Questions when the home is my primary residence

[Holli92]

When the home is your primary residence to you?....

1. Completely empty your fridge and pantry?

2. Lock drawers with personal items?....what type of locks do you use?  Are zipties tacky?

3.  What kitchen items are typically provided other than cutlery, plates, cups?...do you provide napkins, cleaning supplies?

[Anonymous]

@Holli92  Whatever you do, the most important thing is to set accurate expectations in your listing and make it very clear that the home is your residence and not 100% a holiday home.

1)  In a whole-house rental, guests expect the fridge to be empty so they have plenty of space for their own groceries, and no perishables to deal with. Some bottled drinks or condiments for guest use are sometimes welcome, although it might be good to check with the guests on that first. As for the pantry, I'd recommend having things like spices, oil, salt, sugar, coffee, and tea available to guests, but if there are personal food items you don't want them to use, they're best stored somewhere else.

2) Zipties are easy to break and replace, so I really see no point in using them to secure your personal items. Padlocks are fine, but guests will still want storage space for their own belongings, especially during longer stays. 

3) Cleaning supplies are essential, and it makes your changeover easier if guests have all the means to tidy up after themselves easily right at their disposal. I like to have a convenient device to make coffee (which doesn't involve single-use plastics), well-sharpened knives and wide cutting boards, some potholders and tea towels. I'm not too big on novelty gadgets and kitchen electronics; a well-stocked kitchen will have sturdy utensils and cookware but it doesn't need a Keurig or an avocado slicer or a Margaritaville machine.

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

Margaritaville machine?

I had never even heard of this. Needed to look it up...

I have a pretty well stocked kitchen that most guests seems pretty happy with, but I did have one guest who was surprised I didn't have a pizza slicer. I suggested she try a knife...

[Anonymous]

@Huma0 when people discover that scissors slice pizza better than disc blades, their minds are forever blown.

And yes, there really is both a slushie appliance and a whole chain of terrible restaurants named after a song about alcoholism, because America. 

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

Yep, pizza cutters are overrated. I didn't suggest scissors because I thought it might confuse her.

Right now, I have two guests who are both totally baffled by the concept of line drying clothes. I don't mean they simply don't want to do it, but it's a completely alien concept to them and they don't know how to hang things up. I guess it's also maybe a cultural thing. I don't know why one would waste energy when there is sunshine and a breeze available to do it for free, but also, it's just not logical to wash your clothes on a cold, delicates cycle to protect them but then blast them with heat for an hour or more...Anyway, that's going a bit off topic. 

There seems to be some kind of unnecessary gadget for almost anything these days. I honestly don't know how people fit all these things in their kitchens. Recently, my local supermarket has been selling electric mini doughnut makers for example. 

[Anonymous]

@Huma0  Those gadgets seem to peak around Christmas, when they seem like cute gift ideas. They wind up collecting dust in garages and basements because nobody loves a cluttered kitchen.

[Debra300]

@Holli92,

We leave the kitchen stocked enough to cook and prepare full meals for four guests, and put all of the kitchen items that aren't for their use in our pantry closet, and changed the knob to a key lock.  Other personal items were placed in our home office, and we put a padlock on office French doors.  In the house rules, we state that these rooms and the door to the basement are locked and inaccessible to guests.  Long-term guests may store their luggage and gear in the garage space that's included in the rental.