12 Things Around Your Home That Can Make Any Guest Feel Awkward

We are all real people and we often can’t resist the desire to examine someone else’s apartment when we come there on a visit. Sometimes we even tell our friends that Maria makes guests cut onions, and that John keeps his cat’s litterbox in the kitchen.

At Bright Side, we brainstormed together and found 12 habits that don’t agree with true hospitality.

1. Specific books left in plain sight

It can be that you just love reading books about hypnosis or healing, but some guests might find it suspicious. There is no need to hide your passions from your best friends, but if you’re expecting people who are not really close to you, these books should be removed.

• A couple of years ago I tried to arrange a meeting between my friend and one of my acquaintances. They communicated normally until the moment the guy invited her to his home. My friend called me, hysterical, saying, “I entered his room, and there was a book on urine therapy on his bed. How am I supposed to talk to him now?”

2. The lack of necessary items in the toilet

Movie characters can stay at someone else’s house for a day and not go to the bathroom, but real people have physiological needs. It can be pretty awkward if there is neither a toilet brush, nor toilet paper in the bathroom.

A guest shouldn’t have to go searching through your shelves trying to hide the traces of their “toilet crimes.” A good host will leave the necessary things in plain sight or explain where everything can be found.

3. Too hot or too cold

Many of us have faced the situation where colleagues argue about the temperature in the office — some find it too hot, others find it too cold. But if we can get angry at it in the office, we often endure this inconvenience out of politeness at a get-together in someone else’s home.

The comfortable temperature for most people is 68—72°F. You can keep this in mind and watch your guests — it’s easy to figure out whether a person feels too hot or too cold.

4. Trying to unite your guests with your pets

Not all guests will be delighted with the fact that you put your white fluffy cat on their black trousers. Some people are generally afraid of animals and can get stressed out from just meeting your tiny Chihuahua. Many cats and dogs are also afraid of strangers. Sometimes, it’s better to leave the pet in another room for the good of everyone.

• We were visiting my husband’s relatives. They invited me to sit in an armchair and put tea and cookies on the table. So, I was sitting and drinking some pretty bad tea, when suddenly a fluffy cat jumped up on the table and put its tail on the saucer with the cookies. The hosts were really happy when this happened, but I was far from being delighted. I said, “He put his tail down on the cookies.” And they replied, “Well, this is his table, his place, he ALWAYS lies here.” This means, they put my tea in the cat’s corner, this is so disrespectful toward guests. © Vera / AdMe.ru

5. Leaving personal items in visible places

A guest doesn’t need to know that the host wears boxers with Smurfs, or that the hostess prefers panty liners with a chamomile scent. Personal hygiene products can be temporarily hidden in the bedside table, and the drying rack with the linens can be taken away to another room.

A hairbrush also deserves to be stored separately. A girl posted a video on TikTok about how she cleaned and washed her hair brushes. At the end of the video, she asked subscribers if they were doing the same. Some followers said that they didn’t bother to do it at all, but most of them were shocked that someone could not clean their hairbrushes. So leaving a brush with your hair on it in the bathroom will make the majority of guests feel awkward.

6. Cleaning up mid-party

If the host gets up in the middle of the dinner to wash the dishes or grabs a rag in a panic when a crumb falls to the floor, guests might feel uncomfortable. They may think that you are reproaching them for being clumsy, or that you want to say goodbye to them as soon as possible. Just relax and enjoy your party, and do the cleaning when everyone is gone.

7. Leaving your clothes scattered around and a lack of free space on the shelves

If your guest is staying overnight, the polite thing to do would be to provide them with a shelf or a bedside table where they can put their things. It’s unlikely that anyone will be pleased with the prospect of leaving their clothes on the floor or removing clothes left by the hosts to make space for their own.

If a person is visiting you for a couple of hours, it’s worth making room for their coat and shoes on the entry rack.

8. Stained tableware

Nowadays, we don’t keep beautiful tableware just for guests. But this doesn’t mean that a person will be pleased to eat from a poorly washed plate or drink from a mug with brown stains. By the way, tea and coffee stains can be easily removed with baking soda.

• Once I was visiting a friend. She took my plate, put it on the floor, and called her dog over. The dog came running and began to lick this plate. I don’t go there anymore. © Mila / AdMe.ru

9. Too many towels

When a person enters someone else’s bathroom for the first time, a lot of questions swarm in their head. How can I dry my hands? Is it okay to take that big fluffy towel or is that brown rag intended for guests in this house?

Hang a separate clean towel in the bathroom before guests arrive. Ideally, if you place it near the sink, they will immediately understand that they can use it.

10. The hall cluttered with your stuff

Imagine: you walk into someone’s apartment, stumble over scattered shoes, crash into a bicycle leaning against the wall, and end your fall by flipping a nightstand with a flower pot. This is not the way a friendly gathering should start.

The host should clear space in the hallway in advance, and if you live in a private house, clean up the porch too. It would be a good idea to wipe the door handle, because it’s almost always dirtier than it looks.

11. Apologizing for the mess

We do our best to clean up our home before guests arrive but even if we haven’t, there is no need to focus our guests’ attention on this. Phrases like “Sorry for the mess” or “Sorry, the child scattered toys again” can make the guests feel awkward. A person may feel guilty for invading someone else’s territory at the wrong time.

• Our neighbor always invited our family for holidays, but we didn’t really enjoy visiting her. She apologized for every little thing as if wanting us to convince her otherwise. “Forgive me, dear guests, I didn’t have time to wash the toilet. I cooked so many things for your arrival, no one helped me. Please don’t pay attention to it, you can wipe the seat with a cloth.”

12. Treating your guests like they are your family members

Some people are not ashamed to wash the cat litter box in the kitchen sink while a guest is sitting at the table and trying to eat their cake. We want to believe that there are very few similar hosts, but sometimes we need to be ready for anything when on a visit.

• We were visiting my husband’s relative who had just recently had a child. And in the middle of the feast, the hostess cried out joyfully, “Who has the heavy diaper here?” By her further actions, we realized that she was going to change that diaper right there and then. Almost all the guests immediately found an excuse to leave the table. My husband and I agreed that we would visit that relative only once her child grows up.

Tell us about the most shocking situation you experienced when on a visit. Perhaps your story will become the highlight of our future article.