Relatives Traveling Over? Here’s How To Make Your House Guest-Ready
Having relatives visit you can be an exciting time, especially if it’s people you haven’t seen for a significant amount of time. However, if they’re planning to stay at your home for a few days, you’ll need to prepare the house accordingly.
If you’re not prepared for having houseguests over, you may soon find that your daily routine is adversely affected, especially in terms of your work schedule or your children’s activities. To make things easier for you, here’s a quick look at how to make your home guest-ready before your relatives arrive.
Plan Your Meals
Create a schedule of what meals you will serve your guests. This doesn’t mean all meals you plan have to be homemade – you can plan ahead for ordering takeout as well. Additionally, you can add space and book a reservation for when you plan on taking your guests to dine out. Asking your guests what they’d like to eat can help you buy the right groceries before they arrive.
A meal plan doesn’t mean you can’t deviate from it as needed – it simply means that if you’re unsure of what to make or order, you’ll have the schedule to fall back on, making things run much smoother in your home.
Plan the Visit
Aside from planning meals, you should also consider planning what you can do with your houseguests. There are several easy, fun, and relatively inexpensive activities you can do with your loved ones. Again, your list doesn’t have to be followed without question, but it does make scheduling things much easier for everyone involved.
You can also include in-home activities, such as having an impromptu dinner party where everyone cooks something, a movie night for all ages, and if there are young children involved, you can look into a few backyard party items for an afternoon, like a bouncy castle or water slide. You may even be able to find adult-sized versions so you can join in on the fun!
Get the Bedroom Ready
If your guests are going to stay in your home for a few nights, they will need a comfortable bedroom – and most importantly, a quality mattress. Not only will this offer more comfort for your loved ones, City Mattress points out that good mattresses are also responsible for major health benefits, simply due to the fact that they improve their users’ sleeping experience. If you don’t have a bedroom prepared or only have an old mattress to offer, now would be the time to look for an upgrade.
You’ll also need to get the rest of the room ready. If you’re offering guests a bedroom that you use on a regular basis, clear away your personal belongings to make room for theirs. You may not be able to empty it of all your things, but you should create space in the wardrobe and offer them an empty drawer they can use. This will allow them to unpack properly instead of simply living out of their suitcase.
Similar care should be applied to the ensuite bathroom if the bedroom has one. Remove personal items, especially personal hygiene items, so that your guests have space to place their own toiletries. You can even consider buying some basic toiletries they can use, like shampoos, body washes, and towels. However, make sure these are new and unused.
Additionally, depending on how long your guests will be staying, consider setting out a laundry bag they can use. This is essential if they plan to stay for a week or more, though it probably won’t be necessary if they’re only there for a night or two before continuing their journey.
Clean Your Home
If you’ve got guests coming over, you need to make sure every part of your home is spotless. Make sure you have a checklist you can refer to so that you don’t forget anything. After all, you want to put your best foot forward, and that’s where a gleaming home comes in.
Additionally, a clean home makes it more likely that your guests will be comfortable in your home. They won’t have to stumble across any crumbs or approach you about dirty pillow cases – you’ll have taken care of all of that, ensuring you don’t have to deal with any awkward situations.
Ensure Food and Water are Available
Make sure your guests have food and water easily available, so they don’t have to look for you whenever they feel peckish. Keep a pitcher of water near their bedside, ensuring it’s filled on their first day at yours.
Additionally, make sure you have ample snacks that they can find easily – let them know where you’ve kept them from the start, so they don’t need to worry about interrupting your daily routine.
Offer a Key
If your guests are staying at yours for a long period of time, consider offering them a copy of your home key. This will allow them to come and go as necessary, without having to ensure that you’re at home to open the door for them when they return.
Of course, this varies depending on your personal preferences. Some people are not comfortable giving people outside their direct household a copy of their home key, especially if the relatives staying over aren’t very close to you. So, giving them 24/7 access to your home is entirely up to you.
Leave a Travel Guide
Are your relatives staying over for a couple of weeks or longer? No matter how much you prepare for their trip, you won’t be able to be by their side every moment of their stay. Instead, create a short travel guide highlighting some of your favorite things to do around the city.
This will allow them to explore the place without depending on you while also ensuring they have the best time possible.
Having guests over can be extremely stressful, especially during the days before they arrive at your home. However, with a little bit of preparation, you’ll soon find that they slip into your daily routine as though they had always been part of your household.
- by Matt Watts
