Many cultures consider hospitality to be a sacred obligation. We all want to treat our guests well, but sometimes things fall through the cracks. It’s especially difficult when you have guests staying overnight or longer.

The ever-helpful House Beautiful offers some tips about “What Your Houseguests Won’t Tell You” that are awesome. Check them out, and here are some more from us.

If there’s anything about your bathroom that your guests need to know, just tell them. There’s no need to be delicate. If you have a septic system that doesn’t allow most things to be flushed, let your guests know. Put up small signs in the bathroom as well — it’s always helpful to have a reminder. Likewise, if the handle needs to be held down until the toilet is done flushing, the bathroom door knob needs to be jiggled to the left to lock, or the shower needs to run for a minute before there’s any kind of water pressure, don’t leave your guests guessing.

Sleep in your guestroom! You can do this when your room is being painted, but you should spend a night in there every so often — at least every six months and preferably quarterly. How else are you to know that the box spring squeaks when you turn over, or the bar on the sofa bed digs into your back, or that the radiator goes crazy at midnight and heats the room to 90 degrees? Don’t depend on your guests telling you; they’ll probably be too polite.

Ask about dietary needs. Providing meals for a vegetarian or someone with a gluten allergy might seem daunting at first, but most people want to help you out with food shopping and prep. And of course, you as a good host don’t want your guests to be hungry. Nothing ruins a visit faster than growling stomachs!

What are your tips for being a good host and making your guests comfortable?

Torn screens are a fact of living in everyone’s home. I re-screen our front screen door twice a season — four children and lots of friends pushing on the screen. After removing the old screen, buying a roll of new fiberglass screen (the easiest to use), and some new spline and a spline tool, you can do it yourself without too much trouble.

Lay the torn screen’s frame on the ground and remove the old rubber spline while holding the screen in place. Then spread the new screen over the frame insert the rubber spline rope into the groove and press in place. Use the spline tool, which looks like a pizza cutter, to secure the rope. Hold the excess firmly but not too tightly as you can bow the frame depending on how big it is.

Once the rubber spline is in place and your new screen is tight and flat, cut the excess with a sharp utility knife and replace the screen into its window opening. If it’s a problem screen like my front door, consider aluminum screening, which it a little tougher. And if you have a large pet who likes to stick its snoot in the screens, there are thicker pet screens that are the toughest around.

Sure, you could take this to a hardware store and have the work done for you, but this is an easy one that you can do yourself and keep the bugs from entering your home.

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Karim Rashid & Soda Stream: A Bubbly Match
Shelter Pop
“The award-winning designer has a new kitchen device — and he’s giving his only US interview to ShelterPop! With the at-home soda craze in full swing, it’s only natural that SodaStream — maker of the DIY soda maker — would bring some design cred to their machines by teaming up with award-winning designer Karim Rashid. Together. they’ve created a fun and bubbly limited edition home soda maker that us seltzer-aholics here at ShelterPop are crazy about. So when he agreed to give his one US interview to us, we jumped at the chance to talk not only about the DIY soda trend, but inspiration and good design as well.”

3 Smart Ways to Pay for Your Home Remodel
CalFinder
“As you may have noticed, the remodels with the greatest return often come at the highest price tags. Window replacement, for instance, costs an average of $11,066, bathroom remodels go for $16,634, and minor kitchen renovations ring in at $21,695. If you lack the cash up-front to cover materials and labor, how can you afford the work your home needs this year?”

Rooftop Gardens
Design*Sponge
“Outdoor space is most New Yorkers’ ultimate real estate wish. We initially hunt for more light, bigger rooms and better locations, but even after you’ve found a great apartment, it’s impossible to not eventually hope for a place to plant a garden to sit outside. While the reality of an amazing rooftop garden feels about a hundred years away for me, for some New Yorkers, it’s sitting right in front of them.”

DIY: Make a Sewing Kit in a Mason Jar
Casa Sugar
A picture guide to keeping sewing equipment for clothing emergencies in an adorable mason jar.

