Category Archive

house guests

Offbeat Bride has 5 tips to impress the asses off of your house guests

This post over on Offbeat Bride has some killer tips for making sure your house guests feel RAD about staying with you. You’ll look like a hosting pro with these ideas. Here’s one to get you started, but head over to Offbeat Bride for the full list.

7 travel tips for introverts

I’m on summer vacation and technically unemployed until my PhD starts in the fall, so I’m spending about a month traveling to see family and friends. I’ll be staying with my mom, my in-laws, my cousin, and three separate pairs of friends, all at their homes. As an introvert, I find that there are a few things I can do, while spending time at various homes, to make sure I’m recharged in order to enjoy the high amounts of social time for the next month…

Unexpected party favors: What should I do with the things guests forget at my house?

I’ve found myself with a growing collection of castaway sunglasses, casserole dishes, makeup, gifts from friends that were meant for other friends. What is the etiquette for storing/returning forgotten items? If a guest claims an item, but takes forever to come pick it up, how long should I keep it? If they live far away, am I obligated to ship it to them?

How can I release my inner neat-freak and enjoy having people over?

My guy and I work from home — well, I work from home, he works from the shop in the barn behind our house, and it’s SUPER awesome. People drop by all the time, and it’s not unusual to have folks over 3-7 nights a week (people stay over 1-3 nights a week).

I come from a pretty traditional background and a clean freak mom so having an open house like this REALLY stressed me out, because I wanted the house to be clean and have snacks out etc. I’ve relaxed my standards significantly and now I’m wondering what kind of life-hacks I should be using to be prepared for guests?

How can we eat on the floor without making our guests feel weird?

My fiance and I love to eat on the floor. We have a table that we like and we sometimes use it, but we’re just more comfortable on the floor.

We recently had a friend over for dinner and it was a little weird for him, so I want to come up with ways to make eating on the floor more comfortable for guests.

Other than cushions or mats, what can you do to make eating on the floor feel comfortable… and maybe even a bit posh?

The Velvet Rope: Why every hostess needs boundaries

Over the years, my “velvet rope” has had hugely positive results, for my housemates and my friends. It cuts down on drama and keeps my parties fun, happy, and safe.

The shy person’s guide to large parties

Large parties are rife with what I call “fringe friends” — strangers, distant family, or people you don’t know intimately. You might get invited to (or asked to organize) a wedding, reunion, baby shower, barbecue, work function, or camping trip. If you’re shy, this can be a source of anxiety instead of fun. Large parties prove difficult for those who are shy, and are a true challenge for the introverted host.

Here’s what has worked for me when hosting and socially navigating large parties.

Hack junkmail, take power naps, and ring doorbells: there’s an app for that

If you have a smartphone, do you use any apps for your home? I’ve loved the new Reminders feature iPhones got with the last major update — I have it set to remind me every day through April 20 to turn my grow lights on and off in my makeshift nursery.

Here are three apps you can use to make household life easier: one zaps junk mail, one programs power naps, and one is a magical doorbell.