Funny, I'm picking up my first house guest in my new apartment tonight! Nice timing! My linens are washed and ready, towel set is on the chair in the guest room.

I'll be honest, I'm kinda excited about my first!

I am an overnight guest expert! Living in NY we average a couple of house guests a month. Totally agree about the fresh towels and sheets. Tissues in the bathroom and on the bedside table, a small alarm clock, local guidebooks, maps and magazines are helpful. I also have a habit of always making sure I have fresh flowers in the house when I have houseguests, it just livens up the space a little bit more.

I like to make little maps of the neighborhood with places I know my guests will like. As usually have to work at some point and leave them alone, this gives them an easy way to adventure out without me as a guide.

Favorite snacks, including fruit and drinks are great, so they don't have to feel like they need to raid the kitchen or go hungry when left alone. Also, my younger brother loved it when I left X-men comics on his night stand, fashion and craft mags for his wife. :)

women magazines are always there for when we have guests... my family is more girls than men so magazines for us girls are there also whatever girly movie just recently came out and for the men the latest action movies :)

I like the tips. Though I like the idea of buying snacks the guest would like, you honestly can't just place them in the kitchen? Gosh, I must have more of an open lifestyle - I'd just expect company to make themselves at home and raid the kitchen if they are hungry. Or just open the linen closet when they want a towel...there's nothing in there that should shock them (towels, blankets, wash clothes, etc).

I do have a small bag of extra small samples of shampoos and etc that I've basically collected from hotels - I'd probably put them in a really nice small gift bag (I don't do baskets) and sit it in the bathroom...though it doesn't bother me when guests just use our shampoos.

I would like to have seen tips (or even a post) for those who have multi-purpose spare rooms (ex is ours: office, guest room, den, extra storage, and linen storage). There is absolutely no closet space left and no dresser in there...so I'd fail at tip 5.

Thanks so much for highlighting Organizing Your Way, Lindsey!

ChrisGal, you're not the first to mention that you'd like to see tips when you don't have a dedicated space, so I'm working on a post with those as well!

I think the point behind the basket of goodies is that even if you're comfortable with your guests rooting through your cabinets, they might not be. I know as an early bird, I often wake up earlier than our hosts and don't want to make noise looking for something to munch on! Thanks for your thoughts!

Good tips! I always try to think of the stuff I want when I go somewhere. So I have mini iPod speakers, a card with our WiFi username and password, a travel blow dryer (Target for $20) and a card with important channels on our tv. :) Putting snacks in the room is a good idea, but most of our guests roam our house lol. If it was just a friend staying, not a family member, that would be a great idea!

mandiehman -- Understood. Just with the layout of my apartment, more than likely I wake up as soon as the guest leaves the spare room to use the bathroom. Between my bedroom door and the spare room is less than six feet and the bathroom sits cozily between them. So if I somehow slept through the shower, more than likely I'm not going to wake up with someone going through my cabinets. I have designated cabinet space just for snacks and the like.

I love having overnight guests! I make sure to place bottled water in their room along with an Andes mint on their pillow. Whatever I can do to make their stay more comfortable and welcoming! Just for kicks we place a small guest book in the room for guests to sign, date or write whatever they wish!

I'm with ChrisGal about an open lifestyle.

I leave out a basket of toiletries, including spray deodorant (which I hate but I can put it out for the next guest, too). I provide the first set of towels and tell my guests, "You just lost your guest status. If you need more towels, there's the linen closet."

Same with snacks and drinks.

First-time guests feel right at home after I take away their guest status.

In the early 90's, I moved from Toronto to Calgary with my new husband and of course, all our friends and family promised to visit. As it turned out, they DID...ALL of them...as well as a few of "friends of friends".! During our first year there we hosted 28 individuals, with some enjoying multiple visits...for a total of 34 guests.

After the first few guinea pigs, we had it down pat...even considering different interests, lifestyles and needs!

It was truly a pleasure to see all these great friends! We were pretty tired by the end of the year, but we wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Sheila!

I really appreciate this. My daughter is making a few extra bucks housing short term grad students (two weeks) and this will give her some good ideas.

If you can, I think it's thoughtful to have pillows of varying densities.

Definitely a light suitable for reading.

If you are going to be out and the guests are going to have downtime, it would be nice to leave instructions for how to turn on the TV/audio system. I've stayed with folks with those universal remotes and I just give up half the time.

Also, I'm all for letting people feel at home in the kitchen, but sometimes you need to "break the seal" for them on a few things. As a guest, I don't like to open a new package of anything.