Having guests to stay is great, when you’re prepared. Otherwise it’s a stressful experience that can make you not enjoy seeing them as much as you should.
So, if you want to know how to make sure your home is ready at all times, and to avoid that stress and welcome them with a smile – then you’re in the right place!
If you have guests to visit, then read on to find out all the tips and tricks that will make your home ready at all times – it’s just about a little organisation (of course!).
GUEST READY – FOOD
Whether guests are staying for an hour or a week, you will want to be able to offer them something to eat.
As such, why not have a few things ready in your freezer for just those occasions: –
- When you next make a meal, make double and freeze one so you can pull out a lovely homemade meal quickly and easily. This works really well for meals like lasagne, stews, bolognese etc…
- Have an easy pudding to hand – ice cream is always a winner for kids and adults alike, sorbet works well as well. You can also have an apple pie or crumble ready and waiting if those take your fancy!
- Stuck for snacks? – make some cookie dough and freeze in discs – that way you can get out what you need and bake them so they are fresh out of the oven – perfect for when you love to bake fresh for guests but have no time.
- Cupcakes freeze well and you can eat plain or add toppings that you have in the cupboards/fridge.
GUEST READY – HOME
One of the other things that makes life easier is to clean your home so that it is guest ready most of the time.
Do this more easily by: –
- Splitting chores up over the week, so that there is ever a time when it all needs doing.
- Prioritising downstairs over upstairs (guests who stay over and need to be upstairs usually will give you notice)
- Knowing which rooms you can close off should you need to (make the rooms you have guests in the main priority)
You will also need a few essentials in the house for your guests: –
- Towels – ensure you have 2 towels for each guest. One great tip is to have guests towels that are a different colour to your towels, so that everyone can clearly see who is whose when the bathroom gets full!
- Space for coats / shoes and bags – whether this be in the hall or in their room, make sure they have enough storage otherwise they will feel like they are imposing.
Who knew there was so much you could do up front to prep for guests – and that’s just the start…
Next we will look at the actual guest bedroom, what guests need when you aren’t there, and even more….
GUEST READY – BEDROOM
Whether you have a dedicated guest bedroom or not, you can still get ahead of the game by planning for guests ahead of time to ensure that everything is ready to go when they arrive.
GUEST BEDROOM
- Stay one night in your guest bedroom to check that you have a good nights sleep. Only this way can you work out whether there are any issues. Think about light, bed comfort, sounds, storage, hanging space etc… and correct anything that doesn’t work very well.
- Keep extra blankets/feather and non feather pillows (some guests may be allergic to feathers) so that they can be comfortable.
- Strip the bed after a guest has stayed and wash everything ready for your next guests. Depending on how often you have guests over you may want to keep the bed made up with fresh bedding ready to go.
- Have some mini toiletries in the room in case they forget anything – these can be picked up on your travels (hotel toiletries that you don’t use when you are there are perfect – or you can buy from places such as Boots**)
- Have some magazines / books to hand so that they have something to read and occupy themselves if they wake up early. The guest bedroom is actually an ideal place for a bookcase as it makes it a useful place for you as well (guest bedrooms that aren’t used very often can be a real waste of space for homeowners so try and double their use as much as you can so you benefit from the space as well)
NO GUEST BEDROOM
- Work out where guests will sleep when they stay the night. This could be a blow up mattress** or a sofa bed – but make sure that the room you allocate for this use can be as private as possible (as with a separate guest room, stay in this space as a guest would to ensure they are as comfortable as possible).
GUEST READY – WITHOUT YOU THERE!
The other consideration is if you have guests staying then you may not always be there.
Maybe you have to pop out for a while, or you may be away overnight (usually this happens when grandparents stay over to look after the children when you go away – or you may have a friend stay the night to look after pets or something).
Whatever the reason – when you aren’t there, guests need you to have prepared even more!
- Write down how to use things like the TV, Oven, Microwave, Alarm etc…. so that they don’t come unstuck.
- Write down what to do in emergencies (numbers, where things are like the trip switch for electrics, the stop cock for water etc…)
- Write down childrens routines so that there are no arguments about bedtime etc….
- Write down the WI-FI password
- Collect some local takeaway menus – especially ones that deliver
- Make sure you have DVDs that they would enjoy ready to go
- Stock up on favourite food/drink as a thank you – they are doing you a massive favour!
- Make sure you have a spare key that you can give to guests so they can come and go as they want to
GUEST READY – ACTIVITIES
Of course – having guests over may mean you want to do things with them – especially if they are staying for any length of time.
STAYING IN?
Have some board games for kids (adults love these too!), magazines, DVDs etc… that they can use if they would like.
GOING OUT?
Create a folder with leaflets of places that are local to you that your guests may like to visit. Whether it be by themselves or with you, they can look through in the comfort of your home and plan out their time.
So much to get done – but don’t be overwhelmed. Just think of how much easier it will be to have guests stay over once you have sorted all this out.
Not only will you have to spend less time before the visit, but you’ll also be more confident and happy with how they will feel staying with you – because you have stayed there yourself and tested it all out!
All that you need to do now is enjoy having your guests stay – and have fun…