CHICAGO PLANNER MAGAZINE

Having people stay over?  Be prepared with our house guest checklist so your guests can enjoy themselves and you can maintain your sanity.

IN THE ROOM

Make your guests comfortable while planning ahead.  Having things they may need already available to them in the bedroom can make your guests feel more at ease.  Don’t make them feel like they have to trouble you for anything basic.  This also relieves you of those additional responsibilities while hosting.  Here are some things to consider when prepping a guest bedroom:

• Freshly made bed with extra blankets
• Small Trash Can 
• Allow space for their things (this can be a chair or table for luggage, space in the closet with hangers and/or empty drawers in a dresser)
• By the Night Stand
  • Check the lightbulbs on the lamp
  • Provide a universal charger
  • Bottled Water
  • Tissues
  • Wi-Fi password 

 

IN THE BATHROOM

Make sure your bathroom is properly stocked.  Have plenty of extra toilet paper and soap, hand towels, and air freshner.

Provide Toiletries.  Have extra tooth brushes, floss, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo and conditioner available to guests.  Any additional items like hair dryers are a great added touch but not necessary.

Layout Towels.  If guests will be sharing your bathroom, layout towels in their room but if guests will be enjoying a more private bathroom, have plenty of towels available to them upon arrival so they may freshen up at their leisure.

IN THE KITCHEN

Food.  It’s great to have a nice variety of food available but most likely guests will be eating outside of your home for lunch and dinner.  Focus on having a nice variety of breakfast items like bagels, cereals and fruits – particularly things that they can grab and take with them.  Usually people go out and explore and are out during lunch and dinner hours – don’t feel responsible for preparing for every meal for your guests.

Beverages. Be sure to have more to offer your guests than tap water.  Stock up on a small variety of options such as juice, teas, coffee and even beer or wine.

PETS & CHILDREN

If you have pets and/or children, make an effort to keep them out of your guests’ space.  If your guests are brining pets and/or children, discuss with them ahead of time your house rules and ensure that there is an understanding about what may be needed to accommodate them.  Kids will be kids so it helps keeping doors locked to no-no areas and ensuring that you’ve made efforts to keep your home child-proof  (i.e. put that glass vase from the living room safely secured in a closet).

OTHER SPACES & HOUSE RULES

Everyone’s heard of nosey neighbors but sometimes guests can be worse.  Make it clear that this is your home, especially for people you may not be as close to (because we all know that we’re cool if our BFF raids our fridge) and be upfront about any boundaries you may have.  An easy yet friendly way to do this is to give them a tour rather than showing them directly to their room when they arrive.   Not only does this set boundaries, but for anyone who may not have been to your home before, they will know where things are.

If you have preferences for shared spaces such as a living room you can establish if you prefer guests not to have the tv on past a certain hour or anything you may not want them to touch (i.e. cable settings, etc).  “We normally go to bed at 11 so we don’t have the tv on past that.”

For private spaces, let your guests know that it is important to you that they not enter your space by politely but explicitly saying so.   Ensure this is emphasized by keeping any doors to that space closed and do not bringing your guests into that space during the tour.  For example walk past your closed bedroom door and say “This is our bedroom with a private bathroom.  If you think you may need any additional towels or toiletries, we would ask that you respect our privacy and please ask me for anything may you need.”  If you do this from the beginning, guests know what is expected of them and everyone will have a much better time.