Why You Should Get an Energy Audit
Old House Web
“The right place to start is with an energy audit, a top-to-bottom look at your house by a trained professional who can then make suggestions on which upgrades can do the most good.”

When it comes to gardening, planting and growing is only half the battle. Too often, insects, rodents and weeds spell the demise of a late summer’s harvest.

For those who prefer chemical-free gardening – no pesticides or herbicides – DIY Life recently featured tips on companion planting, a gardening strategy that thwarts common pests by pairing specific plants together. The most common garden defenders include:

• Marigolds – ward off animals, mosquitoes and aphids
• Peppermint - prevents ants, white cabbage moths and aphids
• Garlic – repels Japanese beetles, fleas and aphids
• Basil – fights flies and mosquitoes

From the same article, expert gardener Patti Moreno showcases the “three sisters” gardening method, a planting strategy credited to Native Americans that groups corn, beans and squash alongside one another take leverage each plant’s unique benefits. Corn absorbs nitrogen from the soil and beans take nitrogen from the air and add it to the soil while squash provides shade to cool the soil.

Companion planting is about putting your plants to work. The result? A delicious late-summer harvest that’s completely organic and free of chemicals, pests and unnecessary labor.

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Now that it is “officially” (not officially meteorologically of course) summer post-Memorial Day and we can do things like wear whites and play croquet, it’s time to start thinking of how to cool ourselves with some refreshing libations. The days get hot, and it’s important to keep hydrated!

One hot trend is infused waters. Take a pitcher or some other container and add water and your infusion ingredients. These can be almost anything. You could go for the classic lemon and mint or get really wild with pineapple and cinnamon sticks. The possibilities are endless! Love To Know has some ideas to start you off.

Infused water amps up the taste of regular water and allows you to be creative. Plus its calories are negligible. So mix up a pitcher, or grab a beverage dispenser for your next party. We’re partial to this one from Crate & Barrrel:

Happy sipping!

Top image courtesy of wtfclem on Flickr.

Ice Castles Grown by a Minnesota Man Using Geothermal Heating System
Inhabitat
“Winters in Minnesota are cold and the best way to get through the bone-chilling season is to have fun with it, just like Roger Hanson does. For the last four years the ice builder has been growing ice castles in his front yard with the help of his geothermal heating system, some fancy sprayers and a computer program he created himself.”

The $200 Microhouse
New York Times
“For ingenuity, thrift and charm, Mr. Diedricksen’s tiny structures are hard to beat. Made of scavenged materials, they cost on average less than $200 to build. They often have transparent roofing, which allows a fine view of the treetops, particularly in the smallest ones, where the most comfortable position is supine. They have loads of imaginative and decorative details: a porthole-like window salvaged from a front-loading washing machine, a flip-down metal counter taken from the same deceased washer.”

How Many Recycled Cans Does It Take to Make an Airplane?
The Daily Green
“The good news is that my yearly office cleaning gives me a chance to sort out the hundreds of press releases and news clippings I’ve saved during the year for my annual Top Ten Shocking Eco-Facts blog post. Remember, being the Green Cheapskate, that’s “eco” as in ecological as well as economical.”

DIY Home Humidifiers: Humidify Your Home for Less
DIY Life
“The cold winter weather outside, coupled by indoor heating systems, easily sucks all the moisture out of your home. Low humidity levels can also lead to a host of problems including dry skin, sore throats, along with cracks in paint and wood furniture. Adding a humidifier is an easy way to replace this lost moisture in your home, but at times humidifiers can require high maintenance and more space and money than you would like to expend. Luckily, even on the tightest of budgets, there are inexpensive tricks to humidify your home.”

Recession Buster: DIY Wall Art
Calfinder
“There are some great things you can do in a weekend to revolutionize your living room—and installing affordable wall art is one of them. Check out how.”

diy project: homemade leprechaun spirits
Design*Sponge
“Saint Patrick’s Day is right around the corner; it will sneak up on you before you know it, so you might want to prepare! The tradition of drinking on the holiday comes from a legend called Patrick Pot. This project honors that tradition.”

