Most would agree that we have entirely too much stuff in our lives. Our extra “stuff” is what fuels the huge growth of off-site mini storage and now the on-site mini storage. We have so much stuff in our homes that we need to rent another place to store our extra stuff! So now that it is time to furnish your vacation getaway you have the opportunity to keep it simple and easy to manage. Last summer we vacationed in a cute little Ozark Cabin in the woods and went fly fishing every morning and evening. My wife remarked how nice it was to have 8 cups, 8 plates, 8 glasses, 8 mugs, 8 spoons, 6 towels and so on. Everything in the cabin was tastefully decorated yet simple. There were no masterpiece vases or paintings to watch out for. The furniture was new, rustic and comfortable. We had everything we needed – all the creature comforts of home. What we did not miss was all the extra “stuff”. When it comes to furnishing and outfitting a vacation home rental less is better!
I got to thinking about “stuff”. We spend a lot of the hours in a given day shuffling our stuff, washing our stuff, putting our stuff away, cleaning our stuff, selling our stuff at garage sales and then buying more stuff. I think that is what we so appreciated about our cabin rental. We had very little stuff to worry about and could concentrate on enjoying one another and the job at hand – fishing. We left our stuff at home and really enjoyed the simplicity of our cabin life.
From a vacation rental management perspective less is better too. Owners and managers can do a quicker inventory of the rental and less stuff, means less stuff to fix and less stuff that can bump and scratch your walls and your other stuff. It is worth noting that one should not confuse the word “less” with “cheap”. I am not advocating cheap or inferior products – just less stuff in general. Go ahead with the 52 inch plasma TV and pass on the 800 beer can collection. Yes to the 4 slice toaster, maybe to the garlic press, and no to the 40 piece Santa cookie cutters.
Our little cabin in the woods was a great vacation and good motivation for us to reduce our “stuff”. We decided to keep all of our vacation rentals as clutter free as possible. Simple, functional, quality and easy. We clean and purge items from our vacation rentals because many travelers bring their stuff and forget to take it or leave it for the next guest. Many guests comment that they like the simplicity too. So when you decide to furnish or spring clean your vacation home keep it simple and remember that “Less is Better”.
For additional tips on vacation rental advertising and renting a vacation home visit – Furnished Homes – The Place to Find Furnished Rentals.