What is an Owner's Closet and Do I Need One?
A vacation home seems like the ultimate dream—a place where you can just sit back and relax. If you're planning on using that home away from home to make some extra money, there are upsides and downsides. On the upside, you have extra income coming in to help with taxes, help pay the mortgage, and maybe even put a little extra in the bank. The downside is you can end up feeling like a guest in your own home when you're using the dishes, furniture, and linens that hundreds of others have used over the years.
Having some things in your vacation home that are yours and yours alone might help you feel more at home when you're visiting—and an owner's closet is the perfect way to make that happen.
What is an Owner's Closet?
An owner's closet is any lockable closet or room in your vacation home where you can keep all the goodies you want to use when you're on vacation, but don't want all your renters using. So, what do you keep in the owner's closet? It might be things like linens, clothes, or kitchen items, but really it can be anything you think you might want to use on vacation.
Do I Need an Owner's Closet?
Well, it depends. If you've never owned a vacation home before, there are definitely some things you're going to want to consider.
How far away do you live?
If you have a long drive or even a flight to get to your vacation home, it might be difficult to travel with all your odds and ends. That's especially true if you like to bring a lot of toys like boogie boards, kites, or skis with you on vacation. It's much easier to just pack a bag of clothes and know that everything else is waiting for you after your long trip.
How often do you go?
If this is your one vacation a year, you're probably going to want to go big. So, it makes sense that you keep that fancy bottle of alcohol or your Bluetooth speaker in the closet. But if you're there every other weekend, it might not be a huge deal if you spend one trip without a special item or if you have to run out to the store to buy something.
What kind of trips do you like to have?
Speaking of running out to the store, where is your vacation home? Is it a remote mountain cabin or an island only accessible by boat? If so, going out to the store is suddenly a pretty big chore. So, if you're looking for a laid back vacation where you don't need to make the trek up to the store when you realize you forgot aluminum foil, you'll probably want to keep an owner's closet stocked full of all the odds and ends you might need while you're there.
If you do decide to use an owner's closet, don't forget to make sure your guests still have everything they need!