Going upstate to the bungalow for the first time? Our readers shared some of their best advice.
One of the most popular questions we get in the weeks leading up to the summer every year is: Do you have advice for someone going to the country for the first time? I don’t know where to start!
Between the five of us, we have very limited experience with the “bungalow scene” so we turned to you, our readers, and asked for your advice. The most common theme was – don’t sweat it. You can get it all up there. Or online. Read on for more…
- Make a Target and/or Walmart order that includes all toiletries and detergents and have it shipped straight to your summer home.
- Less is more. In 2022, amazon will deliver almost anything you need.
- Pack in plastic drawers so they’ll be ready to go straight into the closets when you arrive.
- Prepare your bedding. Cover duvets and pillows and you’ll only have to put the sheets on the beds when you arrive.
- If you live near a place that sells kallah packages for the kitchen (like the Peppermill), get one. It’s a one-stop shop and they toivel too.
- Less is more! It’s actually very refreshing to live with less and more simply for two months.
- Pack in moving totes (see this post for a great solution) and garbage bags. But then someone else said beware of packing in garbage bags because they might get thrown out. So – use your own judgement on this one!
- When I went for the first time, I came with basic necessities and slowly got what I thought was missing. Even if you don’t want to shop in stores upstate, there’s always amazon. You can order cutlery and small appliances to be delivered directly.
- I used a first-time Pesach list and a kallah list for house and kitchen stuff. Then a kids’ camp list for more ideas of basic necessities.
- Make sure to see the place before it’s time to move in.
- Don’t overpack! You don’t need your whole house!
- It pays to go up and prep the bungalow before the family joins you.
And, file this post away to make opening your bungalow before next summer so much easier & keep your things safe over the winter.
Re the garbage bags… a friend of mine uses the large clear bags for clothes and linen/towels and pushes out all the air so it packs very flat. And clear means everyone can see exactly what’s inside!
Pack in ikea blue bags with zipper. So much more easier to fit into a car trunk and keeps clothing neatly folded like cardboard boxes
Use vacuum pack bags (real ones or use a garbage bag and a rubber band-just stick the vaccuum house into the rubberbanded twist at the top of the bag) for linens- esp pillows. You get a lot more into your car!
Can you explain this rubberband thing more clearly? A regular size? Where so you tie the rubberband? How much does it flatten the bag? Sounds cool
You put you pillows or blanket (fold flat) into a garbage bag. You can stuff it in, or put it folded neatly-then it vacuums even flatter. Close the top of the bag with a rubberband, or elastic tie. Then stick the vacuum hose into the top of the bag and suck.out the air. When it is as flat as it can get, pull out the hose, fold over the top and rubber band again. (My kids call it pastrami-bec it looks like vacuum.packed deli meat!)
Just an update- try to.use the real Space bags or compression bags-there are many brands. I just tried this with target (glad equivalent kitchen )) trash bags,while they shrunk impressively, they are slowly expanding. Maybe thicker black bags should work better. Enjoy your trip.
If you want to drive up your own uhual. You can rent one from your location and drop it off after at Brothers II Auto Body
Car repair and maintenance in South Fallsburg, New y
You have to make sure when you book it to tell them that you are planning on dropping it off at a different location.