Whether it is a home at the lake, in the mountains, or on the beach, we love helping clients organize the favorite home away from home! These are the places where lasting memories are made and where everyone can get some R&R. They are meant to be enjoyed, not a source of stress.
Since Wisconsin is the land of lake houses, our Milwaukee Organizer, Liz Girsch, has had a lot of experience helping create the perfect spaces for stress-free vacationing. Here are a few of her tips …
Vacation time often means party time. When you have a vacation home, you need to be ready to feed, entertain and house lots of guests. It’s important to set up your space to make hosting easy for you and make everything accessible to your visitors. Hense TIP #1 … designate an easy to find closet or cabinet for the essentials that your guests are sure to be looking for….. sunscreen, bug spray, plastic tumblers, water toys, etc. When this space is organized, guests can feel free to help themselves and be part of the clean up process.
We talk a lot about the importance of labels. TIP #2 …. At a vacation home, labels are extra important! It allows your guests to settle in and find things on their own. They won’t feel bad asking you a million questions about where things are. Labels also allow them to help out – which good guests want to do. So make sure your pantry, your linen closet, your laundry space and any other spaces your guests will be poking their noses in have clear labels!
TIP #3 …. As you organize things in a vacation home, it’s helpful to think about zones or section to place things. The outer perimeter of your kitchen is great for snack areas and dishes. Place your entertaining paper goods in these pretty Tosca baskets, which move easily from a cabinet to a countertop. Designate a place of importance for all your supplies for the nightly fire – store the matches as well as graham crackers, marshmallow and roasting sticks for everyone’s favorite s’mores. Gear for heading out on the lake should be kept near the door together – gather up extra beach towels and roll them into wire baskets for easy grab on everyone’s way out.
TIP #4 … All bedrooms and bathrooms should be well equipped with everything your guest will need. Make sure you have back up of everything too so that you don’t have to worry about checking your stock every time you head to the lake. Upon arrival, place sets of towels on the end of each bed. Share the WiFi code on a beautifully handwritten card or create one on your computer and leave on the guest’s nightstand. The more your guests feel like you went above and beyond the more they will too when pitching in (wink wink!).
By taking just a little more time to get some guest friendly systems in place, you will see that entertaining becomes so much easier and you can then spend more time just relaxing with them.
Since lake house season is coming to a close, you have at least 6 months to start implementing some of these tips before next year! Happy Organizing!
xx,
the NEAT girls
