There’s a lot to do when preparing for guests to stay at your home. From the cleaning, to the grocery shopping, to creating a cozy atmosphere, there are numerous checkboxes that need to be checked off before any guests walk through that front door. Do not fret though! We have compiled a list of tasks to complete before their arrival, and before you recommend your guest to, “Make yourself feel at home!”
Table of Contents
Refresh The Sheets
Fresh bed sheets are a must when having guests stay over. Launder your guest bedroom sheets, pillowcases and comforter. That’ll make the bed extra soft and comfortable, not to mention nice smelling!
Clear The Desk Area
Your guests may need to get some work done while they are visiting. If so, they will need an area where they can set up their laptop, notebook, and other necessary materials. Clear off the desk in the guest room so it is only equipped with the bare necessities. For example, the desk lamp can stay, but the framed family photos taking up space on the top of the desk can go for the time being.
Provide The Necessities
When traveling it’s easy to forget some of the essentials at home, especially when packing last minute. Make sure that your guests have everything they need by preparing & stocking up. Here are some hosting must-haves!
Toilet paper
Feminine hygiene products (depending on who is staying over)
Extra toothbrush(s)
Tube of toothpaste
Shampoo & conditioner
Hand soap & body wash
Headache medicine
Did we mention toilet paper? Because that is really important to have when housing company!
Empty The Closet & Drawers
Depending on how long your guests are staying over, they may have a decent amount of clothing with them. To keep wrinkles at bay, and make it easier for your visitors to find the articles of clothing they are looking for, empty out your guest room closet and dresser drawers. It’s never fun as a guest to try and figure out how to squeeze your clothing into a closet and drawers that aren’t yours that are already filled to the brim.
Get Rid Of Common Allergens
Dust builds up quickly, and oftentimes even if you can’t see it, it’s there. Dust gets stuck in carpet fibers, assembles in corners, collects under the bed, sits on top of shelves and other areas. If you have pets, it’s even more imperative that you give the guest room a good vacuuming and through dusting to get rid of lingering pet dander.
Stock Bedside Table Essentials
There are certain things that belong on a bedside table. A lamp should be positioned within arms reach so your guest doesn’t trip and hurt themselves, or have to feel around clumsily in the dark. An alarm clock should be placed on the bedside table to tell the time in case your visitor’s smartphone dies. Many people enjoy having water nearby when they go to sleep in case they wake up in the middle of the night thirsty. To keep water rings to a minimum, provide a coaster!
Make Things Cozy
When you’re away from home it can be hard to feel comfortable in a foreign place, especially sleeping in a bed that isn’t yours. As a host though, you can try your best to make guests feel at home, comfortable and set their visit up for success. Keep a warm throw blanket on the bed or on a chair in the room, leave the newspaper out for them to read, place a rug by the bed (if you have wood floors) so the first thing your guest feels when they wake up isn’t a cold floor, etc.
Other Things To Do
Make sure that the outlet closest to the bed has a few outlets open. Your guest will most likely need to charge their cell phone and/or other devices.
Keep extra pillows and blankets in the guest room closet in case your visitor gets cold in the middle of the night or needs more head support.
Plug a nightlight into an outlet in the hallway that leads to the bathroom so your guests never have to guess where the bathroom is when nature calls.
Give the bathroom your guest will be using a thorough cleaning before they use it.
Set aside clean towels and washcloths for when your guests needs to bathe.
Let your guest know what the WiFi password is so they don’t have to use up their own data.
If you have a front or back patio, clean the patio furniture so your guest can sit outside if they want to.
Make your guests aware of things like how to use the remote control for the TV, how to turn on and off the alarm system when entering and leaving the home, how to use the coffeemaker, what to expect in the mornings if sharing a bathroom, and where to find the snacks when hunger strikes.
Need a safe place to store all of the stuff you cleared out from the guest room and other parts of your home to prepare for overnight visitors? Store them with Zippboxx! We come to you so you never even need to leave the comfort of home, or disrupt your cleaning spree!
Rob Marchese is one of the founders of Zippboxx Moving and Storage. Since the start of the company it's been Rob's mission to change the way the moving industry is perceived. The number one goal is to make the moving and storage process as stress free as possible for each and every customer. "The way we do this is by honesty, transparency, and providing a high quality of service."