OK I've decided which house to rent (#3) anyone have a packing list for a house?

[lucyanna girl]

After all this agonising, I've finally made a decision. Thanks to all of you who helped. I am e-mailing the owners of house number 3 in my previous thread to arrange to rent their home.

NOW, does anyone have a list of what you bring with you when you rent a house? Clothing, personal items, and food are obvious.

I'm going out on a limb here and assuming kitchen equipment will be minimal. Of course, DH doesn't know this yet, (I'll wait until we sign the papers ) but I'm not planning on doing tons of cooking while we are there.

Are there usually adequate towels, etc.?

Anyone have a list or care to help make one?

Penny

 

[SilverMickey]

I'm so glad you made a decision! Now don't hold any of us resposible!

When we go to a private home rental I have always received a list of items available for our use. The last house we rented. (IN NH) had everything... even cooking spices, trash bags, napkins, papertowels, laundry detergent...(listed the kind so we would know if we needed to bring our own) cook books EVERYTHING!

Ask the people what is included for supplies and also for cooking utensils.

The only time I ran into a snag was with a washer that was a high efficient front loader and I couldn't use liquid detergent. Back to the store I went!

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[lucyanna girl]

Thanks! Now I can get excited.

Penny

 

[dougsmom98]

We have never had a problem with towels. There have always been more than enough and usually even pool towels. What you need will depend on how many people are staying there and what you plan to cook. Usually there is enough toilet paper to get you started but you may need to purchase more. We always buy paper products like paper plates, cups, napkins, towels... when we are on vacation because I don't care to do a ton of dishes while I am away. We also have always had to buy a sponge to wash dishes and tables with. The houses I have stayed in have not had dish soap or laundry detergent. I always pack dryer sheets in a baggie so that I have those for the laundry and they keep my clothes smelling good in my luggage. I also always pack coffee filters. Even though they are cheap, I can't see buying a hundred of them when I only need 7 and they take up no room at all. I also usually bring a stack of zip lock bags to store left overs in. I could buy some but I use so few that it is easy to pack them in my suitcase. The stuff that ads up is stuff like ketchup, mayonnaise, butter, salt and pepper... It kills me to buy full bottles of that stuff when I know I will use very little of it. Most places tell you to discard or take everything out of the kitchen or fridge. Other than that, we just buy food that we want to eat. We do our best to not buy too much because I do not want it to go to waste. Besides breakfast, we often get take out for dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. You will love renting a house. Good luck.

 

[englishteacha]

I usually pack small amounts of things I'll want-laundry detergent, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, etc. Last time I even brought some ketchup packets with me (left from take out...I didn't buy them special). We don't eat much in the condo but it's great to have breakfast there before we leave, and a place to keep drinks cold. Last trip we didn't even go to a grocery store-just to Walgreens for cereal, milk, OJ and soda. Oh, and TP. We didn't have enough TP in the condo (and there were only 2 of us). I loved having a washer/dryer. I brought home all clean clothes! (By the way, you don't have to buy travel sized bottles of laundry soap. I found a small juice container, put in a ziploc bag, worked great and didn't leak at all.) I also brought several ziploc bags with me. They were great for holding souvenirs on the way home, and for packing snacks.

 

[YayDisney!]

I'm finding this thread very informative, as we are renting a townhouse for the very first time in June. I didn't realize I would have to bring - or buy - some things for our stay. Thanks for the information and suggestions!!

 

[A&CsMom]

We have found that the homes we have rented are well stocked -- others before us left large quantities of dish soap, laundry stuff, etc. We now wait until we get there before making our list. The one suggestion I would make is that if you intend to cook or barbeque and there are certain spices you like other than salt and pepper, you might want to bring those. Also, if you are driving, you may want to bring a good frying pan (if you plan to cook breakfast), a cookie sheet for warming up frozen stuff in the oven, tupperware (for leftovers), foil, cling wrap and ziplocs from home, as those are things that have been scarce at rental homes we've been at. If you are flying, you can make do without these things, but if driving, why not bring them.

Finally, when we drive we bring our own coffee maker, filters and coffee.

Have a great trip!