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If I may say so myself, I am a pretty awesome hostess to my out-of-town guests! Only a few times a year, I get my family to come to town and I go all out in preparation. Remember my Big Fat African Family? Well, they come on over in big, invasive bunches and I roll out the red carpet for them. Partially because I want my out-of-town guests to be comfortable, have everything they need and feel at home in my home. And partially because I know my mom will quickly point out anything I’ve missed, sneak a trip out to Costco and sarcastically say, “See what I did while you spent your morning sleeping in late?” (Yeah, it happens).
Nonetheless, I make sure my kitchen, living room, and especially my guest bathroom are always creatively prepared for them and even my mom has to admit she gets a little impressed about how things roll in my home. One thing I love to create is my attempt at a hotel-style guest bathroom, complete with all of the necessities my out-of-town guests will need for their stay. This is always an easy list to compile, since I know that it is inevitable that between my grandmother, sister, and mother, they are sure to have forgotten most of their travel needs.
My first stop is always to one of my happy places – Costco, where I could restock some of the items I definitely do not want to run out of, such as toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, fabric softener, feminine care products, etc. Plus, while I’m there, I can also pick up some groceries for holiday dinner. All in one trip, I get to save time and any potential embarrassment of running out of essentials!
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I can usually find most of the other items my out-of-town guests will need (such as toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, lotion, etc.) around my home. Many of these are just the small sample sizes I’ve gotten from hotels or just surplus goods I’ve gotten from my couponing trips. I take a decorative wicker box I’ve gotten from a craft store and arrange these supplies in the box for display and easy access. I roll up a few hand towels and add a couple of loofahs for a little filler space and I’m good to go.
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One thing I should point out is that my family comes pretty heavy on the estrogen, as the men in my family are extremely outnumbered. It’s bad enough we have absolutely no qualms discussing feminine issues around them, I think the least I could do is find a discreet way to store our feminine products. What I did here is simply take a small box I had around the house (one of the kid’s small shoe boxes would work too) and covered it up with some burlap fabric I had from a previous project. Then, I opened up the pack of Always Ultra Thin Maxi Pads I bought from Costco and arranged them into the box. Despite its discreetness, it’s also a remarkably organized way to store your feminine products.
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For some reason, it doesn’t matter how long my family stays over, they seem to have this insatiable need to do laundry – all of the time! I’ll have to admit that I’m more of a “wait til the hamper starts to overflow” kind of person, but not my family. They will inevitably do a few loads of laundry while they are in town, so I had to make sure to have some Tide Pods easily accessible for them. The Tide Pods are my absolute favorite because it’s a detergent, stain fighter, and whitener all wrapped up in a small and convenient package.
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Once you have covered all of the bases as far as preparing your guest bathroom for out-of-town guests, now’s your time to add a finishing touch of “you.” I added a few candles, some of my homemade soaps and a few other trinkets I found around the house to help pull it all together and make my guest bathroom feel like a retreat within my home, ideal for my guests.
Do you have other tips to prepare your guest bathroom for out-of-town guests? What are the items you don’t want to be caught without?
I love that your mom is impressed with your guest preparations. I don’t blame her! You’ve got everything covered here. Thanks for the tips! #client
Those are really creative ideas! I cannot wait to do those for when I have guests. I love the storage you chose for the sanitary pads and the basket for all the essentials. Really cool!
Thanks Elizabeth! Trust me – the men in my family really appreciate the sanitary pad storage too! lol
i figure it like this when it comes to stocking any kind of bathroom – as long as there’s enough bath tissue…. 😀
Those are really good ideas I’ll have to use some of them.
Please feel free, Mya! 🙂
That is such a welcoming gesture to put all those things out. I’m going to start doing that myself.
Guests love it. You should definitely try it out, Liz!
Wow! any guest will feel comfortable with the things you have put together. Great idea. I’m going to do something similar for my guests too.
Let me know how it works out for you, Vidya!
These are great tips and you have covered everything here…!! I will start using these tips..!!
I love the wicker basket arrangement. It’s so simple yet looks inviting and classy. You can also use the freebies you get from the dentist. We have tons of toothbrushes we’ve accumulated, because we use spin brushes.
I don’t want to be caught without hairspray!!!
Yes, Michelle, we have a ton of toothbrushes and floss too.
And hairspray – yes! I’m actually like that with my hair gel. Can’t be caught without it either!
I really like the pretty and creative ways of displaying items! It adds a nice touch and shows guests right where they can find those essentials!
Thank you, Heather! Really, you can keep these in the bathroom year-round to store all of your essentials.
I love the idea of storing guest essentials in a basket so everything is in one place! I’m going to start doing this!
Jill
Doused In Pink
Ah, the burlap box is very clever!
Thanks! It looks really nice in the bathroom and clears up storage space under the sink.
Great tips!
Hi — Love your suggestions and when we have guests do many of the same things. However, the majority of people who stay with us (like for a week at a time) are golf caddies and their needs are far different. I remove all things that may get in their way. Favorite things for them are sitting in the den of the ensuite and playing video games and eating and going over how the courses are played. So it’s the opposite of what most people do when having guests.
They are surprisingly neat and actually do their own laundry and iron everything! Never know they’d even stayed with us when they leave – everything’s put back in the way they found it. AND, one of the best parts – they take us out to dinner!
I would say you are definitely WINNING with those houseguests! Lol.
This is such an amazing idea! Thanks for sharing it. I’m Anita visiting from Think Tank Thursday.
Hi Anita! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
How nice, what wonderful ideas!! Can I come stay too, lol! Thanks for sharing!
These are great tips Ari! It is such a delight to have you link up to Thriving on Thursdays last week. Lovely to meet you. I’m sure there’ll be a few people having company stay over the holidays so perfect timing for this post. I’m featuring it at tomorrow’s party. Hope to see you again!
Anne @ Domesblissity xx