Guest Room 911
Guest Room 911!
Yipes! Guests coming for the holidays? Does that mean your favorite storage space will now actually have to be used for guests? What can you do – and fast – to make your guest room habitable? Here are five quick things to make that room comfortable – I’ve been a guest as well as a hostess many many times, and I’ve put together these thoughts to make sure your guests have a happy, relaxing visit and aren’t cranky and tired at the Thanksgiving table!
Quick – check the mattress. Is it one left over from your kids’ childhoods? Is it one Grandma left you? Would you sleep on it? Does it smell funny? Sleep in your guest room one night and that will tell you. It’s so easy to order a mattress by phone and online. The most important thing your guests want is a good night’s sleep and the mattress is the number one thing that will give them that.
Storage space – is there room for them to hang a dress or suit so their clothes don’t look wrinkled at Thanksgiving dinner? Move stuff to your own closet temporarily to give them some space. How about an iron and ironing board in the closet? And please – clear off some flat surfaces to make sure they have somewhere to put their things – cell phones, jewelry, wallets and the like.
Do they have to share a bathroom with your teenagers? Give your guests a place to put their own toiletries. Give your kids a couple of buckets to stash their stuff. If space is tight give one to your guests too. Give each guest their own towels – that means towel, hand towel, washcloth and bathmat!
Ditch the dried flowers that have been sitting there since the first Bush administration. Also make sure the chairs can actually be sat on. Were you planning to re-cane or fix them? Right now is a good time. Or at least get them out of there.
Make sure it’s clean. Yes, you know that. Clean sheets too. If they haven’t been used for a while they could be musty. Don’t forget about a wastebasket.
Extra credit: books or current magazines, pitcher of water and glasses, luggage rack.
In my upcoming blog posts I’ll expand on this topic and talk about some real changes you can make to make your guest rooms a real place for guests. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!