I love it when friends come to visit — even if I only get a few hours’ notice.  I am fortunate enough to have a dedicated guest room.  When I don’t have guests, it doubles as my library/Elf Workshop (i.e., it’s where I keep my craft supplies).

If you want  to be able to accommodate guests at a moment’s notice, here are some things to keep in mind:

• It’s your guest room, not a storage shed.  It shouldn’t be full of things that belong somewhere else.
• Always have clean sheets for the guest bed.  Either launder them as soon as a guest leaves or invest in two sets.
• I keep a set of guest towels in the back of the linen closet, ready to pull out on a moment’s notice.
• Always have some food basics on hand — chat and munch food (party mix, pretzels, nuts, dried fruit, wine, cheese); midnight snack food (hot cocoa, herbal tea, cookies); and, breakfast food.
• If I don’t have much time to clean, I focus on making the guest bed, cleaning the bathroom, and emptying trash cans.

Always remember, if they can stay with you on short notice, they are close enough friends to ignore a few dust bunnies and the stack of unopened mal!