Crucial Things You Need To Do Before Houseguests Arrive

Opening your home to houseguests can be fun and rewarding for a number of reasons. If you live far away from your family, then it allows you to spend some quality time with them. If you’re in need of an income boost, then you can generate some extra cash by charging guests to stay in your house.

Whoever is staying at your home and for whatever reason they are staying there, making sure that they enjoy their time with you is of the utmost importance. With that in mind, here are ten crucial things that you need to do to prepare your home before your new houseguests arrive.

Crucial Things You Need To Do Before Houseguests Arrive

1. Conduct A Deep Clean

Mess and grime are major sources of stress. So you can only imagine how uncomfortable your houseguests are going to feel if they arrive at your home to find it dirty and untidy. To provide a more pleasant stay, you must take the time to deep clean every room in your house, especially the guest bedroom. Take out the trash just before guests arrive. Vacuum all the floors, and wipe down all the surfaces. You also need to remember to wash the extra towels and sheets.

2. Clear Out Your Clutter

Dedicating a whole room to houseguests when there aren’t any staying with you can seem wasteful. This is why many people use their guest bedrooms as storage spaces when they don’t have any additions to their household. When you do have an overnight stay planned, however, you must remember to clear your belongings out of your guests’ space. If all of your things are covering the floor and filling up the closets, then your visitor is going to feel out of place and unwanted.

3. Stock The Basic Essentials

Packing is a stressful and often rushed process. This means that your houseguests may forget one or two things that they need throughout their stay. Thankfully, a good host or hostess always has plenty of what their guests need. From spare toothbrushes to extra phone chargers, you must make sure that you leave these essentials in your guest bedroom so that they don’t need to rush to a store to buy their own. You should also fill the fridge and check you have enough toiletries.

4. Ask About Any Allergies

A trip to the ER is the last thing that you or your houseguests want during their stay with you. To keep this from happening, you should check with your visitors before they arrive to see if they have any allergies that you need to be aware of. Some guests may not be able to eat certain foods. Others may be sensitive to specific soaps. You may even discover that your guest has a pet allergy, which means that you may need to find your furry friend a temporary place to stay.

5. Add Some Calming Features

Sleeping in someone else’s home can be difficult for some people. Because of this, you should do all that you can to help your houseguests relax. Decorating with plants is one way to go about this. For those lacking in green thumbs, air plants can be the way to go. If you’re wondering what are air plants, then take a closer look at the name. They can grow without soil, as they receive their nutrients through the air. You should also decorate with blues and other calming colors.

6. Find Plenty Of Entertainment

Not all houseguests who stay with you are going to spend all of their time in your company. They are going to want and need some time to themselves now and then. To make this easier and more fun for them, you should find and provide them with plenty of entertainment. Books, magazines, televisions, and games consoles are all sure to be gratefully received. You should also lay out some tourist brochures for them if they want to go off exploring the local area on their own for a while.

7. Offer A Festive Touch

Houseguests will come to stay with you whatever the time of year. But, if your loved ones are visiting for a specific holiday, then it makes sense to decorate your home appropriate for the occasion. Those visiting in the fall should be welcomed by pumpkins and autumn wreaths. Spring decor may consist of colorful eggs and daffodils. You may not normally decorate your home for these holidays, but doing so now can help guests to feel a little more welcomed.

8. Make A Spare Key

When you only have one key for your home, it makes life a lot trickier for you and your guests. You either need to go out together all the time or make sure that one of you is always home to open the door for the other. You could always leave the key somewhere hidden, but this risks it being found and your home being broken into. To remedy this problem, you should make a spare key for when visitors stay over. This allows you both your freedom, making everyone happier.

9. Write A Welcome Note

Writing a short welcome note for your houseguests shows them that their visit is a delight, rather than an imposition. It also allows you the opportunity to share with them any important information that they may need to be aware of. You could tell them the wifi password, for example, and explain where they can find extra towels, blankets, and other essentials. If you have an itinerary, this can be detailed here too. By writing this note, it ensures that nothing is forgotten by either of you.

10. Prepare A Small Snack

Houseguests wouldn’t come and stay with you if they had a house of their own nearby. This means that their journey to your home was probably a long one. Your visitors may have faced stress along the way, and probably wouldn’t have had time to eat anything substantial. Because of this, it’s important that you prepare a small snack for when they arrive. Sandwiches, chips, and nuts should be plenty to satisfy your new visitors until you have the chance to cook them a real meal.

No matter who your houseguests are, following the advice above can ensure that their stay is an enjoyable one.