In honor of our last post of 2010, we’ve decided to round up our most popular posts ever. Below are the top 10. Enjoy and we will see you next year for more great home living information! Thanks for reading this year.

• Built Around You: Laundry in a Closet
• Remodeling Using ‘Quality Over Quantity’
• Unusual homes: Cool conversions
• How To: Grow Tomatoes Upside Down
• Space-saving ideas for small spaces
• Built Around You: Stylish Bathroom Overhaul
• Small on Space, Big on Style
• New Uses for Old Windows
• Amazing Windows Created By Amazing Artists
• myMarvin Architect’s Challenge: Lake Cottage

DIY Project: Handmade Gift Wrap
Design*Sponge
Ever wanted to add an extra personal touch to your gift giving? Try making your own gift wrap. This how-to takes you through the process.

Which is Greener, a Real of Fake Christmas Tree?
The Daily Green
“For many families, the centerpiece of Christmas celebrations is the luminous, awe-inspiring tree set up with care in the living room. But with all the options now available, how do you know which Christmas tree is the greenest choice for the environment?”

Foodie Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids of All Ages
The Epi-Log
Wondering what to get your young gourmand? Here are some ideas from the editors at Epicurious.com.

Design & Decor Books: The Best of 2010
Apartment Therapy
“Even the most die-hard design blog addict will admit there is something special about flipping through the pages of a real, tangible book on home design. Throughout the year we have posted on a host of books about the home — from inspirational (and “aspirational”) glossy tomes to instructional and downright technical guidebooks.”

5 Last-Minute Green Gift Ideas
Re-nest
“‘Twas the weekend before Christmas, and just like this blogger, you’re scrambling to find some good green gift fodder. You forgot someone important (how’d that happen!?) or a few extra folks are coming to celebrate, and you don’t want to resort to some plastic crap that the giftee will end up sending to Goodwill anyway. What to do? We have some ideas.”

During December, the Christmas tree becomes the focal point of many people’s homes and seasonal decorations. Many people have their own eclectic tastes with traditional family ornaments. But for those who want to pull together a professional-looking or themed tree, it can be hard to know how to begin. Luckily there are numerous experts out there to help!

For a slideshow of some great trees, we recommend Country Living’s guide. Over 30 photos of various themes and colors should get your creative juices flowing!

Better Homes and Gardens offers a video tutorial on the best way to trim your tree with style and panache:

Do you have any favorite family tree decorating traditions? Let us know in the comments. Happy Holidays!

Image courtesy of maaco on Flickr.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas: Poppies and Posies
Design*Sponge
If you are looking for a beautiful DIY autumn centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table, check out this step-by-step guide and prepare to wow your guests.

Consider This! A Multi-Course Plated Thanksgiving Dinner
The Kitchn
“Sure, it’s traditional to pass huge platters around the table in one merry food frenzy at Thanksgiving. And, yes, we’ll be busy enough just getting all the food prepared, so why throw in the extra step of multiple courses and plating food individually? We’ll give you two big reasons why we’re thinking about doing this.”

Thanksgiving Specials Across the U.S.
Open Table
If you’d like to be giving thanks for not having to cook, check out Open Table’s guide for where to eat on Thanksgiving Day.

101 Head Starts on the Day
New York Times
“For cooks, most Thanksgiving problems are brought about by the sheer number of dishes competing for the stove: It’s not easy to roast a turkey and sweet potatoes for 20 at the same time. The best solution is to make food in advance, like one of the dishes that follow.”

It’s Thanksgiving; We’re Doomed
City Room Blog (New York Times)
If you feel like Turkey Day might make you crazy, you’ll like these Thanksgiving stories from psychiatrists. Don’t forget to check out the numerous comments for tales of Thanksgiving disasters, which might make you give thanks for a relatively normal celebration.