Preparing Your Home for Summer Guests

This post is sponsored by 2000 Flushes® Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

 

Having friends and family visit is always one of the highlights of summer. Since we live near Washington, DC where Independence Day is celebrated in grand style on the DC Mall, having 4th of July guests to celebrate the holiday definitely means a patriotic-themed weekend.  During the summer, especially over the holidays, we do our best to keep our home ‘guest-ready’ since we never know when we’ll have some company.

 

 

One of the nice things about the way our home is designed is that we have a private guest room and bathroom in the basement for our visiting guests. They have a quiet space as well as their own bathroom tucked away in the lower level of our home. We have a very large family, so it’s not unusual for us to have unexpected overnight guests when someone is in the area.

 

 

Our guest room is fairly traditional, but simple in decor. I always keep the beds made with clean linens, extra pillows, and blankets and make sure the bathroom is stocked with extra towels and nice guest soaps. Having everything be self-serve makes guests feel comfortable and makes their vacation easier, nobody likes to have to climb two flights of stairs for more TP!

 

 

 

 

We always joke that our downstairs bathroom is the nicest in our house – you can see the pretty marble vanity that the former owners put in. I am not going to lie, keeping this downstairs bathroom clean previously has been a bit of a challenge. Our basement is also where our kids tend to hang out, so this bathroom is used by teenagers, mainly boys {#cringe!}. Full disclosure: I used to have to sneak downstairs {often while our unexpected guests were still upstairs} and quickly clean the toilet before showing our visitors to their room.

Since I started using 2000 Flushes® Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner, I am relieved to say that I no longer have this problem. The bowl is always sparkling, and since it removes 99% of bacteria, I don’t have to worry about it staying clean. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about the teen “hang out” part of the basement! Click HERE to get a $1 off coupon for 2000 Flushes and you can try it for yourself. To find out where to purchase it, check out 2000 Flushes’ website.

 

I like to add other small touches for our guests, like fresh flowers, magazines for light reading and supply toiletries just in case they forgot anything.  It is, after all, vacation so they should be able to relax and enjoy their time with us.

 

 

When we have weekend guests I do a few extra things that help them feel at home, and also keep our time together relaxed. Upstairs in the kitchen, a self-serve coffee station is ready to go at all times, that way early risers can help themselves because after all, we all know coffee is crucial to a good day.

 

 

In the afternoon–we jokingly say to bridge the gap between coffee and cocktails–I leave a tray of lemon water and fruit out. This way everyone feels comfortable helping themselves as they wish.

 

 

For extra fun when we have guests over the Fourth of July holiday, I try to set a patriotic-themed table. It doesn’t have to be fussy, and summer fruit with some simple pastries coordinate perfectly with the red, white and blue for a casual breakfast.

 

 

 

I love this time of year! Here’s to celebrating all the fun of summer with visiting friends and family.

 

 

XO,

 

Thank you 2000 Flushes® for sponsoring this post, as always all opinions are my own.