For all the clutter we stash in them, “guest rooms” can start to feel like a real misnomer.

“Dusty Seasonal Decor Room” or “Boxes We Never Unpacked from the Move Room'' might be more fitting.

It makes sense to have our guest rooms serve double duty in our homes instead of standing completely underutilized for all but a few days of the year. This is especially true for us urban dwellers wanting to make the most of our limited square footage.

The challenge becomes when we use our guest rooms to store things instead of to do things. Having a bed in the room in which we otherwise make art, or do yoga, or practice guitar, is very different than having a bed in the room we stash bins and boxes.

Activity in a space gives the room a sense of purpose and energy. Storage in a space gives the room a sense of stagnation and heaviness. We don’t want to sleep in a storage unit, and neither do our guests.

We should maintain our guest spaces at the lowest possible clutter threshold we can manage. This assumes the likely scenario that someone we’ll host has a lower threshold than ourselves and acknowledges that our possessions may feel like clutter to our guests who have no personal connection to them.

When our guests arrive, they should be able to hang their clothes in a closet that stores little else but linens for the guest bed. They should be able to stow their suitcase on the wide, clear floor. They should be able to lay out their essentials on the clear desktop.

If we find ourselves with a space that can’t be truly hospitable to our guests, we should be willing to put them up somewhere tidy.