Are you ready to host holiday guests? Even if you don’t have any plans for family or friends to visit, you might want to see if your guest room (or pull-out sofa) is ready for company. You never know who might drop in, or if someone will get stranded overnight at your house due to weather-related problems. Perhaps someone might need to stay the night after over-imbibing at your cocktail party!
QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
- Look over the remaining weeks of this month. Need to make any doctor, dentist or vet appointments? Need a haircut, dye touch-up, hair trim or manicure? Who has a birthday coming up? Do you have a couple of quiet nights at home booked in and solidly enforced (meaning if someone calls to invite you somewhere on that night, you firmly say no, sorry that’s my down time?)
- Anybody in your household need to schedule a haircut so they look nice for Thanksgiving?
- Are you taking holiday pictures? If you take them now, you avoid the crowds and rush. You might even be able to deliver them in person on Thanksgiving!
TODAY’S PROJECT: Guest Room
Today I’m thoroughly cleaning my guest room. I’ll launder the bedding so it isn’t dusty or musty, and I’ll Febreze the curtains and throw pillows.
Next I’ll vacuum the carpet, dust baseboards and closet doors, wash the windows and sill, dust the nightstands and bookcase, and wipe down the lamps.
Is there room in your guest room closet for guests to hang their clothing? Or do you have it cluttered up with stuff you’re storing? Right now I need to remove some toys that need to be sorted and then make their way to the toy box I keep in my living room.
I’m putting a L’Occitane Winter Forest candle (and a book of matches) on top of the bookcase (high enough that visiting toddlers or nosy dogs and cats can’t reach). Hopefully a guest who enjoyed the scent would feel free to light the candle.
I’ll make sure there’s up-to-date bottled water in the room for guests to drink, and a clean glass to drink out of.
I have two lamps, an alarm clock, and a box of Kleenex within easy reach of the bed. I keep a selection of four different sleeping pillows on the bed for someone to choose between. I recently bought some inexpensive ones at Costco. I don’t like to keep a pillow around for more than a couple of years due to dust mites.
Have you ever slept overnight in your guest room so you know if the bed is comfy, the blankets adequate, the pillows restful, the lighting good for reading in bed, and the temperature in the room ideal?
Are you hiding clutter in your guest room (under the bed perhaps?) that needs to be sorted, sold, given away, thrown away or stored elsewhere in your home? I used to store my holiday dishes under the guest bed, but last year I moved them to a bin in my storage area in the garage instead. Now the only thing hiding under my guest bed is the occasional dog-wearied cat.
Right before guests actually arrive (perhaps as soon as next weekend) I’ll spritz the room with just a tiny bit of cinnamon-scented room spray, put fresh flowers in the room, and perhaps a small plate of home baked chocolate chip cookies on the nightstand for guests to help themselves to.
LOVELY BLOGS: Distracted Homemaker
Kezia’s blog, where she shares her love of good food and family meals. I’ve enjoyed her recent posts on her mother making peanut brittle, English toffee, and butterscotch gingerbread.
