How To Host Guests In Your Home For Several Days Without Going Crazy

I’m looking forward to November because it’s my birthday month. Also, our best family friends are coming to visit us. These friends live in a different country and we haven’t seen them for years. We are going to host them in our home for several days and I’m thrilled.

I know hosting guests in the home for several days is no mean feat. In fact, there is a saying that “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” – Benjamin Franklin. 

 

I’ve always felt like this is a mean thing to say about guests but it’s somehow true. Guests are good but when you host them in your home for more than three days, you might start to feel drained.

When I got married years ago, I would dread hosting guests in my home especially if they would stay for days. By the time they left, I would be so drained and resentful that I didn’t want to see or talk to them after their visit. 

Hosting guests in your home is a good idea. It helps you to reconnect and bond with family or friends. You can create lifetime memories in the process of hosting them. In addition, if you host people in your home, they are likely to host you when the need arises.

However, if you are not careful, you could go crazy (not literally) hosting guests in your home for several days. The reason is that hosting guests in your home can sometimes be stressful and chaotic.

But guess what? I’m only a bit anxious about hosting our best family friends for several days in November. The reason is that over the years, I have learned how to host guests in my home for days on end without going crazy. In fact, I now enjoy hosting guests in my home.

How To Host Guests In Your Home For Several Days Without Going Crazy 

You know what? You can also host guests in your home for several days successfully.  

Here’s how to host guests in your home for several days without going crazy.

1. Talk To Your Family Members Before Hosting Guests In Your Home

One of the things that can drive you crazy while hosting guests in your home for several days is if your family doesn’t cooperate. By family I mean those people who live with you – your partner, kids, etc.

You see when you host guests in your home for several days, they disrupt to some extent your family’s way of life. For instance, your family members have to share their food, bathroom, TV, etc. with the guests. Some of your family members might resent this and could become hostile to the guests.

So, if you don’t want conflicts between your family and the guests, talk to your family members beforehand. 

Tell them of the date the guests will arrive and the departure date.

Also, tell them of any temporary changes they might have to make to accommodate the guests. This could include sharing toys, bedrooms, or bathrooms. 

Request them to be welcoming, kind, helpful, and respectful to the guests. 

Explain to them that the guests will leave after a few days and life will go back to normal. 

2. Prepare Early To Host Guests In Your Home For Several Days

After talking to your family members, start preparing early to host the guests. One of the reasons why you may feel like going crazy while hosting guests in your home for several days is the lack of advance preparations. When you prepare early, you don’t get overwhelmed. On the flip side, if you do things at the last minute, you’ll definitely feel like going ballistic. 

Here’s what preparing early to host guests in your home for several days looks like:

Find out if your guests have any special needs

Some of your guests may have some special needs and it’s therefore good to find out in advance. Some of the special needs your guests may have include the following:

• Dietary needs: For instance, I know one of the guests coming to visit us in November is diabetic. So, he needs some special food.
• Health needs: Some guests may have health issues such as asthma, food allergies, etc.

You can call your guests to find out if they have any special needs. Once you find out, you should prepare in advance to make your life easy.

Shop in advance

Once you’ve found out about the special needs of your visitors, you can shop in advance. Suppose you wait to shop on the day your visitors are supposed to arrive. In that case, you’ll become overwhelmed and will not be in a great state by the time your guests arrive. 

So, shop several days in advance for your peace of mind. The things you can shop for in advance include the following:

• Foodstuff
• Toiletries
• Refreshments
• Towels – if you don’t have enough
• Linens – if you don’t have enough
• Simple indoor shoes – in case your guests forget to bring their own

 

Clean and prepare the home in advance for your guests

One of the things I love about hosting guests in my home is that it’s an opportunity for me to clean my home thoroughly. It’s good to clean your house to create a clean and welcoming environment for your guests. Cleaning includes outside and inside the home.

It’s best to clean the home in advance – a day or two before your guests arrive. Doing so ensures that you are not overwhelmed or too tired by the time your guests arrive. I know a friend who was so overwhelmed while cleaning her house in readiness for her visitors that she broke her leg. 

After cleaning your home, it’s good to prepare the house immediately in readiness for your visitors. Preparing the house in readiness for your guests may include the following things:

• Making the beds
• Creating wardrobe space for your visitors
• Stocking the bathroom with the necessary supplies
• Putting towels in the bathroom

If you have some extra cash, you could hire someone to help you with the cleaning and preparation of the house. Doing so can save you time and energy and minimize stress.

