The short answer
No, you don't have to empty your closets. Kindred is a members-only home-swapping club (you lend your home to other members while you're away and stay in theirs when you travel), and it says 90% of its homes are the owners' everyday homes. Nobody expects an empty show house. What a guest needs is somewhere to hang clothes, somewhere to unpack, a clear bathroom counter, and the confidence that your personal things are put away.
I'm Kevin Luten, I write Field Office (my guide to working remotely from more interesting places), and I have hosted 100 nights of Kindred guests in my house in Inman Park, Atlanta. My answer is one lockable closet, a few cheap supplies, and about 30 minutes before I leave. The first time took me a couple of hours.
My checklist
Where do you start? With the things that make the job quick every time after the first.
1. One closet that locks
Hosts call this an owner's closet: a cupboard or room that guests cannot open. Mine is the walk-in closet in my main bedroom, which already had a lockable door. It is the easiest place to put the things I want out of sight.
Is that about security? Not really. It is personal stuff I would simply rather have put away. A couple of plastic storage bins from a hardware store make it fast: I fill them with whatever is loose and set them in the closet.
2. Somewhere to hang clothes and unpack
If you close off your own closet, where does your guest hang a shirt? People want to hang their things. So I bought a small rolling garment rack and keep about 10 hangers on it, plus two folding luggage racks.
Here's the part I like: the rack and both luggage racks slide under my bed when I'm home. They take up no room.
3. Clear counters and photos
My bedroom has a few counters and shelves that usually hold photos. I clear a little space on them so a guest has somewhere to put their own things.
4. The bathroom
The bathroom takes the most thought, and it's still simple. Everything on the counter goes into a bin, and the bin goes into the locked closet. That leaves the counter completely open. I also empty two or three drawers so guests can unpack their toiletries.
For half of the cabinets, I bought magnetic locks (the kind sold for childproofing). A magnetic key opens them, so there's no keyed lock to fit. They were easy to install, and locking or unlocking them takes seconds.
5. The office closet and anything else private
My second bedroom is my home office, and it has an ordinary closet. It had no working lock, so I fitted a simple keyed lock on the outside of the door. Now the handful of office things I'd rather not leave out have a home too, and the room is less cluttered.
What about valuables? I'd argue the bigger question is how attached you are to your things. I have a lot of nice things, but very few I couldn't replace. If your home is full of irreplaceable valuables you won't lock away, home swapping may not suit you. I say more about that in who Kindred suits.
6. The workspace
My office stays open, and the desk is ready to use. I pull a few things off it so it isn't cluttered. I leave two monitors that a guest can plug a laptop into with an HDMI cable (the standard video cable most laptops use). My computer is unplugged from them but stays on (more on that below).
Do guests use them? I'm honestly not sure many do. Most seem to sit at the desk, or at the dining table, with just a laptop.
7. Wi-Fi and the TV
Guests use my regular Wi-Fi. I don't run a separate guest network.
The TV gets one change. I normally watch through an Apple TV (a small streaming box) that is signed in to all my accounts. Before guests arrive, I disconnect it and switch the TV to its own built-in smart mode, so guests sign in to their own accounts there. My account settings stay untouched.
8. Keys and entry
My front door has a smart lock, which opens with a code, so there are no keys to hand over. I've since upgraded to a more reliable model, a Schlage Encode Plus, which connects to Wi-Fi so codes can be managed from a phone. The old one's battery didn't last, and once it died while a cleaner was trying to get in.
The Schlage Encode Plus smart lock on Amazon
Amazon link. I earn nothing from it yet. Once I am approved as an Amazon Associate, I will earn from qualifying purchases and this note will say so.
That's why I'd suggest a backup plan. I had a hidden outside key, so the cleaner got in once I told them where it was. A friend or neighbor with a spare key works just as well.
9. The neighbors
I wouldn't run my house as a full-time short-term rental without really talking to my neighbors. Kindred guests are only here from time to time, so I simply told one or two neighbors what was going on. They know who is coming and going, and they can let me know if anyone makes too much noise.
In 100 nights, all they have noticed is people coming and going and sitting quietly on the porch. I've had no complaints. If I did, that would probably be one of the main reasons I'd stop.
10. The kitchen, linens and the house guide
Leaving the house in working order
The things that keep running while you're away deserve a minute before you go: the thermostat and its schedule, smart lock codes and batteries, alarms, and anything guests shouldn't touch (a breaker panel, say).
My own computer stays on. I unplug it from the monitors so a guest can use them, and a small 4K HDMI dummy plug (a stand-in that tells the computer a screen is still attached) keeps it running properly with no monitor, so I can reach it from the road.
The full setup for that is in keep your home computer on and reachable while you're away.
Cleaning before and after
Who cleans up? Not you. Kindred schedules a cleaner around your departure and return, and the guest pays the cleaning fee, which covers a clean before and after the stay (Kindred, how it works, as of November 2026).
In my experience it is the same cleaners every time, they arrive on schedule, and they work quickly. One of the nicest things about hosting is coming home from a trip to a freshly cleaned house with fresh sheets on the bed.
How thorough is it? I'd call it medium. The basics are always done: sheets, towels, the kitchen, counters, bathrooms, toilets and showers. I've never come home to a dirty house. But the Kindred cleaners are usually here for 20 to 30 minutes, while my own two cleaners take about an hour, and I don't think the Kindred visit includes dusting or a thorough mop of every floor.
Can you use your own cleaner instead? Kindred allows it. Mine works a fixed weekly schedule and can't come at the exact times Kindred needs, but a more flexible cleaner you trust could be a nice option.
How long it takes
The first time took me a couple of hours, plus shopping for the rack, luggage racks, bins and locks. I also had to think through what I wanted to put away.
Now that I have a system, it takes about half an hour, all told, before I leave. It gets really easy after the first one or two.
If something goes wrong
Kindred says it includes $100,000 in damage protection with every trip, as of November 2026. The host protection policy sets conditions and reporting deadlines, which is why photos of your home before guests arrive, and a prompt report afterwards, both matter. In my own 100 nights of hosting, nothing has been damaged.
The short version is in what happens if a guest damages something, and what hosting has been like for me is in what hosting 14 guests is like. For the bigger picture, start with home swapping as a homeowner. Still wondering about closets? The quick answer is in do I have to empty my closets.
Printable checklist
My system, one line per step.
- Personal things: into the lockable closet (bins for anything loose).
- Hanging space: a rolling rack with about 10 hangers, plus two folding luggage racks.
- Counters and shelves: clear the photos and leave open space for a guest to unpack.
- Bathroom: clear the counter, empty two or three drawers, lock half the cabinets.
- Office: lock the office closet, clear the desk, leave the monitors ready for a laptop.
- Computer: unplug the monitors, leave it on with the HDMI dummy plug in, so it stays reachable.
- TV: disconnect the streaming box with your accounts, switch the TV to its own smart mode.
- Entry: smart lock working (mine is a Schlage Encode Plus), fresh batteries, and a backup key someone can reach.
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About the author. Kevin Luten is a long-time remote worker and Kindred home-swap host based in Atlanta. He has hosted 14 guests in his home and works from home swaps, ranger cabins and the occasional hotel. He founded the behavioral-science consultancy Behavior Design Works, is a Cialdini Certified Practitioner, and has spent about 28 years in transportation demand management. He writes Field Office. More about Kevin.