10 Tips To Prepare Your Home For Overnight Guests

Be the memorable Hostess who stays prepared for overnight guests. Unexpected houseguests can pop up at any given moment. Hosting can be intimidating if you aren’t prepared. If you have a 1 bedroom or a small apartment, these curated steps will work for you! My family surprised me by flying out from the east coast to visit me. I was running all around the place trying figure out how to prepare my home for overnight guests. My perfectionism kicked in and I began to panic because I didn’t want them to see my small apartment looking anything but picture perfect. Luckily I was able to spruce up the place and grab a few things from Walmart Home. The cool thing about going to Walmart is, you can purchase your groceries as well as your homewares in one place!. This saved me so much time, which is why I am super excited to be partnering with Walmart on this blog post. This is also why I created these 10 essential tips on how to prepare your home for overnight guests.

FTC STATEMENT ▹ This article is sponsored in collaboration with Walmart. I am a participant of affiliate websites. This post contains affiliate links. At no cost to you it helps to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Walmart.com through other linked affiliate sites.

10 Tips To Prepare Your Home For Overnight Guests:

1. CLEAN
The first essential step on how to prepare your home for overnight guests is clean up. First impressions are everything! Clean all the rooms including the bathroom. Don’t skip the toilet, the sink and the bathtub. All of the floors must be cleaned, swept and vacuumed. Cut down on time by shopping at Walmart Home for a Robot Vacuum. They are such a game changer! The kitchen is where most people gather, so do a thorough job getting it clean. Don’t forget to  take out the trash. Toss out old rotten food and drinks in the refrigerator, you’ll need the extra space for the new groceries. Be sure to pop into the living room to dust and fluff pillows on the sofa. Lastly, really put effort into cleaning the bedroom, mainly the area where your overnight guests will be sleeping. They will be in that room the longest, be sure clean EVERYWHERE, including spiderwebs and any other places you wouldn’t normally clean.

2. LAUNDRY

Dirty laundry holds odors that can contribute to a lingering unpleasant smell in your home. Air fresheners will not work to mask offensive odors. Grab that laundry basket full of dirty clothes, smelling up the room and toss them into the washing machine. Unzip the decorative pillow covers and sofa cushions, they will need to be washed too. Your overnight guests should be comfortable in your living room and frequently used throw blankets for the sofa must be cleaned. Double check your sleepover essentials such as pillow cases, blankets and bed sheets, to see if they need to be washed or thrown out. Walmart’s Sleep Well At Home has a variety of new bedding, blankets and laundry hampers like the one I’ve purchased for my bedroom. Which brings me to my next tip, check your inventory to assess the quality of your sleepover & essentials.

3. CHECK INVENTORY ON HOME ESSENTIALS

Make sure you have enough pillows, blankets, bed sheets, towels and wash cloths for your overnight houseguests. Take inventory to make sure there’s enough for everyone visiting. Be sure to check to see if they are stained, or just too old to present to your overnight guests. If you need a tips for getting your old bed sheets ultra bright white, check out my blog post on, How To Get Your Bed Sheets White Again. If you still need to purchase new ones, here are some suggestions I’ve found at Walmart Home.

4. AIR OUT THE HOUSE

Have you ever been to someone’s home and it smelled awful? You don’t want that to be you! Tip number 4, on how to prepare your home for overnight guests is, air out the house! It’s really hard for overnight houseguests to breathe comfortably with strong stale odors lingering in the home. If you live in a small apartment circulate the air by opening your windows to air out your home or invest in a hepa air purifier. Poor air quality can lead to allergies, bacteria and other harmful ailments. Smokers and pet owners may want to invest in an air purifying filtration system. Walmart Home has an awesome hepa air purifier that’s quiet and fits nicely in small spaces. I purchased an air purifier by Levoit from Walmart which is under $100. I use it all the time and it comes with an extra filter. It’s super quiet and great for small spaces. I also purchased the black air purifier Honeywell sold by Walmart which has amazing reviews. It’s bigger in size but well worth it!  Below I have linked them both for you, along with some others I recommend for larger spaces.

