1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: tip is to make a home manual. This will let 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: any visitors to your space know how to make themselves 5 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: at home. It also increases the chances that your home 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: is treated well. If you have ever stayed in a 7 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: short term vacation rental, you probably found a welcome note 8 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: with lots of instructions like where to find the beach 9 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: towels and how to log on to the wireless network. 10 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,279 Speaker 1: If you have ever left your home in the care 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: of a house sitter, you may have been the one 12 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: writing the welcome note about how your home works. You 13 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: probably explain things like what day trash and recycling get 14 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: picked up, where to find the fuse box, and which 15 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: knives don't go in the dishwasher. Depending on the age 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: and life experience of your house sitter, you may have 17 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: also left requests like please use a coaster for cold 18 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: drinks on the coffee table. When you have house guests, 19 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: even if you will be at home the whole time 20 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: with them, you probably do a live version of this 21 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: welcome note. You might show them where to find extra 22 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: pillows and blankets, and how to stop a quirky toilet 23 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: from running. You might invite them to make themselves coffee 24 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: if they get up before you, and show them where 25 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: to find the coffee maker, beans and cups. With occasions 26 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: like these in mind, it can be helpful to create 27 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: a comprehensive digital how to manual for your home with 28 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,559 Speaker 1: information visitors may need to know. That way. Every time 29 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: you are welcoming an overnight guest or house sitter to 30 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: your home, you are not starting from scratch. You can 31 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: add to your digital how to manual over time based 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: on questions guests and house sitters ask you, as well 33 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: as things that don't go the way you intended them to, 34 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: so you can ensure they go better the next time. 35 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: Once your digital how tool manual is created, any time 36 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: you have a visitor to your home, you can copy 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: and paste the relevant sections into a welcome note, especially 38 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: for them. Your house guests don't need to know what 39 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: day the recycling goes out, for instance, but a house 40 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: sitter probably does. For house guests, you can print their 41 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: personalized welcome note and leave it in their room. For 42 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: a house sitter, it may be convenient to email the 43 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: note in advance, since they may appreciate a reminder of 44 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: how to use the alarm before they let themselves into 45 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: your home for the first time. There really is no 46 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: place like home, and nobody will treat your home exactly 47 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: as you would. But with a home manual tailored to 48 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: the audience and occasion, visitors will probably have fewer questions. 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 1: Your guests won't think they broke that toilet, though, perhaps 50 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: if you are explaining too much in a home manual 51 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: about anything, you will just go ahead and get it fixed. 52 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: That might be a wise decision too. If you make 53 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: a home manual, I would love to hear what you include. 54 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 55 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:33,920 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 56 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for 57 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, 58 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 59 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 60 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 61 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.