Preparing Your Home for Unexpected Guests

<div class="block">Caroline Utz, editorial director at &#39;The Spruce&#39; joined &#39;beWell&#39; to talk about home hosting preparation, particularly when unexpected guests are on their way over. </div>

beWell

Be Well: Preparing Your Home for Unexpected Guests

Caroline, your team is. Bruce knows all about getting our homes ready for the holidays. But what about those last minute guests that always call? Like, hey, I'm in the area. I usually say I'm not home, but for those at our home, what can we do to get our house ready? It can be a tricky situation, but there's some really easy tips to focus on. And what you really wanna do is focus on those high traffic areas. So where your guests will actually be. Exactly. So in your entry way, um, one great way to welcome your guests is by creating a super quick, um, little floor arrangement here. You can go up to the backyard and you just cut them, throw them in a vase and it's really nice, welcoming lovely Faller holiday range. And I love the pop of color that it adds to even if these were plastic and you had them in, you know, a flower pot, you can put them in there. Exactly. And the plastic ones you can use later too, which is always good to have around. Everyone's always got to stop by the bathroom because they've been on the road traveling. So what do we do in the bathroom? So do a quick wipe down if you have time and then other than that just make sure all the essentials are in. You know, you have toilet paper, hand soap at the ready. You wanna go the extra mile, you can put some reading material in here, some nice hand towels for your guests. Um, any room spray or, or any room freshener. The candles is a good touch too, especially if your kids have been in the bathroom. Ok. Now everyone loves to eat. So what do we do here? So if you are um hosting, it is always nice to have a snack for guests on hand, but you don't need to re invent the wheel here, right? So just go to your fridge, pick the things that you know, you have, you might have some leftover cheese, some fruits, uh crackers make a beautiful cheese board and a great way to elevate. It is to use a cake stand for your platter. It also works as an edible centerpiece. And so I can tell my wife we don't have to cook an entire meal. It's ok. Just some little snack and bites, right? Absolutely. Ok, great. And if you do have to feed everyone takeout's always fine. Um but elevate it a little bit by using your real dishware, right? So bring out the stuff. It doesn't have to match. It looks really beautiful even if it's a little bit eclectic and just keep a party closet on hand. So, you know, you have all of your table linens, all of your clatters, all of your, um, you know, glassware in one spot and you can make a tablescape in seconds. I like the idea of a party closet. And this is totally me. Put it in, take, take out and then put it on your own dishes. Exactly. I did that and last but not least, yeah. So just do those final touches. Right. So, fluff your couch pillows, fold your blanket, you know, set the mood lighting, turn off the overhead lighting, you know, maybe on your lamp here. The extra benefit of this is I also hide some dust you might have missed. Oh, and sometimes you're just setting the mood and making it seem warm and cozy for people to come over and it's very welcoming for them. Right. Totally. Yeah. You just want to set the mood and honestly, a space that feels a little bit lived in will make everyone feel more at home. You say make your house look lived in. But what if you're like me and have three kids and their things are all over the house? They're just so messy. This is my favorite dec cluttering tip for that situation. So, just grab an empty laundry basket, go run around your living room, throw anything in there that isn't supposed to be there, just hide it somewhere that your guests won't be like the primary bedroom or a spare closet. Yeah, just throw it all in the closet. And my kids do that when they clean up, but they never go back in later and actually organize it and clean it. So don't forget that little tip there. It's a good stuff. All right. And you guys, I'm sure have some tips in your current issue of the Spruce. Sure do. Yeah, this is our holiday issue. A lot of great hosting and entertaining tips there. All right. Well, I'm ready to host. Thank you so much. Thank you.