Tag Archives: guests

Some Guest Cleanup Strategies

For everything in life there is a plan and cleaning up after your guests leave is no exception. But you do have to think about it: what to do first, for example, after you decide to move rather than face it. Here are some thoughts about how to tackle the mess right after your guests leave, or at least a big part of it. Do as much as possible the moment your guests have pulled out of your driveway on their way down the road to bother other unsuspecting relatives. Even if you are dead tired, most messes will look … Continue reading →

Guests Are Gone: Time To Clean Up

When your guests get up and leave, you are left with two personal choices: you can either leave with them or clean up the mess they have left in their wake. For the most part, the choice is not that difficult, and usually the latter of the two is selected. Guests can and often do leave unintentional messes and enough work after they have gone to insure that we never let them beyond the driveway again, no matter how many times they knock on the door and scream. Here are some tips to help lessen the clean-up load. Distribute plenty … Continue reading →

House Guest Happiness: All In the Details

Houseguests are a part of life and no one wants to become a headline that reads: “Stabbed to death in home early yesterday during an argument with a house guest.” Make them happy and comfortable, and the way to do it is all in the details. Here are some tips to consider the next time guests cross your threshold. If a baby is coming along for the ride, think about renting or borrowing a crib, playpen or stroller so the parents don’t have to haul it all with their luggage. Make sure the crib’s mattress fits snugly within the frame … Continue reading →

Home: Review of Week Ending Nov. 4

I decided to change things around a little bit, so Week in Review articles will now cover all posts from Sunday through Saturday. Since Sunday was already covered last time, this particular review will begin with Monday’s entries, covering October 30 through November 4. This week Marjorie, Michele, and I, covered several issues regarding holidays, guests, home care, and more. Michele and I both wondered if it’s really necessary to kick off the Christmas season before or even just after Halloween, in “Is it Time for Christmas Decorations?” and “Poinsettias Already?” Marjorie offered tips like “Houseplants That You Positively Cannot … Continue reading →

Don’t Be TOO Nice To Your Guests!

When you are too nice to your guests and treat them like family, the problem is that, without your wanting them to, they can become your family. Only use the following suggestions if you really like your houseguests and are positive that even after three days they won’t smell as that old adage warns. Proceed, however, at your own risk. Give them the Ritz treatment. This does not mean stacking the VCR with old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’s movies, although they are certainly not a bad choice on most occasions and are sure not to offend. Provide terry robes … Continue reading →

The Guest Room: If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It

The Guest Room: If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It Many people today can’t rely on a traditional guest room when friends and relations come to visit (and stay). Usually a converted gym, storage area or giant junk drawer with carpeting is converted into a bedroom of sorts and hopefully a few moments before guests are walking up the driveway to your home, luggage in hand. But if you have such a spot, it’s best to use it NOW because getting your guests away from the household action makes everything flow more smoothly and everyone a bit more comfortable. If you … Continue reading →

The Transient Room For Transient Guests

Although many homes have an additional bedroom that serves as an occasional repose for weary guests, many homes do not. What they do have is an unused space that has become a catchall storage area for clutter and other things unwanted. The key is adaptability in a hurry, for like all species known to man, guests and the rooms they sleep in will survive the Ice Age also known as an annual, perfunctory visit. Here are some hopefully helpful tips to transform any room into a make shift guest boudoir that even the likes of Conrad Hilton might have approved … Continue reading →

House Guests: Heading Them Off at The Pass

This time of year waxes nostalgic for reunions of all kinds. The problem is that some reunions not only are unplanned but are unwanted as well. The key issue is how can you tactfully, but with malice aforethought, head off your guests at the pass before they dare to darken your threshold and mess up (and stress up) your life? One way to control the situation is a little thing called a white lie. I am honest and a bad liar to boot. Whenever I tell a small, social lie to get out of some social occasion, it always backfires … Continue reading →

Holidays: It’s all about Planning

If you want to make sure the holidays go smoothly, it helps to get as much done as possible ahead of time. Whatever you can do now, don’t put off until later. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, take a deep breath. These tips will help you get your game plan down: Make a List and Check it Twice That may sound like Christmas, but it’s also smart for other holidays. Make a list for everything and look over it and update it often. Cross off each item that you have completed so … Continue reading →

Seating Charts & Place Cards for Holiday Meals?

We usually keep things pretty casual around here even during the holidays. Our gatherings tend to be somewhat small since we have family all across the country, but not very many family members living nearby. I still like things to be nice of course, and every once in a while I get the urge to add a little more formality. This has worked out well, since people know I like to add a few flourishes here and there, so they weren’t surprised that I developed a seating chart and made place cards at the last get-together. To be quite honest, … Continue reading →