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Prepping Your Home for Holiday Guests

The Hooker Furniture Bedroom Sunset Point King Fretwork Panel Bed is an awesome bed for your guest room.

The Hooker Furniture Bedroom Sunset Point King Fretwork Panel Bed is an awesome guest room bed.

As cliché as it may sound, Christmas is literally just around the corner and it’s that time of the year to clean up and prepare the different rooms and areas in your home. You have to know how to divide the tasks among the family members and to make it a fun project rather than a dull one.

Prepare the Guest Room

Christmas also means hosting parties. This means welcoming guests to your home so you also have to prepare the guest bedrooms. Even when you’re not expecting guests, it is best to always expect the unexpected during the holidays. It is common for relatives or friends to suddenly show up so they could celebrate the festive season with you. It may also become impossible to drive home every single guest who will go to your place so, at times, it becomes necessary for some people to spend the night with you. This, all the more, makes guest bedroom prepping a must.

It is also imperative to change the sheets to make sure that the beds smell fresh and clean. Use a gentle detergent in washing duvet covers and sheets. Wash them separately from your other pieces of clothing; this is to avoid having small items caught among the sheets.

Another step in preparing the guest room is to vacuum and polish. This becomes doubly important if the guest room is not used most times of the year. Rooms that are unoccupied for longer periods tend to gather dust so be sure to check them and clean up.

Put a potted houseplant in the room to increase the level of serenity inside that room.

Make space also for a wardrobe, a drawer or two, and a nightstand where the guest can place his keys, coins or some reading materials. Be sure to check the wardrobes as these become the home for mold when moisture somehow seeps in.

Learn to Prioritize

The perfect time to clean up is not hours before your guests arrive. Clean up the guest room drawers, linen closets, the dining room and the den days before the guests are expected to arrive. Remove any unnecessary items from coffee tables, countertops, ottomans, and other furniture. Should you run out of time, just bag the unwanted items and store them temporarily in the basement or in the attic.

The time to sort and arrange is when your guests say their farewells.

Consider Safety

An important part of preparing your home for your holiday guests is to invest in ample lighting. Exterior lighting should be working just as well as the interior lights. If you can, add motion-activated lights in bathrooms, hallways and bedrooms to ensure a zero accident holiday.

Prepare your home further by child proofing it. You might not have kids at home but your guests might bring theirs with them. Ask the parents to bring cabinet locks and baby gates if you’re not willing to invest in these items. Put all medicines and toxic cleaners inside cabinets. Be sure to hide lighters and matches.

Freshen also the smoke detector batteries. Run a fire drill when your guests arrive so that they know where to exit should fire ensue.

CYNTHIA ROWLEY FOR HOOKER FURNITURE DINNER AT EIGHT DINING TABLE with 2-18IN LEAVES: The dining room should be uncluttered and tidy during your guests' visit.

CYNTHIA ROWLEY FOR HOOKER FURNITURE DINNER AT EIGHT DINING TABLE with 2-18IN LEAVES: The dining room should be uncluttered and tidy during your guests’ visit.

Prepare the Kitchen

The kitchen is going to be a busy room this season so increase the storage and place a pot rack where hot, cooked foods can be placed before being brought to the dining room. Move the coffeemaker to the family room in order to avoid guests crowding the kitchen.

Place extra chairs and stools for people who love to chat even while you’re cooking.

Other Upgrades

Apart from these preparations, you can also upgrade the foyer by repainting old doors. Polish metal door hardware and hinges. Erase the scratches on stairs, hardwood floors and wood railings. Have a welcome rug placed at your home entrance. Lastly, add a storage bench where the guests can place their shoes and boots.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2016 at 10:00 am and is filed under Home Maintenance, Interior Design 101, Special Rooms In Your Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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