Making Room for Holiday Guests

Around the holidays, families and friends often get together at one home. Since you’re reading this, we’re guessing that’s going to be your home this year. When hosting for Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years, you may have a few people from out of town staying with you.

Here are some simple things you can do to ensure your home and spare bedroom are ready for your guests.

Short-Term Storage

When you have a guest bedroom, it can easily become cluttered when people aren’t visiting. It’s a convenient place to put things from extra clothes to craft supplies and more.

If you’re going to have guests staying for a few nights or more, or maybe visiting several times during the season, you’re going to need to put those items somewhere else. self storage is a handy solution. You probably won’t need to rent anything larger than a 5x5 unit for two or three months.

Look up a few nearby facilities, peruse their prices, and check them out in person. Choose one you like. Pack up the extra items in the guest bedroom, including items taking up valuable closet space, so you can take them to your new storage unit.

The Entryway

Before we get back to the guest bedroom, consider your entryway. You and your family may put your shoes by the door and hang your coats in the entry closet. Make sure there’s enough room in the closet for your guest to hang their coats and bags. You may need to pack a few items from the closet to free up that space. Those items can go to storage as well.

If you have many pairs of shoes by the door, you may need a shoe bench. This will not only give you and your visitors a nice place to put your shoes, but somewhere to sit when putting them on.

If you need more room for coats, hats, and bags, consider getting an extra rack to place them on, which can go near the closet.

Dressing Up the Guest Room

Now that we have the entryway figured out, let’s get back to the guest bedroom. Here’s where you can make your out-of-town visitors feel especially welcome. Start by vacuuming or sweeping, and generally making the room tidy. Change the bedsheets, and have a fresh set ready nearby.

If the room has a dresser, empty it and put the contents in storage. Your guests will be able to put their own clothing in it so they don’t have to live out of their suitcases for the duration of their stay. Make sure you have extra hangers in the closet, so they can hang clothes that don’t fold well.

On the dresser, leave a card with handy information. This can include your home’s wifi name and password, phone numbers for family members they may not have, emergency numbers, and so on. Also, leave an extra house key on a keychain, so they know they can come and go as they please. You might also want to include some toiletries, like good razors, toothbrushes, and travel-sized soap, shampoo, and lotion.

If you want to do a little extra, leave a box of their favorite candy or chocolates on the bed, put out some flowers, our put up some seasonal decorations. Ask if they prefer their bedroom to be warm or cool. Put a few blankets with the extra sheets so that if they get too cold at night, they can add the blankets without having to wake anyone up.

The Dining Room

Finally, you’re going to have more people at your table, not only during the actual holiday, but during the time your stay-over guests are there. If your table expands with a leaf, make sure you know where it is. You may also need to get a folding table and an extra tablecloth, as well as some folding chairs. Now, maybe you already have a storage unit and have those things tucked away there. If so, it’s time to take them home.

Finally, take your packed items to storage, where you can keep them over the season, and retrieve them when the holidays are over. Most self storage facilities rent by the month, so you can keep your things there as long as you need to, and move out when ready.

We hope you and your guests have a wonderful holiday season!