It doesn’t matter if you have a great relationship with your in-laws or a distant one, when it comes to visits, you want to make sure your home is fully prepared for a visit from the extended family. Give yourself plenty of time to tidy up and make a quick dash to the storage unit.

Display All Those Unwanted Gifts

Ok, you probably packed up all those ugly gifts from the in-laws and stuck them into storage as soon as you could. This is the time to bring them out and display them in all their glory. Your in-laws will appreciate seeing their gifts used. Of course, if your in-laws are serial unwanted gifters you might want to hint about your differences in taste. You don’t want a house full of Donald Duck figurines or singing fish novelties if you can help it.

Hide All Those Unseemly Tokens

The in-laws coming into town might be a good time to stash those few unseemly items lying around the house. Temporary pack up those gory movie posters, the inappropriate mugs and shirts, and anything else you’d rather keep from grandma’s eyes. While there is certainly something to be said about living honestly, when it comes to in-laws, sometimes it’s better to create a solid first impression.

Clean Clean Clean

There’s a good chance someone in the family might peek into your medicine cabinet or your kitchen drawers. You don’t want to appear as a mess, so make sure you keep things organized and dust-free.

Plan for Activities

One way to in-law-proof your house is to keep your in-laws out of your house as much as possible. Plan out long activities like golfing, sightseeing, or catching a movie. Between going out on activities and eating out, you won’t have to worry about too much time in too little space.

In-laws have a way of keeping you on your toes. Keep things fresh and clean and certain things stored away. And don’t worry; their stay with you is only temporary.