5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Guests

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ARM & HAMMER™. The opinions and text are all mine.

With the holiday season approaching, you might be wondering what are some efficient ways to prepare your home for guests. Check out these five!  My husband and I are both huge extroverts, and, for the most part, we live by a “come one, come all” policy when it comes to welcoming guests. 

Over the past two and a half years since we moved into our new home, we’ve been delighted to welcome both faraway family (like my husband’s relatives from Mississippi) and dear friends–college buddies, blogging buddies, and even friends from the time we lived in Costa Rica!

But I have never known whether or not to call myself hospitable:

On the one hand, I find great joy in inviting others into our home.

By nature, however, I am not organized. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. And if I’m 100 percent honest, I tend toward clutter and mess. I am the humbled homemaker, after all! 

Thus, my home is not guest-ready at any given time.

In other words, it takes me work to prepare my home for guests! 

I could wallow in self-pity at my lack of hospitality skills to line up with my enthusiasm to host company, or I can pull up my bootstraps in readying my home for guests when the opportunity to welcome them into our home arises.

I’ve decided to go with the latter. And I’m excited to share what has worked for me to prepare my home for guests.

Without further ado, check out these…

5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Guests

1. Get Caught Up on Laundry.

When I’m behind on laundry, I feel like I’m behind on life! But if I’m caught up on laundry, my mind calms, and I feel like I’m on top of the world!

There’s nothing worse than having to hide laundry piles in every nook and cranny and just hope and pray that your guests will not open that closet door or look under the bed.

Thankfully, I now have an awesome laundry routine which keeps me caught up most of the time, but if I happen to be behind, I make sure I spend the day before guests arrive getting caught up on laundry.

While I have used a variety of laundry detergents over the years and am not particularly brand loyal, I recently had the opportunity to try out the ARM & HAMMER™ plus OxiClean™ Laundry Detergent Power Paks.

Especially when trying to quickly prepare my home for guests, I found that these were effective and convenient (not to mention affordable) because I didn’t have to measure anything or use a stain remover since the OxiClean™ was already included in the power packs.

Making sure you have clean sheets for your guest room bed, and plenty of clean towels is a must before your guests arrive! 

2. Make a trip to the grocery store.

Confession: I’ve done this both ways.

I’ve visited the grocery store before guests have arrived to make sure our fridge and pantry were stocked with plenty of food. However, particularly if I haven’t known our guests’ preferences, I have waited until they have arrived and made a trip out to the store with the female of the family.

Ideally, you can ask and your guests will tell you ahead of time what foods they like or dislike (or cannot eat), and you can make a trip to the supermarket the day before their arrival. 

3. Meal Plan.

If you’ve ever had guests and didn’t have a meal plan, you will know the embarrassment of trying to come up with a menu to feed a crowd at the last minute.

(I’ve SO been there, and trust me: It is not fun!)

Instead, try to at least brainstorm a flexible meal plan before your guests arrive. This can include trips out to restaurants as well! 

4. Deep Clean.

My home is probably the cleanest it ever is right before we host guests.

There is no better excuse to get those baseboards dusted and ceiling fans wiped down than knowing your mother-in-law is about to pay you a visit! 

I’ve found it helps to have someone watch my girls when I’m deep cleaning, and, if you can afford it, hiring someone to help you clean might be a good investment before company arrives.

5. Purchase small gifts for your guests.

My husband is really, really great at this! His love language is gifts, and he also has the true gift of hospitality.

I will think about purchasing a gift for our guests at the last minute. Before I even have time to text message him, he will, nine times out of ten, arrive home with a locally-made candle. Or, a bar of soap from our favorite natural skincare company will show up in our mailbox (because he’s remembered to place an order).

These gifts don’t have to be fancy or expensive. Even a small bouquet of flowers or some chocolates on their pillows will make your guests feel welcomed, loved, and like you are excited to see them! 

Are you hosting any guests for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year? What are your suggestions for ways to prepare your home for guests?

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