Hey party people, it’s almost holiday-time.

You know what that means?

Whatever kind of funny business you have going on in your guest room, you best get on cleaning that up. It’s likely said room may actually need to house guests in the coming weeks.

LSM

– At the very least:

You need to clear obvious and cumbersome clutter from the room–objects obstructing the path to the bathroom, bags of retail you’ve been meaning to return for the past five months that are sitting on the bed, that scrapbooking project you started right around this time last year that’s still covering most of the guest room floor–all such items need to be removed and dealt with appropriately.

– Next level means:

Ensuring your guests have a modest amount of space to keep their clothing and other belongings. A vacant hanger or two would be lovely of you to provide. You might also consider(announcer voice): a dresser drawer! An empty wardrobe! A chair in the corner to prop up their suitcase! Etc!

For real hospitality points:

Provide your guests with a little courtesy pack, including things like cosmetics, an eye cover thingy (why am I blanking on the proper word here all of a sudden?), a loofah, fresh linens, and perchance even a bottle of water bed-side and a midnight snack or two. Be all cute and Stewart-y about it, go on, you’re allowed.

Want some undeniable inspiration?

Scope this visitor pack put together by the supreme Victoria Mcginley:

Or this one (frankly any shot at all from this entire Style Me Pretty gallery) captured by the lens of Rustic White Photography:

Or, dear, gracious, heaven above, this coffee and breakfast fixings tray for early risers presented by Carolyn Roehm:

For further houseguesty pointers, peruse this post.

Plus, check out this idea for hosting visitors in a small space. 

Oh, and? Turns out houseguests are a really good source of motivation.