Preparing Your Home for Overnight Visitors

Your home is your comfort zone; a place where you can unwind at the end of a long day, but is your home ready to accept overnight visitors? Follow these easy steps and be prepared for them.

Perform a thorough cleaning of the entire house.  Vacuum every inch of carpet and rugs and sweep and mop all the other floor coverings.  Use disinfectant to clean all counter tops and bathrooms.  Change the air filter in the hallway return.  Make sure each room of the house is as clean as it can possibly be.  Adjust the thermostat temperature to the most comfortable setting for the current season.  If you have pets, find out whether your guest has any pet allergies so that you’ll know whether or not to keep them separated.

Wash and fold your best towels and leave enough stacked in the bathroom for each day that your visitor will be there.  Prepare a basket with soap, shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste, and shaving supplies, in case they forget a few things.  Buy plenty of snacks and drinks and have them chilled well in advance.  Rent a few movies as back-up entertainment and leave them near the television.  If your visitor has given you any special gifts in the past, find them, dust them off, and leave them out on display to show how much you appreciate the gift.

Create a guest account on your computer and be sure to leave the computer logged into that account so that your visitor may check their email and use the Internet without having access to your personal files and information.  It is a good idea to create a restore point on computers running Windows operating system and back up any important files to external storage devices.  Lock all filing cabinets and search the house for documents like bank statements or personal mail and put all of it away.  Now is a good time to shred any old documents that you no longer need.

When your guest arrives, give them a short tour of the house and show them to their room.  Keep the house quiet and give them plenty of time to unpack and relax.  Offer them refreshments and tell them where to find you when they are ready.  If you will be eating out, prepare a list of restaurants in advance and allow your guest to choose their favorite type of food.  Enjoy your time together without worrying about the condition of your home and without the stress of making last-minute decisions.