I suck at having overnight guests, what do I need?

[Deleted]

i am amazed that you only own 2 towels

[winnied]

I give guests 1 pillow each, sheets for the bed (air mattress, or in our case, sofa bed), a main blanket/comforter for the bed and an extra. I also give 1 bath towel/guest and 1 wash cloth.

If you want to be super cute about it you can make a little welcome basket for them with bottled water, cookies or muffins, travel sized toiletries, and maybe a few magazines and books set out.

[Deleted]

When we have guests I do the following setup:
2 pillows per person
Comforter
Throw or other smaller blanket
2 bath towels per person
1 hand towel per person
1 washcloth per person

Kohls and Target have each of these items reasonably priced.

ETA: I do 2 pillows per person b/c I sit up and read in bed before going to sleep and use two pillows, and DH sleeps with a pillow in between his legs for his back pain. Basically, if someone is staying at my house I want them to have accommodations in the range of what DH and I enjoy ourselves. Also if my guests are going to be sleeping on an air mattress (we have a guest room with a real bed and 2 air mattresses for "overflow" that get used 3-4x/year) I don't want them to have aching backs the next day. I understand if this makes me a weirdo, lol.

[puppyluv]

For guests I have:
-a set of sheets/ blankets
-pillows
-2 bath towels, a hand towel, and washcloth
-alarm clock

[mbcdefg]

Enough toilet paper

Leave water glasses out where they can easily find them, if they want a drink at night or when they brush their teeth. And leave out, or tell them where to find, the coffee, sugar, spoons, milk.

Maybe some snacks (not necessarily a welcome basket, just, "There are crackers and cookies in this cabinet, so help yourselves if you get snacky").

Suggestions for things to do in the area, if they'll be venturing out on their own at some point?

[Deleted]

Apr 16, 2013 13:12:00 GMT -5 swizz said:

Let's assume I have little to no extra storage space and we have guests infrequently (maybe once or twice a year).

Noted.

Then 1 pillow per person, 1 bath towel per person, and keep the rest the same. Some people like washcloths and it would be nice to have halfway decent hand towels around for when you have guests over for dinner or drinks or whatever. Then again, I admit to going overboard when it comes to guests.

[awkwardpenguin]

A friend of mine has sets of guest towels in a different color for each guest, and I really like it and plan to do it myself at some point. Bath towel, hand towel, and washcloth all in one color (brights are cute). That way everyone knows whose towels are whose.

Other than that, a set of sheets, appropriate blankets for the season (I think two thinner ones are better than one thick one so they can adjust), and probably three pillows, just in case one of them uses more than one pillow.

When guests are gone, wash and dry thoroughly, then put everything in a space bag under the bed or high in a closet. This is exactly what those space bags are for.

[M]

I think the biggest things are sheets/blanket, bath towels, and a pillow each.

Each of my guest rooms has a bed made with 4 pillows. There's also a spare blanket in the closet. Each room has it's own bathroom so I put in 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, and 2 wash clothes in each. I also put in shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower and hand soap at the sink.  

[Deleted]

Ohhh yeah I hadn't thought about storing everything in a Space bag. My MIL does this with vacation linens (rented house where you have to provide your own). She just chucks it in a closet after she washes it when she gets home, and pulls it out when she's packing everything the next year.

[emilyinchile]

I would add sheets to your original list. I don't want to sleep on that weird velour surface air mattresses seem to always have!

Washcloths and hand towels are nice, but I think that sheets are the only absolute musts that you didn't list.

[mbcdefg]

Oh, and leave a box of Kleenex in their room, and maybe a couple new tubes of Chapstick? It drives me nuts when I want those things and forgot to bring them.

Show them where the power outlets are in their room, and write down the wifi password.

Light books or magazines they can flip through before bed.

Coasters? Hand lotion? Nail file?

[midwest07]

Since it sounds like a completely bare room - I would add an alarm clock, lamp, some sort of table or dresser to sit things on (doesn't have to be new, just something from elsewhere in your house). Put actual sheets on the blow up bed. Even if you won't be eating meals there, make sure you have something to snack on for breakfast or late at night - fruit, cereal bars, chips, etc. And some coffee if they drink it and you don't. Or plan to go out and get some for them.

[halfpint]

Yes, you can put sheets on the air mattress, for sure do that.

I think everyone has covered everything - at least two pillows, I do a duvet plus an extra blanket just in case. Our guest room also has a small alarm clock, and I do a little basket in the room with towels, wash cloths and a little selection of travel sized stuff.

[halfpint]

Apr 16, 2013 13:55:22 GMT -5 swizz said:

Apr 16, 2013 13:53:40 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Oh, and leave a box of Kleenex in their room, and maybe a couple new tubes of Chapstick? It drives me nuts when I want those things and forgot to bring them.

Show them where the power outlets are in their room, and write down the wifi password.

Light books or magazines they can flip through before bed.

Coasters? Hand lotion? Nail file?

The room will literally JUST have the air mattress in it, lol. Right now it's entirely empty, no furniture (we've never had a 2nd bedroom) and I didn't get any guest stuff since it'll be the nursery.

Do you have anything like a TV tray or similar you can throw in there for the weekend?  Totally not necessary, but it would give them a place to set out things like contact cases, phones, glasses, etc.

[mbcdefg]

Apr 16, 2013 13:55:22 GMT -5 swizz said:

Apr 16, 2013 13:53:40 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Oh, and leave a box of Kleenex in their room, and maybe a couple new tubes of Chapstick? It drives me nuts when I want those things and forgot to bring them.

Show them where the power outlets are in their room, and write down the wifi password.

