Top ten things not to do if you have houseguests...and you want them to come back.
Top ten things not to do if you have houseguests...and you want them to come back
Sooner or later we've all been there.
The house that no one wants to visit.
Maybe it's so bad you can't stand going in there for a few minutes, much less an overnight visit.
Whether the house is smelly, there's trash up to your knees, or there are animals that run wild, you just know that there's something wrong, and the house gives you the creeps.
But what if you don't know there's a problem until you're arrived for your overnight visit?
What if it's you that has the problems?
Are your houseguests running screaming from the house never to return?
Are you met by, no thank you, when you ask your friends to come for a visit?
Are you wondering if you're doing something wrong?
If you see yourself on this list.....you're in trouble!
7 things not to do or say to your houseguests if you want them to come back. - Ok, I could only come up with 7.
If you see yourself here, don't worry, it's not too late to change.
If you don't, can I come stay with you? :-)
If you don't want houseguests, be a man, and tell them that, instead of trying to scare them off with your horrible hostess skills.
- Whatever you do, don't mention anything about poop in the bathtub.
There is absolutely no call for it.
If you must mention it, make a comment such as "Wow, it's only 8 and I'm already worn out. It must be because I spent an hour disinfecting the bathtub after the baby pooped in it."
Trust me. The only thing your guests care about is whether or not you cleaned the tub that they will be showering in.
Of course if you think there's a chance they will think you didn't clean the tub out after the accident, that probably says something pretty bad about you, and your housekeeping skills.
- Make sure you have clean, fresh smelling towels if you have overnight guests.
You really don't want all of your guests dreading visits to your house because your towels smell like urine.
- Don't tell your houseguests that the towels are in their room, and send them off to find them, knowing that they will never be able to find the towels, because the towels are under the bed.
I wouldn't use towels from under my bed, and I know what's under there. I really don't want to use towels that have been kept on your dirty floor, especially if there are gigantic dust bunnies and wads of hair under the bed where you keep your towels.
Of course that might explain the bad smell in the towels...
- Don't tell your guests "I think (Insert name of last person who stayed in room here)" changed the sheets before they left.
It's your house, it's your responsibility.
And who makes company clean the sheets, anyways, unless they offer, and you accept...but then you would know that they washed the sheets, right?
- Do not, no matter what, let your dog lick anything that will be used on or near food.
No tables, no utensils, no plates.
Do you know where that dog's mouth has been?
Ewww.
- Don't immediately say "Ok you watch the (baby, dog, cat, spouse, kids) while we (go out, take a shower, clean the house)" as soon as your guests arrive, unless your visitors know that they are coming to babysit.
Of course if you're houseguests have experienced all of the above list on previous visits to your house, they're probably just visiting because they're too cheap to buy a hotel room, and they probably have plans of their own, that don't include babysitting, petsitting, or spousesitting unless it has previously been agreed upon.
- Have something for your guests to do at your house.
Not everyone wants to sit around and watch your dog beg, or your baby lie on his or her back and coo all of the time.
It might be fun for you, but it's not necessarily fun for your guests.
If you don't have a tv, even if you just have a book or a magazine lying around that they can look at, when you're planning to be home for extended periouds of time, and you don't want them to leave without you.
If you don't have something to do, let them know that the tv is out, or you have to be home pretty early to get the baby to sleep, and they might want to bring a book or something to keep them amused.
What would you do if you had a horrible house visit?
Most of the time when you visit someone their house is neat and clean.
But not always.
What would you do if you had a host with horrible house hygeine?
What would you do if you had a horrible house visit?
