Last summer we moved to our fixer upper retirement place. When the family and friends started coming in for the fall and winter holidays it was a bit of a mess but I still managed to make it special. This season I’m getting organized and stocking up with essentials to make my home “guest ready”. There are new bed linens, pillows, towels, seasonal remedies and everything is looking so cute I can barely wait for my first visitors to show up!
I like to make my guest rooms so inviting everyone prefers staying here instead of a hotel. This summer I grew fresh Rosemary and Lavender that I am weaving into small wreaths for the bedrooms. I think it looks woodsy and scents the room nicely. They were easy and quick to make by simply twining the greenery about a small circle of wire and securing with some smaller pliable wire and adorned with a simple ribbon and a white butterfly ornament. I have several big windows so I made one for each set of windows.
In another bedroom I tied sprigs of Lavender and placed them on the window sill. They are quite beautiful in their simplicity. There is another thing I like to do for my guests and that is provide a tray of winter season essentials in the bedroom and some bathroom necessities too. It’s the little things people notice.
One of the things I enjoy about staying at a hotel is that they always provide you with some essentials on a little tray so I purchased some comfort essentials and bathroom necessities while picking up a prescription at CVS. For the bedroom I put a tray on the bed with items they might need to ward off any seasonal sniffles or itchy throats and placed a short story book and candle on the bedside table.
Here is a list of items I included:
- Kleenex
- Water
- Saltines
- Throat lozengers
- A holiday ornament for the fun of it
The second most important space for visitors is the bathroom. Don’t you always check it when you stay anywhere?
It’s as important to me to keep a clean environment as it is for my guests to feel it. I make it a habit to check the bathroom several times a day throughout each visit to ensure all is well. Besides giving the soft surfaces a quick cleaning with Lysol wipes [Lysol kills 99.9% of bacteria on soft surfaces] I keep a can visible next to a box of Kleenex so guests feel free to give it a spray themselves. I buy the lemon scent because it just smells nice – don’t you think? On the sink countertop I have a convenient supply of new toothbrushes, travel size toothpaste, mouthwash, disposable razor, Lysol wipes, and new soaps plus an adorable snowman soap dispenser. It’s a bit like one of those 5 star hotels that make everything convenient.
Bonus tip: Paper towels instead of hand
towels at the sink keep laundry down and fewer hands
sharing.
I purchased new towels and washcloths and put them in a pretty display. In the linen closet I have fresh bath towels bundled with a washcloth and hand towel for quick resupply. It’s another simple trick to roll them tightly and tie with ribbon or twine.
Bonus tip: Hang one of those scented hangers you can buy for your car on the door knob and drop another in the bottom of the waste basket. I usually buy the mild scents like ocean breeze or fresh linen. Nothing too overpowering for my scent sensitive friends.
When you shop for your essentials, check your CVS store. It was a treasure hunt on clearly marked isles. I found everything I needed in less than 30 minutes while waiting for my prescription refill and discovered CVS has a promotion the week of November 15. If you spend $15 at CVS you will receive $5 in extrabucks! Imagine what you can buy with an extra five bucks! Maybe a special ornament or card for your gift basket?
It was fun putting my guest supplies together. I
bet you have some hints I need to know too.
Hop over to find deals at your CVS store then tell me what you’ll put in
your guest basket.