How to Prepare Your Apartment for Holiday Guests

By Danielle Wirsansky on November 23, 2016

This article is brought to you by CORT Furniture Rental. We take the hassle out of furnishing your new place so you can do more important things like read this article. Learn more about why furniture rental is the best way to get a great looking apartment.

The holidays can be one of the most wonderful times of the year. There are days off, delicious food, gifts, and time spent with friends and family.

But the holidays can also become an unpleasant chore, particularly if you are having guests over. It does not matter whether you are a slob or neat freak — your home is never fully prepared to handle guests. There is always that one thing that you forgot about to do that would have made their whole stay easier. Having to take care of so many guests can be a huge strain on you, not to mention getting your home ready for the sudden influx of people.

But there are many tricks you can keep up your sleeve to relieve some of that pre-holiday stress. Read on to learn how to prepare your apartment for holiday guests!

pexels.com

Have Dishes & Cutlery Prepared

One of the most stressful things about having guests is the amount of dirty dishes they produce. It takes more pots and pans to cook larger amounts of food and more dishes and cutlery are used by all who eat it. Make sure you have as many clean dishes as possible before your guests even arrive and then have a system ready to keep them clean as soon as they are used so that you never run out.

Either assign yourself a time everyday to do all the dishes or have your guests immediately put the dishes into the dishwasher; it does not matter. Just choose a method that works for you and keeps your utensils clean. It is also a great idea to have plenty of paper napkins and disposable dishes and silverware in case keeping up with the mounds of dirty dishes becomes too much or if you run out of clean dishes for some reason.

Taking these precautionary measures will just take a huge load off your back so that you can enjoy your guests instead of feeling plagued by them.

Have Basic Foodstuffs & Drinks

Sometimes it is easy to forget that not everyone has the same food habits as you. Just because you never eat ketchup except on a burger does not mean that everyone else feels the same way. Just because you do not drink soda or coffee does not mean that you should expect your guests not too.

You do not need to go above and beyond the call of duty, but you should have basic foods, condiments, and drinks that most households have so that your guests never feel like they are unable to eat. You want them to feel at home because happy guests means a happier you. Not a you stressed out from having to drive back and forth from the supermarket three times to buy little basic things that your guests need that you did not contemplate.

You should also check in advance if any guests have any food allergies or limitations that could force you to change or alter your holiday menus and snacks so that you can avoid any disasters on that front as well.

pexels.com

Vacuum, Dust, Sanitize

When it is your home, nothing tends to feel blatantly “gross.” It is all your stuff and regardless, all the filth came from you anyways. But just like those Febreze commercials where you can get used to an odor in your home and not realize that it is there or that it bothers anyone else, the same thing can happen in your own home.

Maybe you clip your nails in the living room and you catch most clippings but a few escape. Maybe you have long hair and shed. Maybe when you eat, you drop a little bit of food on the floor and do not notice. While you may not notice those things, guests to your home with fresh eyes probably will. And more than notice, it might make them feel uncomfortable. Or it might cause them to feel they have the liberty to point out little things in your home that will make you feel uncomfortable and annoyed with them.

Avoid that whole situation. Vacuum the floor. Do some light dusting. Wipe down your tables and counters. Little things like that can make having guests over less stressful and hey, let’s face it — those things need to be done every once in a while anyways.

Toilet Paper

This might seem silly but a good way to avert a crisis is to stock up on toilet paper. Do not skimp on it. You can never have too much! Even if your guests do not use it all, you certainly will at some point. And make sure the paper is really easy to find and the roll is quickly replaced.

Looking for an easy way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Renting furniture from CORT saves you time and money. See how easy it is to get great looking furniture without breaking the bank.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format