There are things at the cabin that I call “cottage essentials,” then there is everything else. The essentials are different from the survival items like, fridge, stove, boat, dock, propane fireplace and generator.

“Essentials” are those items that I don’t realize I need, until I have to go and borrow them from a neighbor. I often think, ‘Oh wouldn’t it be great to have a cottage registry gift service for cottage owners, particularly new ones.’

While some cottages come equipped with the previous owner’s hand-me-downs, most do not. The first couple of years as a new owner required a lot of trips to the local Home Hardware store (often several times in the same day).

Standing at the cash register waiting to pay, I often wished I’d remembered to ask for the particular item for Christmas. After all, duck tape makes a great stocking stuffer.

Below is my list of Nine Cottage Essentials. These are items that I cannot live without, and would love to receive as a hostess or cottage warming present.

Nine Cottage Essentials

1. Ladder - tall enough to reach the cabin roof and one that is light enough to carry by myself
2. Duck Tape - works great on leaky pipes
3. Traps - mouse, ant and anything else that is small and moves quickly
4. Floating key chains - very important if you have a boat and small children
5. Good Tool Kit
6. Big Flashlight
7. Cooler that has wheels - and can hold lots of beverages (smaller one for the boat)
8. Nut & Bolts set
9. Squeegee for washing window- we have glass decks all around the front of our cabin…

This is my list, now tell me yours.

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Fix It. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.