Organizing Your Guest Room
20 Dec
Making Guests Feel At Home… In Your Home
You’ve attended the kids’ holiday concert at school, your spouse’s office party, and spent countless hours shopping & prepping for this joyous season. While hosting out of town relatives or friends make the holidays even more special, if you’re not prepared, it can also add a ton of stress to an already insanely busy time of year. With that in mind, here’s a few Wiggle Room tips for making your house guests feel welcome and comfortable during their stay:
Get the guest room ready, and don’t forget the little touches:
Make the bed with clean sheets. An extra blanket at the foot of the bed will make them feel cozy and comfortable, and an extra set of pillows in the closet or in an under bed box is a nice touch, too. Add a few books and current magazines on the nightstand for before bed reading.
Test the air mattress:
If your extra bed is an air mattress, don’t wait until your guests are at the door to blow it up. Test it ahead of time and keep it inflated overnight to make sure there aren’t any slow leaks– all too common with air mattresses!
Have a suitcase stand handy:
A luggage rack actually keeps me more organized when I’m living out of a suitcase! It’s an
inexpensive addition to your guest room, and particularly nice for older guests who might have trouble reaching their suitcase if it’s on the floor.
Make some room in the closet:
The guest room closet is a great asset for off-season storage most of the year, but as an out-of-the-way space, it is also a prime candidate for clutter and disorder. Make sure that there’s enough room for your guests to hang their clothes, or make space in another closet that’s easy for them to access. (And if those closets need some serious help, it’s not too late to book an appointment with Wiggle Room!)
Make a toiletries basket:
Gather all those hotel mini bottles and dentist office freebies you’ve accumulated and display them in a basket for your guests to use. Have shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, along with a clean washcloth or bath poof.
Set out spare towels:
Using ones that are a different color than your own lets guests know which towels are theirs.
Stock the kitchen:
Nothing makes me feel more welcome than when my host knows what I like for breakfast, and stocks the fridge (nor guiltier when they’ve bought every imaginable food item, for me, when I just want a banana 😉 ). Find out what your guests like, then have plenty of it on hand. Ditto for afternoon snacks.
Make a spare key:
Hide it if your fam is arriving when you’ll be out of the house. If they’ll be coming and going on their own during their visit, a spare key will simplify logistics!
Create a list of important phone numbers:
While this type of list is great to have all year round, a list of important numbers is especially useful for guests, should anything go awry while you’re out. Along with the police, fire department, and nearest hospital, include numbers for your plumber and handyman. The locations and hours of the nearest grocery store and pharmacy will be appreciated by guests that aren’t familiar with the neighborhood, especially if they’re staying in your house without you!
Write down household instructions:
My grandmother always left post-it notes for how to work the TV and VCR. In this age of increasingly complex electronics, this practice is more important than ever! Writing down instructions for the TV/remote(s), WiFi, alarm system, etc., will make things easier for you and your guests.