5. PREPARE SLEEPING AREA

If your home or small apartment only has one bedroom, you may want to have your guests sleep in the living room. Investing in a sofa bed or a blow up mattress is always a better option than having your overnight guests sleep on the floor. Blow up mattresses are inexpensive and comfortable. I will link the one I purchased below. It has an automatic air pump, built-in device for convenience! Walmart Home has a nice variety of blow up mattresses. Whatever option works best for your home be sure to double check that it functions properly ahead of time prior to your guests arriving. You don’t want to make for an awkward situation if the bed doesn’t work, or if your old sofa bed is damage.

6. CREATE STORAGE SPACE FOR LUGGAGE

Tip number 6, on how to prepare your home for overnight guests is to provide your guests with a place you’ve designated for their luggage bags. Allow ample space for them to open their suitcases. Walmart Home carries a variety of luggage storage racks that are super affordable and stores easily inside a closet when not in use. I purchased an elegant heavy duty walnut luggage rack. Provide some elegant hangers for your guests! Assigning space inside a closet with hangers is such a nice gesture to help them shake out any wrinkles in their clothes. Walmart Home has a nice selection of satin fabric hangers and stylish wooden hangers to elevate your closet. I have linked the ones I’m currently loving for you below. Remind them they are free to use your iron steamer if needed.If you like to see how I transformed my closet with a complete makeover Click Here!

7. SHOP FOR GROCERIES

A hostess without food is doomed! Tip number 7, on how to prepare your home for overnight guests is to get out and buy some groceries! Plan meals that are quick and easy to reheat. Purchase a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner meals that everyone can enjoy. You must not forget snacks and bottled water. Add toiletries to the list, including toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, body wash and a first aid kit. You may want to purchase some fresh flowers to add to your home.

8. MEAL PREP & PREPARE SNACKS

Having meals planned ahead of time, provides more time for you to spend with your house guests. If you were to bake a cake and have desserts made in advance, that would keep the energy flowing nicely. Get creative! For summer fun, make some homemade ice cream for adults! I made cream sandwiches with waffles using this Cuisinart ice cream maker  and waffle iron from Walmart. Greet your guests with your homemade ice cream treats when they arrive. I served them on this super adorable vintage serving platter from Walmart Home. You can make waffles in advance and freeze them for your guests to easily make themselves breakfast. Cook a pack of bacon, put them on a bacon cooker with a drip pan, bake them in the oven and store them inside storage container in the refrigerator. Your guests can easily heat them inside up the oven. For more summer fun ideas check out Walmart Home.

9. PREPARE OVERNIGHT GUESTS ESSENTIALS

Gather the most requested essentials for overnight guests. This is tip number 9, on how to prepare your home for overnight guests. Print out a nice note card with your home’s wifi password. They will need to entertain themselves after the chatting has settled down. Place reading materials and the television remote control in an area that’s easily accessible. I like to add all of it to this seagrass basket I purchased from Walmart Home. Another nice gesture is to provide them with a bath robe, a relaxing candle, like this Voluspa lychee candle I purchased from Walmart Home. Lastly, never forget to supply your overnight guests with bottled water.

10. FIGURE OUT PARKING

This is the last tip on how to prepare your home for overnight guests. Make sure your guests have a place to park. If you don’t have parking you should let them know in advance. Parking on the street is ok, just be sure to read all the signs to make sure that overnight parking is allowed. You don’t want them getting a ticket or towed, if the street sweepers are working overnight. If your area requires a parking pass or permit you may want to figure this out before they arrive.

These are my 10 tips on how to prepare your home for overnight guests. Be sure to check out Walmart’s new Wow & Now section in stores. They have super sweet deals with low price tags! Walmart Home is a great source for affordable home decor. If this post has inspired you to prepare your home for overnight guests, feel free to follow me on my home social media account @AlmondSummershome I’d love to see how it worked out for you! I do hope you’ve enjoyed my blog, leave a comment below and share how you prepare your home for overnight houseguests.