<p>abasket, great thing to add. If you set a time… be there at that time. I totally understand if you get stuck in traffic… but you have a cell phone, call!! I have certain friends that are just absolutely awful with time. No matter how many times we confirm, they show up an hour or two or twelve late. I don’t care if you’re running late, but I don’t want to be tied to my house waiting for you. I now leave keys out back for when my best friend comes over because she’s either really crazy early (arrives when I’m at work) or arrives really crazy late. That way I don’t have to worry about it.</p>
<p>did you say that out loud musicamusica? LOL</p>
<p>I think what makes a good houseguest varies from person to person. When I have people over for dinner, I DO NOT want them getting up and cleaning up the kitchen. I’d prefer to sit around the table and chat while leisurely drinking coffee. If they start working, I feel like I should too. And people do things differently so I don’t want to have to criticize, but PLEASE don’t scrape the plate scraps into the trash can instead of the garbage disposal. Then I have to empty the can that night or have it smell in the morning. I also don’t want the bed stripped. I leave it there until the next guest comes so they have fresh sheets. If you strip it, I have to wash, remake the beds and then do it again for the next guest. Maybe that’s just me. Or at least ask first. </p>
<p>Pick up after yourselves, but please don’t empty my dishwasher. I’m still looking for my vegetable peeler from the last helpful guest. Offer to pay for the groceries if we go to the grocery store to get the things you need because you have special dietary restrictions or are just picky about the brand of coffee. If you’re here for more than two or three days, offer to take us out to eat. Don’t expect us to treat you, or even split the bill. Don’t move my furniture to the way you like it or put the trash can in a more convenient spot. My MIL used to do this. She liked to have a bag hanging on the door handle for putting her tissues into.</p>
<p>So true, when I have house guests (my parents included) on weekdays, I do not want them to wake upand have breakfast with me. I am usually rushing and last thing I want to do is to chit chat.</p>
<p>This doesn´t happen as often in the States(not as many people have household staff), but when the host has housekeeper or babysitter, and they are looking after you and the kids, it is only courteous to tip those household staff. My sister tipped our driver because he was driving them around. I used to tip my brother´s housekeeping in HKG because she did our laundry, cooked for extra people. With my sister´s house guests, it would have been nice if they gave some money(or gift) to the housekeeper for looking after them during the day. I would usually give extra to my staff if my guests didn´t do it.</p>
<p>I can’t even get my H to give me space and silence in the morning and he’s lived with me for 30 years!!! :)</p>
<p>I feel for ya Musica!</p>
<p>I don’t need a hostess gift, but if you bring something, bring something perishable like flowers or food.</p>
<p>Please don’t put the dishes away. I hate wasting hours trying to figure out where YOU thought the spatulas should go. </p>
<p>Yes help with the clean up, but don’t rush me. I’m fine with sitting around after dinner. Of course you should offer to help with the cooking too. If I say I don’t need help believe me. Sometimes it’s easier to do it myself, sometimes it isn’t.</p>
<p>Ask about family routines. In our house we all make our own breakfasts, but if we are up at the same time we say things like “I’m making ___ do you want some too?” </p>
<p>If you are staying more than a couple of days, you should provide a meal either by cooking it, getting take out or taking us out.</p>
<p>I like to have the beds stripped when guests leave.</p>
<p>I have a beach house…please bring your own beach towels. We have a small stackable washer/dryer that is not well suited for doing massive loads sheets & towels (I take them home to wash). </p>
<p>Shake sand out of your towels and use the showers & foot sprays as you exit the beach to remove sand. If you insist on coming back to the house with sandy feet, please use the hose to rinse off. Do not put your sandy beach towels in my dryer - there’s a line out back for towels & wet bathing suits. </p>
<p>I have a few extra sand chairs, but not the more expensive high back ones that H & I use. Please don’t expect it. Don’t expect I have extra beach bags for everyone. Please brush sand off your beach bag before bringing it in the house. </p>
<p>Please wipe up any sand you leave in the bath tub or bathroom sink before you leave the room. </p>
<p>PS - do you think I have a phobia about sand??</p>
<p>gadzooks…I am glad to be at work, far far away from my former grad school room mate . We tend to have two sorts of guests. There are the old friends and relatives. And then there is the younger set, mostly classical musician friends of D who are in town for auditions. The musicians are wonderful, low maintenance twenty-somethings and hey…who doesnt like to spend the evening listening to beautiful music. And they tend to sleep in. The old friends and relatives, though adept at cooking and cleaning, tend to take up far far too much “emotional space” in the morning and right up until I hit the sack . In short I dread going home tonight.</p>
<p>Martha Stewart posts a printed list of house rules in each guest room in her homes. Maybe this would work for some of the posters here, especially with vacation houses with frequent guests.</p>
<p>A good house guest is indeed one who leaves before you wish they’d leave.</p>
<p>We once had a guest who overstayed his welcome a week or two; a year later when we took in and adopted a stray dog who kept hanging around our home and wouldn’t leave–we named our new dog after our former guest!</p>
<p>horrible house guest #1 – my sister-in-law. Talks non-stop, goes to bed at 3:00 am, wakes up at 1:00 am, never leaves when she says she will, even if it means missing a plane flight.</p>
<p>horrible house guest #2 – my father-in-law. Talks non-stop, complains about my house keeping, is unappreciative about what I can manage to do, (I work).</p>
<p>wonderful house guest – my mother-in-law. Helps around the house, leaves when she says she will, is very appreciative of anything I do for her.</p>
<p>We have a bulletin board up next to the phone in the kitchen of our cabin. On that board are a few lists; general house rules, arrival check list and departure check list. People seem to appreciate them.</p>
<p>Just a general thought for houseguests: Please please PLEASE be sensitive to your hosts’ desire for quiet and privacy. Some people need very little (my mom); some people need a lot (me). </p>
<p>Your hosts love you, or they wouldn’t have invited you. But for some of us, it is a real strain when people invade our sanctuary, even dearly loved people. Your hosts don’t necessarily want your presence in the room every waking moment, nor do they necessarily need you to fill every brief silence with chatter. Give them some space, and err on the side of MORE space rather than less. </p>
<p>Thank you. :)</p>
<p>What makes a good houseguest?</p>
<p>Two words - low maintenance!</p>
<p>If you host has a home office, treat them as if they are leaving for an 8-5 job. Even if they come out for lunch or something else, don’t look at them longingly, don’t act like you expect them to not work…they only get paid for working, if they take time off to visit with every house guest, they will lose out. If they left the house for the day, you would not bemoan the fact.</p>
<p>Also, if your host has a home office and works you should leave the house and explore the area during the day, give them some serenity to focus on work and not be distracted so you can both enjoy the evenings together.</p>
<p>So how’s that home office working out for you, somemom? ;)</p>
<p>Depends on the guest 
Though it is also distracting when the kids are home from school!</p>