Getting Your House Ready
1. Clean your home.
Start preparing for guests by cleaning. A clean home will be welcoming. Focus on areas where your guests will spend time, like the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and entryway. Dust, vacuum, clean surfaces, and get rid of clutter.
- If you’re having overnight guests, change the linens on the bed where they will sleep.
- Put out clean towels in the bathroom.
2. Stock up on supplies.
Make sure you’ll have everything you need while your guests are in your home. Buy enough food, drink, and other necessities, like tissues. You’ll feel more prepared and confident knowing that you won’t run out of anything.
- Check your supplies of toilet paper, soap, napkins, and other essentials.
- Make a shopping list based on your menus and any supplies you need to restock so you don’t forget anything when you shop.
3. Check the details.
Whether your guests are coming for a party or a weekend, you want to verify that things work. For your party, make sure that the equipment you want to use for playing music works and can be amplified. Also check that games have all of their pieces. For your overnight guests, check that lamps have lightbulbs, clocks are set correctly, and remotes have batteries.
- This is a great time to fix major things aren’t working, like plumbing that is stopped up or a broken step on your porch. If you can’t fix them in time, be sure to warn your guests and have a backup plan.
4. Organize your space.
Your guests will arrive with gifts for hosts, coats, purses, and luggage if they are staying overnight. Plan where you want these to go while you’re entertaining. Take care of your guests’ things as soon as they walk in the door so they will immediately feel welcome.
- Set aside a space for your luggage on the surface like a trunk or the floor of a closet. You can even invest in a luggage rack. This will help guests stay organized.
- Make space in dressers and closets for your overnight guests.
5. Plan your guest list.
If you are having a party, invite people who you think will get along, appreciate the invitation, and enjoy the party. Plan your guest list so everyone can fit comfortably in your home. For example, if you’re throwing a dinner party, decide how you want to seat guests and if you’ll have enough chairs. When you plan for overnight guests, only invite the number of people you can reasonably accommodate.
- Consider throwing a few smaller parties if you have a small space and a long guest list.
6. Tell guests exactly how long you can host them.
If you are worried about guests overstaying their welcome, specify how long you are inviting them for. For example, give specific dates to overnight guests. And when you issue party invitations, state exact start and end times.
- If you don’t want overnight guests for more than a weekend, you could say, “We are so pleased you can visit us. We will be able to host you the weekend of the 10th to the 12th and would love to have you visit then.
