Make your house guest friendly

With Christmas around the corner now is a great time to scrutinize your home with the eyes of a guest. Here are a few rooms that may not come to the forefront of your mind but can play a large role in the hospitality of your home:

1) The entry- Make sure it is clear and easy for people to move through. You do not want your guests to feel as though clutter is leaning in over them as they enter your house. Create a home for all your jackets and shoes and set up an area where you can quickly hang visitors’ jackets.

2) The bathroom- People who visit you during a large gathering can spend a lot of time in this room. Besides hiding your toiletry items so they are not in plain view, consider setting out a basket with replacement toilet paper, soap and the air freshener. This way your guests do not have to awkwardly hunt around your bathroom.

3) The guest room- If your family stay the night or for a few days, be sure the guest room dresser and closet have ample space to comfortably accommodate a visitor’s clothes. It is also pleasant for a guest to come into a room with bed linens and towels laid out for them so they do not need to ask you where to find them.

Purchasing a good file cabinet

So you need a place to put all those papers. A filing cabinet is the obvious solution. But you want to get one that will last and fit your needs adequately. Take these points into consideration when you shop for a filing cabinet, whether it is for home or business use.

1) Do you want legal or regular width drawers? If you prefer legal size papers, buy a cabinet specifically meant for legal size files. Trying to transform a typical filing cabinet into a legal size one wastes a lot of valuable space.

2) Be sure the drawers run on tracks. If the drawers are free and simply slide out they will be difficult to move once they are fully loaded. Invest in a cabinet with drawers that run on sturdy tracks.

3) Be sure the drawers have high sides so you can use hanging files. If that is not possible, purchase an inexpensive rack to insert in the drawer. A filing cabinet becomes a black hole if manila folders are simply lined up in the bottom of the drawer.

4) Consider the material. The rule of thumb is sturdy. I thin metal file cabinet will buckle over time and a file cabinet made of low quality particle board will not last as long. Invest in a cabinet made of high quality materials to get the most life out of it.

Top 8 items for a home command center

Top eight items a home command center needs: Family wall calendar- Every family member should have their activities listed on this calendar. Consider using it to plan meals as well. Message board- Have a dry erase board for phone messages and reminders. Magnet board- Sometimes you can find a magnet/dry erase combo. This is great for holding small papers in transition. Key rack- A simple key rack will keep every driver’s car or house key at the ready. Cell phone storage- There are several products out there that provide a home for cell phones and their charging cables. In/Out bin- You should have a spot for all incoming mail and outgoing mail. Go through the mail everyday to keep it from building up. Bill holder- Use a wall pocket or a basket to keep bills that are waiting to be paid so they do not get lost in the mail shuffle. Make sure you mark the due date on the envelope. Personal spots- Use wall pockets or small corkboards for each family member to put reminders, permission slips and school schedules. A great example of these components is the “Daily System” found at PotteryBarn.com.