Guest rearranged kitchen cupboards

[Angie601]

Hi everyone

I would love your opinion on this scenario.  

My latest guest followed my house rules and abided by the departure day requests so nothing to complain about there.

However, when I went to empty the dishwasher and put the crockery away, I found all the pots and pans in the crockery draw.

The crockery was found in 2 different cupboards, the mugs and glassware were also rearranged along with all the cutlery and even the tea towels!

My cupboards and drawers are well organised and not cramped in any way.

I purposely don't store anything on the very top shelves where she put items as I need a stool to reach them.

I was not happy as I had a quick turnaround and having to rearrange all the kitchen cupboards took some time.

Would you mention anything to the guest in private feedback as to the inconvenience her actions caused in the hope she doesn't do it again?

Although she was a good guest, she wasn't a stellar one so not too worried if I offend her and she doesn't return.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you

Angie

[Ann783]

How annoying! I guess I wuuld gauge my response on how long the stay was. A long term guest might take more "liberties" with moving stuff around. And I would be more understanding if it was a month long stay. But if it was just a few days… perhaps some private feedback is warranted.

[Angie601]

Thanks Ann, I meant to add the guest stayed for 4 nights. The family were also competing in a high profile sporting event so it wasn't like they had time on their hands either. Such a weird thing to do in my opinion

[Susan1188]

4 nights!  And took the time to rearrange the cupboards!  She either had staff on hand or has an OCD mental disorder!  Did they come with a housekeeper?  Maybe they thought they were being helpful.

I regularly have guests who minorly re-organize kitchen cupboards but usually those staying 14 days or longer.  I roll with it, tho sometimes surprising to open the silverware drawer and find no cutlery - minute of panic they stole all the spoons and knives - only to find in another location.

[Colleen253]

 @Angie601 Unless you have the cupboards clearly labeled, and request in your house manual that guests put things back accordingly, I don’t think it warrants a mention. How do you expect someone who is unfamiliar with your space to remember exactly how the cupboards and drawers were organized? It will likely be the same in the next Airbnb they stay at, so it’s doubtful you mentioning it will make a difference. 

[Angie601]

Hi Colleen

I get your point but she would have had to remove the entire crockery set to put the pots and pans in that drawer. If it was a few things I would think she was just unsure where things went but it was literally everything in every cupboard so pretty sure it was deliberate. But you are right, it's probably not worth mentioning. Although annoying at the time, nothing was missing so I'll just put it down to quirkiness.

Thanks for the perspective 

[Stephanie365]

@Angie601  I would at the very least mention it in private feedback:  "When you're staying in someone else's home, it's really not appropriate to rearrange the entire kitchen without either returning it to it's original configuration prior to departing or at the very least asking if it's ok."

[Stephanie365]

Why should we even have to put it in the house rules, "Don't rearrange the kitchen"?
In what universe would a short term renter (or ANYONE who is a guest) think it's OK to completely rearrange someone else's property WITHOUT permission?

[Angie601]

Thanks for your words of support Stephanie. I let out some choice words when I discovered it all but now I've calmed down and realise if I sweat the small stuff I'm going to lose my love of hosting pretty quickly. I am definitely going to tick NO to the would I host again box though!

[Susan1188]

on a 4 day stay no less! maybe if staying a month, you might have re-arranging permission.  Sometimes my guests re-arranged, and I kept it!  They had good ideas! 

[Susan1188]

In what universe would a short term renter think it's OK to rearrange someone else's property!?

Answer to your question: An airbnb guest, obviously.

[Sarah977]

@Angie601 Doesn't sound like any big deal to me. A bit odd, but not worth mentioning. Some people aren't very observant about where things were to start with or she's OCD and felt the cupboards needed to be rearranged. 

I have a friend whose husband is dyslexic. He never puts anything back in any sort of order at all. Any drawer you open in their kitchen is likely to have some utensils, a saucepan, a box of cereal, an empty mason jar. It's a challenge to find things there.

[Stephanie1933]

@Angie601 What a pain! It is extremely frustrating but just one of those things. It has happened to me on numerous occasions, not to the same extent but I always check the cupboards now just in case.

[Angie601]

Thanks Stephanie, I guess I needed some empathy from other hosts and I feel a lot better.  When I saw you are from Christchurch I looked at your listing as I grew up in Brent Place in Bryndwr so very close to you.  Your home is lovely - congratulations on your listing

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Angie601 

I've found a few things rearranged by guests, and looking at what they did, I liked it. Also noted one time that a guest with a different dominant hand than mine changed location of something - it was cool. I'm not the last word on things, that's for sure, and I appreciated the subtle suggestion from guests. 

Similarly, my personal housekeeper occasionally rearranges things in my kitchen or pillows on the sofa. I'm totally open to trying it her way, and she is so good with color. I like seeing my living room through her eyes and the different arrangement of things is refreshing.