My mom arrived yesterday for a week-long visit. We love it when Grandma comes to stay! The kids have a blast and I love having the extra adult interaction during the day (plus we always do a little fun shopping together. You see, I am a bargain shopping addict with no money right now, and it is really rough to not be able to go scouring for bargains all the time!)
The only challenge I have when Mom (or any other visitor) comes is getting the accommodations ready for her. You see, we only have 3 bedrooms and as you can imagine, the 7 of us fill them up. We have space in the basement/toy room/office-computer room…..so that’s where she sleeps. That is a challenge in itself as the basement/play room/office is also the most used (and usually the most messy) room in the house. It just takes a little prep. Here’s what I do to get ready:
1. Do all of the laundry prior to her arrival. Pay special attention to the sheets and pillow cases that she’ll be using. Lay out sheets and towels for her. Bring out the AeroBed.
2. Clean and vacuum the basement. Make sure that the extra stuff is put away.
3. Prep the basement bathroom (the bath and shower don’t get a lot of use, so they always need an extra cleaning up). Stock the bathroom. Soap? TP?
4. Normal cleaning for the rest of the house. I’ve gotten over having my house perfect for guests. I know they’ll still love me even if the piano is a little dusty or we still have Christmas bins in the family room…..That was totally true last Friday, but I took care of it!)
5. Finally put away all of those things that have been sitting in my room waiting to go up into the attic. Why are there always ALWAYS things that need to go up into the attic?
Yes, these are the Summer clothes and the Christmas bins. Still out…..no more!
6. Sit back and enjoy the visit. I’ll have all next week to clean up. Mom is here. I’m going to take advantage of it.
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