3. Prepare Something For Your Guests To Eat When They Arrive

It’s good to give your guests a warm welcome by providing them with something to eat. So, prepare something for them in advance. You see, if you start preparing their snacks or lunch after their arrival, you could feel overwhelmed and stressed.

If you prepare something for them in advance, you don’t have to leave them alone when they arrive to go and fix something for them. You simply serve them, keep them company, and chat as they eat. So, preparing the food in advance is great for your peace of mind.

What you prepare for your guests to eat when they arrive depends on what time they arrive. For instance, if they say they’ll arrive mid-morning or mid-afternoon, you can prepare snacks and refreshments. If they say they’ll arrive just before lunch or just before dinner, you can prepare a home-cooked meal.

4. Give Your Guests A Home Tour

Once you have fed your guests, it’s time to give them a home tour. The home tour includes showing them the following essential places:

• Bathrooms
• Closets
• Patio
• Yard
• Laundry area
• Smoking area (in cases where any of them is a smoker)

Giving them a home tour is great as they’ll know the essential areas of the home. So, they’ll not keep asking you to show them. That’s great for your peace of mind. 

5. Show The Guests Their Rooms

After the house tour, show your guests their rooms. While showing them their rooms, it’s important to show them the following:

• Where the extra pillows and blankets are.
• The drawers, shelves, or closets where they can put their stuff.
• Where to keep their bags or suitcases.
• Where to find extra toiletries.
• The laundry basket.

Showing them the things I have listed above makes the visitors feel at home. In addition, it gives you some peace as they can easily help themselves when the need arises. 

6. Show The Guests How Things Work In Your House

Another thing you should do to stay sane while hosting guests in your home for several days is to show them how things work in your house. For example, show them how the following things work (they could be different from what they have at their home):

• The shower
• How toilet flushing system
  
• The washing machine

Showing your guests how things work before they need to ask saves them the agony of experimenting with things. It’s also good for your peace of mind as they don’t have to call you to help while you’re in the middle of something.  

7. Explain Any House Rules To Your Guests

Every home has basic house rules that should be followed even by visitors. When you host guests in your home for several days, it’s important to explain to them any house rules you may have. If you don’t do so, one of the guests might break the house rules sooner or later and you’ll go ballistic.

The house rules may vary from one home to the other. The hardest part is explaining some of the house rules without making the guests feel like you are disrespecting them. However, remember that if you don’t explain the house rules, the guests might break the rules and thus cause tension in the home.

Here are some house rules I’ve put in place for guests visiting my home and how I explain them to the guests.

Remove shoes at the door: I’ve stuck a sign with the words, “shoes”, right outside the entrance door. There are always some pairs of shoes there to show people that they should also leave their shoes there. I keep pairs of simple indoor shoes at the entrance for people to wear after removing their shoes.

No smoking in the house: My family prefers a smoke-free house. So, when I host guests, I show them the smoking area during the home tour. The smoking area is outside the house. By showing the guests the smoking area in advance, I’m in essence telling them that they should not smoke inside the house. 

No eating in the bedrooms: I don’t allow my family members to eat in the bedrooms because I like a pest-free home. So, when I host young guests for several days, I let them know of this rule. I simply tell them that I like a pest-free home. 

8. Allow Guests To Feel Free To Use The Kitchen 

Another thing you can do to prevent yourself from going crazy when hosting guests for several days is to allow them to feel free to use the kitchen. For instance, you can make breakfast on the first morning of their visit. After breakfast, show them around the kitchen. 

Show them the following during the tour of the kitchen:

• Tea and coffee-making supplies 
• Snacks
• Drinks
• The garbage can
• How to operate the dishwasher
• How to operate the coffee maker
• How the microwave works

Tell your guests to feel free to fix for themselves breakfast if they are early risers. 

When you allow your guests to feel free to use the kitchen, they’ll feel at home. They therefore won’t have to ask you for help or permission whenever they need something from the kitchen. 

 

In addition, you won’t have to worry whether they’ve had breakfast or whether they need something from the kitchen. In other words, it’s a great relief for you and the guests.

9. Take Care Of Your Family’s Needs Too

One of the mistakes you might make while hosting guests in your home for several days is to neglect the needs of your family. You see, sometimes you might concentrate so much on pleasing your guests that you overlook the needs of your family members. Doing so could be disastrous.

