There’s nothing quite like having a full house around Christmas and the New Year. But if you’re hosting overnight guests this festive season, professional organisers want you to declutter these three things from a guest bedroom before they arrive to give you (and them) the best experience possible.
Of course, most of us know the things you should never store in a guest bedroom, but the reality is that these spare rooms are often the only space many of us have to store items we need but don’t necessarily want on display in the rest of the house. As a result, they can become cluttered and full of things your guests probably don’t want to sleep next to.
1. Those ‘sort later’ items
I don’t know about you, but my spare bedroom becomes a dumping ground for things that I either don’t know what to do with… or I do know what I should do with them, but I just haven’t done it yet. Out of sight, out of mind, after all. But decluttering experts say that the run-up to Christmas is the perfect time to finally declutter those items.
Shannon Murphy, Accredited Professional Organiser and the Founder of Simpl Living Co, says, ‘For decluttering a guest bedroom before hosting at Christmas, I’d recommend starting with anything that’s been lingering in the space “to sort later”. This is often where bags of clothes waiting to be listed on Vinted or items for Facebook Marketplace tend to live, so now is the perfect time to get those listed and sold.’
And while knowing what to do with items after you’ve decluttered can be difficult (and daunting), it’s important to note that you don’t necessarily need to get rid of them completely. It could be that you donate to friends and family to keep them nearby - or you store them elsewhere until you’re actually ready to say goodbye to them.
This is especially true if you have old clothes that you don’t have the time - or, quite frankly, the energy - to sell or deal with before the festivities. And storing them in vacuum bags like these Argos Home Pack of 6 Mixed Vacuum Storage Bag (£10 at Argos) and placing them under a bed or up in the loft can be a quick and alternative way to declutter a guest bedroom from big bags and boxes quickly.
2. Spare bedding
It’s always handy to have spare bedding for yourself and your guests - especially around Christmas time, when you may have a high turnover of family and friends. But when was the last time you took stock of the spare bedding you actually have? Well, it may be that you’re keeping more than you need, and it could be cluttering your guest bedroom.
This is echoed by Ingrid Jansen and Lesley Spellman, who are decluttering experts, professional organisers and hosts of The Declutter Hub podcast. They say, ‘Spare rooms often collect old duvets, pillows, and mismatched bedding sets “just in case” and they take up loads of space’ and suggest everyone to ‘keep one good-quality spare set’ that they can use for their guests.
They add, ‘Recycle old pillows and duvets responsibly. Donate bedding that is still in good condition. This makes the wardrobe or under-bed storage instantly more manageable.’ And for the sets that you do keep, you could take a leaf out of our Editor-in-Chief, Heather’s, book and use the Syeeiex Bed Sheet Organiser and Storage 3 Pack (£26.99 at Amazon).
This will help you organise what’s left over so your guests aren’t greeted with a pile of sheets and duvet sets when they arrive for the festive period.
3. Toiletries and guest supplies
One of the best ways to make a guest room feel like a hotel is to offer them little essentials, or even a nice treat like this Pamper Gift Hamper, £35 at M&S. But as the years go on and the guests come and go, it’s easy to build up a collection of half-used (or even completely full) bottles of leftover stuff that can clutter up a spare room - especially if your guest bedroom has an en-suite or dedicated guest bathroom.
So, before your guests arrive this Christmas, take ten minutes to declutter these toiletries and guest supplies and figure out what you actually need. If you have lots of the same item (say, little shampoos or body washes), it may be that you can consolidate all of them into singular bottles like these Natural Rib Reusable Dispenser Bottles, £16 at Next.
Ingrid and Lesley suggest, ‘Keep a small (really small) selection for guests or trips. Use up the rest or donate unopened items to charity or via a giveaway app. Remove anything expired or leaking, and suddenly your drawers will open and close smoothly again.’
To prevent future clutter buildup, you could suggest that your guests take these toiletries and supplies home with them, so you don’t accumulate the clutter yourself. This way, you won’t have to declutter a guest bedroom as much the next time you plan on hosting.
Guest room storage essentials
Multi-purpose pieces like this can work wonders in guest rooms, and this ottoman can serve as both a seating area and a space to store clutter out of the way. Plus, it's so chic.
You can never have too many storage baskets. They're ideal for spare rooms as you can use them to store the items you need to keep, but also offer them to your guests to store some of their smaller belongings.
Coats and jackets can make any room look cluttered, so offering your guests over-the-door hooks to hang them can instantly make a space feel bigger and brighter. When they're gone, you can either remove it or leave it for your own coats!
Whether you pop this in the guest bathroom or bedroom, a storage organiser like this will allow you to keep track of what you're offering guests - and give them the chance to unpack their own things into it.
If you don't have a bedside table in your guest bedroom, offering something like this is a great - and affordable - alternative. They can put everything from their phones to their books and glasses in there, and it's relatively unassuming.
Wardrobes aren't always possible in smaller guest bedrooms, which is why a clothes rail like this is the ideal alternative. You can use the rails at the bottom to house some storage boxes and baskets for shoes, too.
When you've decluttered these items from a guest bedroom, all you have to do is make sure the bubbly is ready!