Light books or magazines they can flip through before bed.

Coasters? Hand lotion? Nail file?

The room will literally JUST have the air mattress in it, lol. Right now it's entirely empty, no furniture (we've never had a 2nd bedroom) and I didn't get any guest stuff since it'll be the nursery.

I agree with midwest07, just look for things you already have around the house that you can transfer to that room for a while.

Or just show them where to find those things. Even at my best friends' houses, I feel weird just going through their cabinets to get a cup or something like that. And I'd hate to want something while they're still asleep in the morning and not know where to find it.

[emilyinchile]

I think you can put sheets on that.

Honestly, I think that everyone else is giving great suggestions, but I also think that the only thing I absolutely would want as a guest who was getting a free place to sleep in DC (you're in DC, right?) would be a bed, sheets, enough blankets in case I got cold, a pillow each, and a towel each. Everything else would be lovely, but I also wouldn't expect my friends who never have guests and are about to have a baby to create an entire hotel-quality guest room just for me.

[kathybela]

Apr 16, 2013 14:02:29 GMT -5 halfpint said:

Apr 16, 2013 13:55:22 GMT -5 swizz said:

The room will literally JUST have the air mattress in it, lol. Right now it's entirely empty, no furniture (we've never had a 2nd bedroom) and I didn't get any guest stuff since it'll be the nursery.

Do you have anything like a TV tray or similar you can throw in there for the weekend?  Totally not necessary, but it would give them a place to set out things like contact cases, phones, glasses, etc.

 or do you have a small wooden chair hanging around the house (this is what I use as a bedside table for guests) or even a tray that can go on the floor near the bed.

[agnes]

I can't get past only having 2 towels! 

[agnes]

Apr 16, 2013 14:39:20 GMT -5 swizz said:

Apr 16, 2013 14:36:56 GMT -5 agnes said:

I can't get past only having 2 towels! 

It's worked out fine for like 5+ years, lol.

lolol, I just can't imagine.  I use two towels on me alone.

[glynn]

I do nothing for guest but wash the sheets on the bed they are using. We have beds set-up inall bedrooms and our Den/Guest room.

[hbomdiggity]

Is there an overhead light in the room? If not, please give them a table and a lamp.

[rootbeerfloat]

I was stuck on the 2 towels, too, until I remembered that you don't like to shower

[cjeanette]

Even my non-bathing household goes through about 8 towels a week! Though my kids probably are the culprits of that. Plus I think H refuses to re-use after he dries off. He won't admit this to me and I am not waking up at 5:30am to verify my theory.

[BAMFMrsB]

Here's my thinking - get everything Sue Sue suggested PLUS the sheets and comforter/whatnot borrowed from your mom. Get a smallish rubbermaid tote box at Target and store the spare sheets and towels and the blow-up mattress at your mom's and make sure it is CLEARLY labeled "sheets + stuff for Swizz's guests" so you always can grab & go when you have visitors.

Walla.

This is what we had to do with our Christmas decorations + faux tree at my parents house. We have so little storage in our apt and my parents have a huge garage. The clear tote boxes and labeling make it super easy during the holidays to run over and grab our stuff.

[BAMFMrsB]

:::dupe:::

[iheartbanjos]

We've had 12+ people crash at our house at once, so we have tons of towels and sheets. I buy those large vacuum bags to keep them in and usually store them under beds. DH, DD, and I have probably 20 towels in our linen closet as well, but those include towels for the pool too. It's more extra sheets and comforters that we tuck away.

[aurora]

Apr 16, 2013 14:33:17 GMT -5 swizz said:

LoL at having random furniture laying around. We use rubbermaid containers as nighstands.

...

They both have iPhones so I don't worry about an alarm clock or anything, but maybe I can find a little table or chair or something to stick in there so they have something to put stuff on, but I won't stress. It's only four days.

Rubbermaid containers would work just fine as nightstands for your guests, too!

As a guest, the only things I like to have are sheets, pillow, a towel, and a place upon which to put my phone/glasses/small fragile expensive breakable items.  Even an upturned cardboard box would make me happy.

(In our guest room, we have a night stand on one side of the bed and an old wooden chair on the other.)

[aurora]

Apr 16, 2013 16:12:48 GMT -5 swizz said:

Apr 16, 2013 16:12:00 GMT -5 aurora said:

Rubbermaid containers would work just fine as nightstands for your guests, too!

As a guest, the only things I like to have are sheets, pillow, a towel, and a place upon which to put my phone/glasses/small fragile expensive breakable items.  Even an upturned cardboard box would make me happy.

(In our guest room, we have a night stand on one side of the bed and an old wooden chair on the other.)

But if I give them mine, what will I use?!

The cardboard box?

[MixedBerryJam]

Apr 16, 2013 14:40:40 GMT -5 agnes said:

Apr 16, 2013 14:39:20 GMT -5 swizz said:

It's worked out fine for like 5+ years, lol.

lolol, I just can't imagine.  I use two towels on me alone.

On days I wash my hair (so, not every shower) I use one towel for my body, one towel for my hair, one over my shoulders for warmth. And I take a used towel out of the dirty laundry and drop it on the hardwood floor in the bedroom while I'm getting dressed. That's FOUR towels for me alone. And my sons seem to have picked up the "towel over the shoulders" habit from me.

No exaggeration, we have AT LEAST 20 towels, and probably closer to 30. And this doesn't count hand towels!

[FWP]

Our tall air mattress is COLD to sleep on. You might try it one night to check, or just make sure there's another comforter on there under the sheets (unless maybe it's hot in your house while they're there).