Holidays

Holidays can be a bit stressful when entertaining or having overnight guests. Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare your home! Below are steps to get your home in shape as well as tips to make your guests a bit independent. A little independence can be completed when questions are answered before they’re asked.

Unless you have time, don’t focus on the entire house, just the areas your guests will be encountering. Tackle one area or room at a time.

Repeat the following steps for each area or room:

1. Declutter: Label 3 bins or boxes as Giveaway, Throwaway, and Put Away (for items that belong in another room). Then begin filling up the bins.
2. Tidy: Straighten items that may have been bumped or moved such as accessories, walling hangings, cushions, furniture, window treatments, etc.

Tips:

Entry Way: This is the area your guest will see first. Make it welcoming with holiday decorations and a great scent.

Coat Closet: Add extra hangers for guests. If more space is needed in the closet, temporarily move out-of-season coats to another closet.

Living Room: Have your guest WIFI password on display. Put the information on a cute tent card (a thicker piece of paper folded in half) or in a picture frame.

Under the TV remote leave instructions on how to use the remote, as well as a list of go-to channels, and how to access apps such as Disney+.

Dining Room: Set the table days in advance.

Kitchen: Be sure to clear papers and mail from your counters and table.

Free up space for holiday food shopping by tossing expired food items in your cabinets or pantry. This is an easy job to delegate to a child!

If using disposable cups, write labels with each guest’s name. Place the sheet of labels near the cups for each person to place on theirs. This will eliminate confusion over whose cup is whose.

Powder Room – Stock with extra toilet paper and guest towels. Put a note on display for noteworthy items as “Trash Can Under Sink.”

Guest Bathroom – If you don’t regularly use your guest bathroom, shower and get ready in it to see if any challenges present. Consider leaving a note for tasks that a guest might struggle with like how to operate the shower.

Have amenities ready for items your guests may forget such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, or shower cap. Place shampoo, conditioner, and soap in the shower.

For an added touches, put amenities in a decorative basket and create a decorative fold on the toilet paper. You can Google many creative folds. Folds can be done ahead of time on multiple rolls. Place these rolls under the sink. The folding task can be delegated to a child.

Guest Bedroom: Sleep in your guest bedroom ahead of time to see if anything is of concern like an unexpected noise or light coming in the window. This way you can rectify it ahead of time.

Make room for guest clothes in the closet and empty out a dresser drawer for use.

Create a reference book with household and local information. You can include instructions on how to work the TV or fan remote, favorite restaurants, parks to walk or jog in, favorite places to visit, and websites for local events and entertainment.

Happy organizing and holidays to all!