Getting a Spare Room Ready for Holiday Guests in Regina

The spare room in most Regina houses is a storage room eleven months of the year and a bedroom for the twelfth. If people are coming for the holidays, late October is the right time to start — not because it takes weeks, but because the hardest part is finding somewhere else for everything currently in there, and that's much easier before the garage is full of snow.

Deal With the Storage Pile First

No amount of cleaning helps a room that's still half-full of boxes. Start here and the rest is straightforward.

Work in four piles: belongs elsewhere in the house, store in the basement or garage, donate, discard. A box you haven't opened since you put it in there isn't going to be needed next month.

What needs to leave is what guests will notice: the laundry rack, the exercise equipment nobody uses, the donation bags, the boxes in the closet. Guests need real closet space with a few empty hangers and a clear surface for a suitcase. If the closet has to stay partly full, push it to one side and make the empty half obviously theirs.

Clean the Room Properly, Top to Bottom

A room that's been closed up for months is dustier than it looks. Work downward so you aren't re-dirtying what you've done.

1. Cobwebs and ceiling corners, plus the light fixture and the ceiling fan blades
2. Window glass, sills and tracks — this room's window is usually the least-cleaned in the house
3. Curtains or blinds. Wash the curtains if their label allows, or wet-wipe the blinds
4. Walls and the door, spot-wiping marks, plus the switch plates and the handle
5. Furniture, including the tops of the dresser and the headboard, and inside the drawers
6. Baseboards and the heat register
7. Under the bed, which is where the dust actually is
8. Floor last — vacuum thoroughly, then mop if it's hard surface

Open the window for ten minutes while you work if the weather allows. A closed room smells closed however clean it is.

The Bed

This is the part guests judge, and it's worth doing fully rather than just putting fresh sheets on top.

• Strip everything, including the mattress protector
• Vacuum the mattress on both sides and rotate it
• Wash the pillows if their labels allow, and replace any that have gone flat
• Wash the duvet, or at least air it out over a railing
• Use freshly washed sheets, not ones that have sat in the linen closet since spring — they pick up a stored smell
• Add an extra blanket at the foot of the bed. Regina nights get cold and guests won't ask
• Two pillows per person, one firmer and one softer

The Dry-Air Problem

This is the single most common complaint from people visiting the prairies in winter, and it's easy to get ahead of. Indoor air during a Regina cold snap is extremely dry, and someone arriving from a milder climate will wake up with a dry throat and a headache.

A small humidifier in the guest room helps enormously — clean it on the manufacturer's schedule and fill it fresh. Put a jug of water on the nightstand. Check that the heat register is open and not blocked by furniture, and if the room runs cold, say so and offer the extra blanket.

Lighting, Outlets and the Small Things

The difference between a spare room and a guest room is mostly in the details.

• A bedside lamp with a switch they can reach from the bed
• A free outlet or power bar within reach for phones
• A hook or the back of the door for a coat, plus a few hangers
• A wastebasket, which spare rooms almost never have
• A mirror, even a small one
• Clean towels set out on the bed, one bath and one hand per person
• The wifi password written on a card, so nobody has to ask twice

Don't Forget the Entry and the Bathroom

Guests only see a few rooms, and two of them aren't the guest room.

The bathroom they'll use needs a full clean — toilet, sink, counter, mirror, tub or shower, floor — plus a clear spot on the counter, a fresh hand towel and a visible spare roll.

The entry matters more here than most places. Winter guests arrive with wet boots, a heavy coat and a suitcase, so make sure there's a boot tray with a lip, room on the hooks, and a mat long enough to stand on. Clear the walk and the step first.

A Realistic Timeline

Three weeks out: clear the storage pile and relocate it.

One week out: the full room clean; wash bedding, curtains and towels.

Two days out: make the bed, clean the guest bathroom, set out towels.

The morning of: quick vacuum, wipe the bathroom, empty the wastebaskets, clear the entry.

Where a Professional Clean Fits

A room closed up for months is a good fit for a deep clean, which is also the right choice for a first visit or after a 30-day gap. Interior windows ($45) and wet-wiping blinds ($55) are worth adding here, since both are usually overdue. Hosting repeatedly? Recurring visits save 10% every 2 weeks or 5% every 4.

Pricing is flat-rate, not hourly, from $120 + GST for a 1 bed / 1 bath, plus $30 per additional bathroom. Get your price in about 30 seconds.

Book with YQR Cleaning

YQR Cleaning is locally owned and has been cleaning Regina homes since 2022, from Windsor Park to Harbour Landing. Cleaners bring all their own supplies and are insured, bonded and background-checked. You don't need to be home, you pay after the clean, and if we miss something we'll come back and fix it free.

See your price or call or text (639) 739-7669.