How to Keep Your Demo Area Organized and Clutter-Free?

[babywings76]

I have a question, and I feel silly asking it...If all you have is a table or an island to work on, what do you do with the items that you bring that you aren't using for the recipe?Sometimes I feel like my demo area is so cluttered it's not very attractive. Then what do I do with my other stuff I want to show them? Should I keep it in my tote and take things out as I mention them? Not every recipe demos all our major lines, plus if I want to show them a product or two that is fun or must-haves, I just don't know how to organize myself. In the past I was lucky and had room or another table nearby to make a display. But the last show I did, there wasn't another surface available to do that. I had to put extra things on her counters and it just made me feel like I was taking over her kitchen and cluttering every square inch.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I usually find a different area - like a coffee table where we will be, or the kitchen table.

I keep some things in a little stack beside me to pass around, like cookbooks and spices, and a couple tools I want to pass and won't be using in the demo. Then, I just grab them off the pile and pass them as I am talking.

 

[Jessie Jolly]

I would love to hear some ideas! I have had the same problem!!

This week I had a show at my cousin's house. She lives in a small "single-wide" trailor so space is very limited. I called her ahead of time and asked her to setup their small card table in the living room. I put the food and products used for the recipe on the island and setup a display on the card table.

 

[babywings76]

I used to have a card table I could take to use places, but now my husband took it and is using it for the kid's computer set up.

 

[PamperedDor]

I use my cooling rack and that gives me a little height. I also take a towel and put it over my roll to go case and use that and sometimes I use my plastic crate with a towel and place items in and on the top - whether its next to the table, in front or else where in the room - I also tried not to bring to much except for what was needed and the monthly specials (current and next) The catty is your friend!

 

[thecougchef]

ugh. my show on friday was awful. it was the weirdest kitchen set up ive ever seen & the host already had a ton of clutter on the counter. there was no island and NO kitchen table! so i only set out what we would be using in the demo & even that was spread out on two separate counters. im not sure if people could differeciate between my products & the hosts...

 

[niclowther]

I usually do my demo in the kitchen/dining room and have table set up in the living room. After we prepare and put the recipe in oven, we go to the living room where I hand out the lapbaords and usually play some kind of game while food cooks. This way they can comfortably look thru the magazine and socialize.

 

[DebbieJ]

I don't bring very many products that are not part of the demo, so I am able to fit everything in the area where I am cooking.

 

[Fluffy215]

I play bingo at my parties in which each line is mentioned in one of the bingo squares. Then I bring out something to represent that item. Until then I keep it packed and when it comes up in the bingo I bring it out and pass it around. Then it gets put back. That's only when there is no room otherwise I set it out so guests can see things before the party

 

[susanr613]

I try to pack light as well, and find another area for the extra products. at my last show i scattered them around the host's living room, and i asked the guests to pass a few around when I talked about them. that seemed to work well.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I try not to bring much else other than the recipe needed products. I *DO* like to pass around a few spices and cookbooks, since they both sell much better if guests can see and smell (the spices) them before they buy!

For the few extra things I bring (saute pan to talk about bookings, maybe my favorite new item) I will even just set it on the top of my "garbage/dirty dishes" drawer to keep it off of my table.

 

[pampermejolene]

I usually set up all my stuff on a counter and most the items I use are on the kitchen table. Then as we go through the demo I have to grab a few things from the counter area and when I go to grab them I will pick up another item or two and talk about them too (ex. if I'm grabbing a scrapper out of the TTA then I will talk about the TTA as well as the scraper). My area does end up pretty cluttered but I clean it all up at the end so I don't think anyone thinks too much about it.