House Room Week

Hospitality is a core value of the Christmas holiday season, so this week, we prepare for houseguests, focusing on the guest room. 

No guest room?  Take aim on the multi-function area that houses sleepover guests; otherwise, it's another bonus room week!

Our holiday prep focus turns to decor, as we begin planning seasonal decorations.   A decor declutter clears surfaces in time to decorate for autumn. 

Finally, we'll schedule houseguests and build a little "pamper basket" to welcome them, as we begin writing Christmas cards or signing holiday letters.

This Week's Focus: Guest Room or Bonus Room

Reading Assignments from Houseworks:

• Housekeeping Skill Set:  Clean - pages 49-71
  Clean fast, clean smart, clean scheduled:  all you need to know to make short work of cleaning house.

Inspiration from the Web:

• Frugal Holiday Decorating Tips 
• Welcome Home ... for the Holidays
• Whose House for the Holidays? 

This Week's Houseworks Checklist

• Declutter, clean and organize guest areas. Whether your household has a dedicated guest room or a simple fold-out sofabed, declutter, organize and clean the area you use to host guests.

  No guest room or guest space? Take a bonus week, tackling another area of the household.

This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist

• Begin planning holiday decor.  Check magazines, library books and the Web for decor inspirations. Use a room-by-room decor planner form to coordinate decor plans.
• Inventory holiday decorations.   Make a quick inspection and determine what you have to work with.  Will you need to replace or upgrade decor items? Make a note on the decor inventory form
• Declutter before you decorate.  Do your visual field a favor with a quick decor declutter. A clean sweep now makes holiday decorations all the more impressive!
• Decorate for autumn.  Choose "generic" decor items.  Nearer to Halloween, add a few Halloween items which can be removed easily after the holiday.
• Schedule houseguest stays.  Check in with family--will you host houseguests this year?
• Make a guest room "pamper basket".  Guests feel welcome when the guest room or guest area boasts a simple basket of toiletries and personal care supplies.  Add a coffeemaker and beverage supplies for a "bed and breakfast" touch.
• Divide the Christmas card list into five sections.  Complete one section this week.  Goal:  to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 1.

This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:

Decor StorageDecor By RoomDecor Inventory