You have grandma coming to visit for Easter? Your college roommates want to crash for spring break because you graduated first? Christmas looms with two sides of the family to now accommodate and a baby on the way? You do have space. You just may not see it yet.



Give your home a few gifts before the holidays to provide room for guests and keep the extra mess stowed. You can provide them a space to call their own with three handy items, two of which break down to nearly nothing after the holidays. The third? That's where you store the other two.

An Air Mattress

You can buy air mattresses in the same sizes as regular beds, twin to California king. You'll commonly see full or queen sizes in department stores. You can order any size online from most major retailers.

Spend about $100 to get a heavy gauge air mattress with reinforced seams. You don't need lungs of a dolphin to inflate it. Coleman makes a nice portable air compressor that runs on standard sized batteries. You can inflate most beds fully in less than five minutes. That means you can turn the living room or dining room into a guest bedroom after dinner.

A Portable Wardrobe

If you have seen a TV or movie show filming on location, watched a model in a photo shoot or watched the behind the scenes clips on a DVD, you saw one of these. This portable wardrobe or closet is constructed of metal rods that fit together like tinker toys and canvas. Modeling and film use them to protect wardrobe. You can use it to attractively provide guests a closet of their own and a place to hide the air mattress that gets deflated each morning. (Come on. It takes five minutes to inflate and you save space.)

These wardrobes cost between $75 to $150. Watch sales during the year to pick up a bargain. It takes about two to three hours to construct it. After the holidays, you could use it in the garage for storage or the basement for organizing the laundry room. They come in various colors, so you can match room decor.

A Storage Ottoman

This comes in handy if you have to put guests in a room with little furniture. It provides multiple uses. They can stash their purse or toiletry bag inside for easy access. They can sit on it as a bench. Set a tray on top and it becomes a table for drinks or snacks. With or without the tray, it makes a great bedside table for them. You can pick them up at most department stores for $75 to $150.

As a bonus, it works for your home year around. Once the guests leave, if you want to disassemble the portable wardrobe, its parts will fit in the storage ottoman. So will the deflated air mattress and your handheld air compressor. You'll be ready for an overnight guest at any moment and only you will know.

Three items can save space all year. They can also provide space when your guests need it.