Be The Guest: House Manners

BACK TO BASICS | by KAT SPELLMAN

YOUR HOST WILL THANK YOU IF YOU APPROACH A LONG-TERM VISIT as a houseguest in the same way you’d plan a dream vacation. With a bit of sleuthing, planning, expert packing, and some energy dedicated simply to spoiling, you’ll be a guest whose bags won’t be sent to the curb. Next time you’re staying for any stretch of time, call on these tips for being the perfect guest:

© iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

• Bunking for more than a week? Make your hosts love you all the more by gently inquiring ― or better yet, guessing ― what their least-favorite household tasks are. Then roll up your sleeves and in a low-key way tackle those nasty tasks for them: mopping floors, cleaning toilets, weeding, scrubbing, and more.
• Make your room or space as self contained as possible. Keep your “stuff” from spreading throughout the household by setting up your guest zone temporarily as a little self-sufficient pod of living. Think beyond your clothes, gear and piles and bring along entertainment such as iPods, a little TV or a laptop with wireless access. That way, should you like Food Network and they prefer ESPN, you’re not cramping their style.
• Surprise them with thoughtful gestures. Put yourself in the shoes of the host and think of what she does to make your visits special. Now turn the cards and do the same for her. Know she has a guilty addiction to trashy tabloid mags? Pick some up at the market and place them incognito in a pretty file folder on her bedside table. Host trying to eat healthy? Go by the farmer’s market or a specialty grocer like Whole Foods and buy the best-looking fruit you can find. Leave it on the counter with a nice little note saying “Enjoy!”