For instance, if you have young kids, try to care for their needs as you normally do. For instance, try to observe their nap times, meal times, and bedtime. If you don’t do so, they could become fussy and irritable. Having to deal with irritable and fussy kids plus guests could drive you crazy.  

Taking care of guests in your home for several days and taking care of your family’s needs calls for extra effort. Try to balance the two and you’ll be alright.

10. Don’t Be Scared Of Asking Your Guests To Help

Another thing that can drive you crazy when you host guests in your home for several days is trying to be a super host. That means that you do everything on your own. You are human, and trying to do everything on your own can eventually overwhelm you.

So, instead of handling everything, ask your guests to help around the house. You see, when you ask them to help with simple chores, they start to feel included and useful. In addition, they ease your workload tremendously.

You can ask the guests to help with light chores such as:

• Prepping meals
• Setting the table
• Clearing the table
• Cleaning up
• Wiping the dishes

If it’s any consolation, remember that yours is a home, not a hotel. It’s therefore okay for your guests to help around.

NB: Avoid asking your guests to do dirty jobs such as scrubbing greasy pans or taking out the trash. Those jobs should be left to family members.

11. Avoid Overspending When You Host Guests in Your Home For Several Days

Another thing that could drive you crazy when hosting guests in your home for several days is overspending. You see, if you’re not careful, you could overspend while trying to make your guests’ experience memorable. 

Overspending can happen when you give your guests expensive food and drinks daily. I mean the kind of food and drinks you only buy for your family on special occasions such as birthdays or Christmas.

You can also overspend by planning too many events to entertain your guests. 

If you overspend, you could start feeling the financial strain even before the guests leave. In addition, you could be left with a dent in your pocket when the guests leave.

Overspending can stress you out. So, avoid overspending on your guests. 

The best way to avoid overspending on guests is to come up with a budget before the guests arrive. Stick to the budget for the sake of your sanity. 

12. Avoid “Babysitting” Your Guests

Another thing that could drive you crazy when you host guests in your home for several days is trying to literally babysit your guests. You feel like you have to hang around your guests all the time so that they don’t feel neglected. 

Interestingly, it’s not necessary to babysit your guests. Some people don’t like constant attention – they appreciate some breathing space. They need time to be alone and so do you.

Here’s what you can do to avoid babysitting your guests:

• Give them the WiFi password so that they can use their phones and gadgets.
• Give them space to relax and unwind in their rooms or in any other place in the home.
• Recommend local places they can visit on their own.
• Provide indoor games they can play.
• Give them access to the TV to keep themselves entertained.

Just let your guests know that you are available if they require anything. 

13. Avoid Being Fussy When You Host Guests In Your Home For Several Days 

 

When you host guests in your home for several days, they can literally turn your home and your life upside down. If you want to keep your sanity, avoid being fussy. 

 

Here’s what avoiding being fussy when hosting guests for several days looks like:

 

Avoid getting worked up: A guest may make a mess or break something. Avoid getting worked up when this happens. Be forgiving and kind instead. 

 

Don’t be obsessed with a clean house: Your house will not be spick and span when there are many people. So, don’t be obsessed with a clean house because this could stress you out. Remember your guests will leave soon, and you can then put your house in order.

 

Try to be flexible: I know you could be used to a certain routine, but it might be impossible to follow the routine strictly when you have guests in your home. So, try to be flexible for your peace of mind. 

 

14. Take A Break When You Feel Overwhelmed

Hosting guests in your home for several days can be stressful and draining. There are more people to clean up after, more mouths to feed, loads of dishes to wash, and excess noise to deal with. 

If you don’t want to go crazy, it’s good to take a break when you start feeling overwhelmed.

You can do the following to take a break from all the hullabaloo:

• Take a walk in the neighborhood.
• Go to the convenience store to buy something.
• Take a nap in your room.

The break will re-energize you and reduce any stress you may have.

Conclusion

The holiday season is around the corner, and I know many of you will be hosting family and friends in your homes. I hope the tips I have given you on how to host guests in your home for several days will come in handy. Cheers!

Do you have any other hosting tips you want to add? Kindly comment at the end of this article. 

 

Also read: 10 Awesome Self Care Tips for Mums; Give Yourself Some TLC Because You Deserve It