1. Clean and declutter: Prior to your exchange, make sure you give your home a good clean and declutter so that your home is ready and welcoming for your guests. Clear space in your fridge and also make room in your wardrobe so that there is space for your guests to hang their clothes. It's also very important to make the beds up and leave plenty of clean towels and extra bedding.

2. Leave basic provisions: You don't have to go grocery shopping for your guests, but it's nice to have staples like tea, coffee, sugar, milk, bread, butter, cereal, toilet rolls and washing up liquid on hand to help them get settled while they figure out the lay of the land.

3. Create a welcome pack: Put together a folder of useful information. This can include practical information such as how to operate the alarm, when the dustbins are emptied, etc. Leave useful telephone numbers including your mobile Number, the number of a friend or neighbour, the local doctor, local taxi company, emergency plumber, etc. Leave up to date tourist leaflets, maps, guide books, take away menus and information about public transport.

4. Small repairs: Your guests will be expecting a clean, tidy, but lived-in home, not a five star hotel, so don't feel that you have to completely over-haul your home to make it acceptable; but, if there's a few nagging little jobs (that door that has to be jiggled a certain way to close it, the dripping tap - you know, the small niggles that most of us can live with), the run-up to an exchange might provide the perfect incentive to fix them.

5. Leave a gift for your guests: Start the swap on a great note by going that extra mile to welcome your guests with a kind, unexpected gesture. How about some fresh flowers with a welcome card, a nice bottle of wine or maybe a nice locally produced treat?