How do you tackle messiness when family come to stay?

8 years ago

You've had a ruthless spring clean and the home is looking lovely but how do you go about keeping everything in order when family members come to stay?

Are messy guest rooms part and parcel when it comes to guests or do you have some handy tips to keep your families' habits in check?

Post it notes, anyone?

Bedroom · More Info

Featured Answer

gilliifer

8 years ago

Story of my life with a huge family of grown up children, partners, grandchildren and others. Enjoy seeing them immensely , a few tips:

a large expandable table (ours expands twice)

cheap bed linen which washes and dries quickly

travel cot and bed settee,/ futon. As well as back up inflatable beds from the camping world.

large beautiful vintages chests and cupboards for toys, art stuff etc

a selection on the current Disney films and music (frozen, obviously)

labelled doors for the forgetful elder.

waterproof sheets (that don't look like this)

spare toothbrushes, toiletries, Calpol, medicines, flannels and wipes.

loads of biscuits. a huge snack basket.

extra chairs, tables (garden ones are fine) and cloths (waterproof ones are good) in attractive colours.

ask late sleepers to move upstairs and hide your best whisky!

don't bother to downsize lol

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Comments (11)

Gill H-S
8 years ago
Insist they keep mess in "their"room(s) and close the doors so you can't see it. Plastic trug baskets filled with their rubbish delivered to their room help too! Sympathies!
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User
8 years ago
Our daughter lives just down the road and pops round several times a week with the Grand children, always with something for them to play with, which, always gets left behind!! I have so many kids toys, i might aswell have more kids !! ( NO, maybe that's going too far! ) our son still lives at home and has the attic to himself, but as he's 6'4" and the attic is slightly restricted in head height, he uses our spare room as a dressing room....................all the clothes, all over the beds................Grrr.............i just close the door and pretend it's not in there upsetting me !
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suesigngirl
8 years ago
We only have 2 bedrooms and end up with people in the lounge on an inflatable mattress from time to time.....but it's only irritating when the visitors don't get up until really late. I tend to bite my lip and make the most of seeing them, and once they've left, I let myself really enjoy putting my home back to normal and revel in the peace and tidiness!

I think most people enjoy having visitors staying but they also equally enjoy them leaving at the end of the visit..
clodagh29
8 years ago
During the summer, our entire extended family go to a holiday house which can get really messy as everyone is living out of a suitcase. By the front door we put a large basket - the basket of lost objects - into which we (that means me) dump anything which gets left lying around: books, odd shoes, dolls, papers, knitting, footballs, bills....It keeps the place marginally tidy and when people "loose" things, they know where to look first. It's a bit like an archeological dig at times.
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OnePlan
8 years ago
I keep out of the guest rooms when they are occupied - if they like it messy, I don't need to know !!!
Judy Mishkin
8 years ago
it's a boon to guests to provide them with an empty dresser drawer, 5 hangers worth of closet space, and a folding luggage stand.
Rosie B
8 years ago
With three grown up kids who all live at a distance with their families, along with 6 wonderful grandchildren I am always delighted when any of them come to stay. As it's their company that is important, I find the best thing to do is just ignore the mess whilst they visit and then have a 'blitz' after they leave! Friends coming to stay however are invariably neat and tidy......an age thing maybe?!
emmaandwyn
8 years ago
I keep the room I'm staying in really tidy... That was until my mother in law told me it looked like I was always packed ready to leave! I suppose you just can't win.
gillywilly1
8 years ago
Shut the door its their room while they are with you. They'll soon be gone and you can clean and tidy up then. Solved and that's what I do!!
User
8 years ago
Depends what you think is more important, friends or a tidy house - and you can be quite lonely in a tidy house.

How do you tackle messiness when family come to stay?

gilliifer

Comments (11)

Gill H-S

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