Making your house presentable for other people is pretty stressful. Whether it’s parents visiting around the holidays or friends coming from out-of-town, knowing what you need to do to ensure they are comfortable is tough. Take a deep breath and learn the best ways to prepare your home for overnight guests.
Fresh Linens and Pillows
Regardless of whether you can provide an entire guest room for visitors or let them crash on your couch, it would help if you had blankets and pillows available for them. Try to have at least one pillow per person available and check if they need more pillows or extra blankets if it gets cold.
Have Extra Towels Available
You’ll want to avoid any embarrassing moments where someone must walk out of the shower and ask for a towel. Make sure you have plenty of extra towels available in easy-to-reach parts of your home. You can leave them hanging on the door of bathrooms or lay them down on guest beds, so they don’t forget.
Grab Various Toiletries
You never know what people can bring with them when they’re traveling away from home. Pick up various travel-sized toiletries like shampoo or makeup remover that you can leave in an accessible area. You might also want to grab some feminine hygiene products just in case.
Clean up Common Areas
When you know you’ll have guests staying for at least one night, pay extra attention to aspects of your home that you’ve neglected for one reason or another. We can become so accustomed to our hectic lifestyles that it is easy to overlook dishes piling up in the sink or clutter scattered about the living room. Take the time to thoroughly clean places such as your refrigerator, bathrooms, and other shared areas so that your home seems more welcoming to guests and yourself.
Leave Games Out
Depending on the situation, you might have people staying over while you’ve got to work or run out of the house. Try to leave some entertainment options out in the open like board games, toys, and televisions that can preoccupy families or friends, especially when they have kids. You might even want to join in on the fun when you get back.
Talk With Them
One of the simplest and best ways to prepare your home for overnight guests is to have a conversation with the people staying over. Ask them if there’s anything you can do to help them settle in as best you can. The more you communicate with each other, the better your experiences will be.
You don’t need to prepare your home as if you’re running a hotel, but a little consideration for other people’s needs goes a long way in making sure everyone is happy while they’re with you.