We are quickly moving into fall and that means the holidays are just around the corner.
If you are like most people that means there will be a constant run of guests coming in and out of your house to stay for a couple of days here and there.
Instead of panicking at the last minute, making sure everything is ready for your visitors, why not take a little time out now and start to prep some of the things you can in advance, and save a little bit of work when you're in a time crunch.
Inventory Your Storage Chests Most homes that have a lot of extra linens for guests put them in hope chests or other similar storage bins.
But do you really ever know just what is in there? Now is a good time to pull all of the items out of the chests and do a tally of what you really have.
If you can, you should make stacks of what you would need for each person who may visit.
There should be an equal number of extra pillows and blankets available for use.
Do you know how many people are coming for the holidays this year? If you have a pretty good idea, now would be a good time to count the items you have and make sure you have enough to take care of all those guests plus a couple more.
There are always last minute additions to any guest list and it is best that you have a few extra linens, just in case.
Next, take a look at the shape of the items in the chests.
Are any of them getting a little too worn to be given to guests to use when they are in your home? If so, you may want to put these items aside and put newer versions of them on your shopping list.
If you live in moth territory and did not remember to put mothballs in your hope chests, you may find you have a lot of damage done to your bedding items and that a lot of pieces need to be replaced.
Clean the Bedding Items While you may think the items in your hope chests were perfectly clean and folded nicely when they were put in there after the holidays last year, they probably need to be washed again.
Sitting in hope chests all year can make your linens start to smell a little stale and musty.
While they may officially be clean, that doesn't mean they will be appealing to those who are going to use them and you do want to make sure your guests are comfortable.
Cleaning the bedding items is even more important if you have put mothballs in your hope chests to keep the pests away.
Not much can make a guest more miserable in their stay with you than the overwhelming scent of mothballs coming out of the bedding they are trying to use to keep warm.
They will either have to suffer with the smell or suffer with the cold.
Neither of these options is one you want to place upon your guests.