Ballroom Prep And Cleaning Responsibilities Guide

OMNI COMMONS BALLROOM PREP AND CLEANING RESPONSIBILITIES GUIDE

Cleaning the Ballroom before and after an event is incredibly helpful to the commoning and common use of our space.

• We used to say, “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs,” and then we learned along the way that abilities are often hindered by not knowing what’s needed! So, we’ve put together the following guide to help people through the process of preparing the Ballroom for an event, as well as what cleaning tasks are expected of a group after their use of the Ballroom.

Keep in mind that the Commons is a community-run social space that doesn’t have the funds to hire professional cleaning services or coordinators to make sure the space is explicitly ready for your event, so join us in this basic practice of commoning by stewarding the space to the best of your ability.

BASIC BALLROOM PREPARATION

Plan to arrive at least an hour before the start of the event to take care of the basic Ballroom prep.

• If your event requires its own set-up (besides the basic Ballroom prep) then you should arrive according to how much time you think it will take you to set up your stuff, as well as taking care of the basic Ballroom prep

Moving around the Ballroom contents.

• Because we use the Ballroom as a common space whenever it’s not in scheduled use, there will often be chairs and other pieces of furniture (maybe some other misc. items) spread out around the space. You can move the chairs and furniture to the walls or take them upstairs to the Mezzanine to get them out of your way. If there are items in the Ballroom that you’re unsure about, feel free to ask your bottom-liner or someone else around the space about what to do with them. If you’re not sure, just put them to the side

Trash.

• Trash cans can be found behind the Ballroom bar and should be pulled out for your guests’ use during your event. They can be used to prep the Ballroom and clean up the Ballroom after your event

Sweep and mop the ballroom. We keep our industrial sweeps, mops/mop buckets and bleach in the broom/mop closet located on the south-west (stage-right) side of the Ballroom. Please clean up any spills, crumbs, or other evidence of your great event! You may not feel that the floors need to be mopped in preparation for your event, but you will need to mop the floor when your event is over.

Prep the bathrooms.

• The downstairs bathroom is located on the north-west (stage-left) side of the Ballroom and the upstairs bathroom is located at the top of the stairs (on the Mezzanine) on the south-east side of the Ballroom. Make sure the garbage cans have garbage bags with enough room for your trash, and that the bathrooms are clean. Check to make sure there’s toilet paper for each stall. If you need to find toilet paper or want to clean the bathrooms, all supplies can be found in the downstairs bathroom on the shelf next to the sink

Make sure guest/participants know where to go.

• The Omni Commons is a large and confusing space. Bring signs to post on the doors to properly direct people to your event and make sure the doors work/open. Let people know where each bathroom is located

CLEANING UP THE BALLROOM

Clear the space of all your belongings and trash.

Make sure to take all the stuff you bring into the building out of the building. It is a huge burden to leave items in the space for others to deal with, and prevents other people from being able to use the space for their needs. This includes removing your own trash. It’s a blessing that we have so many people in our space, but we have to deal with a lot of trash and it’s an expensive bill. We ask that all groups using the Ballroom do not leave their trash at in the Commons, but take it with them and dispose of it themselves

Sweep and mop the floors.

• All sweeping and mopping tools and supplies can be found in the south-west closet of the Ballroom. Please put all of these supplies and tools back where you found them

Clean the bathrooms.

• All the bathroom tools and supplies can be found on the shelf next to the sink in the downstairs bathroom. Clean the toilet bowls (including the urinal trough) with the toilet bowl cleaning tool, using a bucket full of cleaning solution. Clean the toilets (including the trough) with the cleaning spray solution and paper-towels. Replace empty toilet paper holders with new toilet paper. Wipe down the mirrors, sinks and countertops. Remove trash from bathrooms

Turn off the lights.

• The chandeliers can be turned off by the switches on the wall in the north-east side of the Ballroom. Other lights can be turned off from the stage-right side of the stage, on the wall, next to the ladder

Remove signs and close doors.

• Take down all your signs and make sure to close the doors and lock them upon leaving.