Before we left for vacation, everything had to be just so. It is hard to co-ordinate last minute packing, get two kids ready and also do heavy cleaning.
In situations like this we hire a cleaning service. But we departed on New Year's Day. The cleaning service we use was closed for the holiday. What to do?
You may remember the solution from one of my previous columns: have the cleaners come in the night before, then clean as you go the following morning.
Here is a partial list of what we did to get ready for our home exchange guests while someone else cleaned our apartment:
1) Wash all clothing and bedding. No one wants to vacation with a pile of your dirty laundry.
2) Strip and re-make all beds. We chose our nicest Frette sheet set for mom and dad home exchanger and our cutest set for their young daughter.
There's nothing like really luxe sheets to make a home exchange feel like a castle.
Actually, I don't even know if anyone but me notices these things, but it's hospitable to put out the nicest things for guests. No polyesther sheets for my home swap partners!
3) Remove my family's towels and my children's potty training accessories and bath toys from the bathrooms.
Interacting with one of those little potty seats every time I use my bathroom isn't any fun for me even though I'm happy to be putting my kid's diapers "behind" me.
There's no reason to suspect it would be a thrill for anyone else to have such paraphenalia in their life either.
4) Empty garbage cans in all rooms and clean out that morning's coffee machine filter. It is easy to forget these two items but yucky if you do.
5). Fill welcome basket with area maps, guide books, transit pass, home and cat care instructions, regional magazines with weekly events listings and brochures.
6) Leave easy meal next to welcome basket. This time I left a variery of high-quality soups.
7) Clean out fridge and leave at least 1 shelf clear for rxchangers' food.
8) Empty 1+ clothing drawers and leave empty hangers.
9) Stash baby clothes I didn't have time to take to thrift shop in closet. Eliminate clutter in office area.
10) Chill welcome bottle of champagne (or sparkeling apple juice if you met your swap partners through Mormon Home Exchange or Sober Swappers).
11) Write welcome card. Inform exchangers that food and champagne is for them since they should leave your provisions alone if not specifically invited to enjoy.
12) Leave out guest book for swappers to sign.
It took a few hours to accomplish all if this but for a hospitable person it's pleasant work. If this list looks excessive to you, home exchange may not be worth the energy for you.
Let me know what I forgot. Is there a crucial part of your pre-swap routine you wish more exchangers would attend to? Don't keep it to yourself, comment below.
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