bigger stuff that the grown-ups should handle should be kept in the garage or basement, far away from prying little hands - and anything flammable! Once everyone’s there and the festivities are started, all that’s left is to fire up the grill and have a good time! Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July from your friends here at The Shelving Store!