Preparing for overnight guests
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With the holidays approaching, there are so many things to consider. Hard to believe we’re only a couple of months away from Christmas and only one month away from Thanksgiving. Christmas decorations have already been in stores for weeks, which for me, takes away a little of the excitement. I say “a little” because I absolutely love the holidays, so nothing can really squash all of my excitement.We are embarking on the time of year when we’re surrounded by food and lots of it; we are surrounded by people at the many holiday meals and parties; then there’s the shopping and lots of that; and the beautiful decorations inside and out. But let’s not forget about the overnight guests. These are people that you not only invite to attend your holiday party, but you’ve asked them to stay over in order to share even more quality time with them. So, these are pretty special people and you want them to have a great experience during their stay.
Well, I have such an occasion coming up and I’ll take you along while I prepare for their stay. Our guests are very busy in their daily lives and we consider it an honor that they’ll take time away from their schedules and spend some down time with us. They are such givers and work tirelessly to pour into others. I look forward to planning their “getaway” to our home.
This is not an easy task because this means that not one area of our home can go untouched. Cleaning from top to bottom is already underway. They’re either coming after Thanksgiving or before Christmas. So there’s my timeline. We have set our deadline for November 16th. This includes closets, cabinets, baseboards and blinds.
I am in the “less is more” stage of my life which makes letting go of things easier than I have been able to do before now. What a relief to be able to bag up items and donate to a charitable organization so someone else can enjoy our gently used items. All of this clearing out takes time, so I recommend that you start now. Please don’t wait until a week or so out. If you wait, you’ll be overwhelmed. A week out, you’ll want to start laundering the bed linens, shower liner, and the new towels. If you don’t already have these things on hand, your shopping list should include towels, hand soap, bottled water, snacks, toothbrushes, small mouthwash, cups. Since I typically pack my own soap and shampoo when traveling, I save the extra toiletries from my hotel stays. Your guests will appreciate having them available. White fluffy robes are an extra touch. This adds a spa like feel for your guests. The day of their arrival, you may want to use linen spray on the comforter and pillow shams. Be careful not to spray directly on the pillows in case they’re sensitive to certain fragrances. Always have freshly laundered blankets on the closet shelf in case they prefer a blanket. Check light bulbs in the ceiling light as well as the bedside lamps. A thick mattress cover provides added comfort underneath the freshly laundered cotton sheets. If they like to watch tv in bed, you should make sure the tv has access to a variety of channels or at the least, provide a roku or fire stick with the login info available. Provide a printout of your wi-fi passcode on the dresser or bedside table. Remember to ensure that your printer is operational in case they have to do some work during their stay.
For our guests, I’ll be refreshing my daughter’s old room. Over the years, this room has become a storage unit for unwanted and forgotten items. Time to declutter. It is long, long, long overdue.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll chime back in to show my progress and give you any additional ideas that have come to mind. But for now, its time to clean, clean, and clean some more. Please keep in mind that you’ll have to carve out windows of time in order to get this done and avoid the pitfalls of holiday stress. This should be an enjoyable time and you don’t want to be exhausted when your guests arrive.
Pace yourself and you’ll be fine.