Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

For those of you with second homes, do you end up with two of everything?

Dee*Jay

Dee*Jay

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Messages
15,469
I am at the point that I can finally start keeping clothes at the boathouse since the closets were finished off last week. When I buy things now (rain jackets... capri pants... tank top... flip flops... ) I realize I'm automatically getting two of everything, one for the main house and one for the boat house. The goal is not to have to drag stuff back and forth every week, but at some point I think i'm being ridiculous...? Maybe this will sort itself out over the summer when I better figure out what I'll wear at the second place, but for now I'm in two-fer mode!

Notice I didn't even bother asking the question about house stuff... Now I own two Nespresso machines, two four slot toasters, four sets of bath towels (two sets of two colors), etc. The house stuff I suppose is a given to some degree, but there are some decorating things I catch myself on lately, like throws and pillows, too. I even thought the other day when I was doing my nails that I should get a second LED light (and therefore a whole 'nother set of gel polishes... ) in case I want to do my nails when I'm over there.

Oy. One of everything is A LOT but two of everything is feeling a little TOO MUCH! How do you manage a second place where you have everything you want while you're there without it exploding with stuff?
 
To keep it short and simple the answer is yes. For me. I duplicated many of my favorite things. Boots and clothes and appliances and vacuum cleaners (haha you already know that) and workout equipment (pricey) and even our beds and mattresses. I'm super picky and like everything to be familiar. My home away from home is still my home and safe haven. At either location.

This way when we go to our beach house we just gather the kitties and go. No packing for the most part.


It is a lot of stuff and what works for me might not be the best answer for you. But there it is. A big fat expensive yes.
 
Yes, in most cases two of everything to avoid the frustration of not having what you need. I tend to have cheaper versions at the second home. The thing to watch out for is family members who visit and want to "leave a few things" for next time. The last time we painted and had to move everything out we discovered my MiL had secreted over five boxes of her things. That's a lot when you don't have much storage. Also holiday decorations because they take up room. We try to limit it to one large tabletop decoration rather than decorating the whole house. Also saves time on packing it away.
 
Yes and we also have an RV so I have 3 of everything and nothing is ever at the right house. For instance, right now, house #2 is missing pillows..

It drives me crazy.
 
Wow - 2 of everything does seem like a challenge but I do see the need of convenience.

I hope you don't mind me changing the topic slightly but was curious for those who have two homes, how did you decide on taking that big leap forward? DH and I have toyed with the idea of another place in the future, however, it seems like once you make that big commitment, you would always want to go there on vacation. How did ya'll decide between second home or just going with Air BNB or hotels? Appreciate it!
 
Only 2? LOL Yeah sort of. Though have to admit between the 2 houses there's 9 dog beds.... (and we only have 1 dog)
 
My ex and I had a weekend house we flew to.
Life was rough. :lol-2:

While the cost wasn't a problem, it was a hassle trying to have two of everything.
Invariably my favorite old comfy slippers or something irreplaceable would be in the wrong house. :cry:
The ultimate first world problem.

Having two houses may seem glamorous but it's a mixed bag that, looking back, I'd never try again.
 
I'm dating a guy, who has two houses (actually has more than that, but two for himself). And he was talking about maybe building a house near the beach. I don't even have time to weed my small backyard, let alone take care of multiple houses. And I can't imagine having to pay more than 1 property tax, 1 is enough of a pain.
 
Actually, I wouldn't buy two of everything immediately -- at least with clothes. I suggest bringing a big batch of clothes at the start of the season then leave some at the end of the season. You'll have built up a good wardrobe over time; it won't take long.

You need two of everything else.
 
t-c said:
Actually, I wouldn't buy two of everything immediately -- at least with clothes. I suggest bringing a big batch of clothes at the start of the season then leave some at the end of the season. You'll have built up a good wardrobe over time; it won't take long.

You need two of everything else.
Click to expand...

Two men? :whistle:
 
For us, MIL is an only child and DH is an only child and this is her father's house. So it was given to us (DH grew up very poor, so this is the first thing he was handed that is obviously a luxury).

In the last 3 years, we had to spend 5k on electrical upgrades, 5k on roofing and 5k on new AC.

It's not large or luxurious. In fact, we are hoping to tear it down and build new within the next 10 years. The lot is worth so much if I told you your eyes would pop out of your head.... they are tearing them down left and right and building mcmansions on the street. Every time we go, there are old houses cleared and new ones coming up.
 
Last edited:
PierreBear said:
Wow - 2 of everything does seem like a challenge but I do see the need of convenience.

I hope you don't mind me changing the topic slightly but was curious for those who have two homes, how did you decide on taking that big leap forward? DH and I have toyed with the idea of another place in the future, however, it seems like once you make that big commitment, you would always want to go there on vacation. How did ya'll decide between second home or just going with Air BNB or hotels? Appreciate it!
Click to expand...

It was a relatively easy decision for us. I like familiarity and comfort and I enjoy having a house that is not far from our primary home where we can go every weekend if we like. A change of scenery and a change of pace. Something different to do and easy to get to whenever we want. Hop in the car and we are there an hour to an hour and 15 minutes later. For us it was the perfect solution.

And now that I don't enjoy flying and haven't traveled for a while it really works well for us. That is not to say we have not gone on vacations far away before and won't go at some point in the future but for now all our vacations are at our beach house and it is (for now) my ideal.

But as Kenny and others have noted it is not all a bowl of cherries. It can be hard work. Especially when things go wrong as they often will. AC breaks, hot water heater breaks you get the picture. 2 homes and 2 sets of things that can and often do break. And then there are the double bills. Phone, cable, internet, heat, AC, electricity, property tax etc etc etc. So yeah first world problems but I'll take them. For now at least. The plan at the moment (and subject to change at any time) is keep both homes till we are in our 80s and then sell the beach home and retire in our brooklyn Co-op with doorman, superintendent and full time staff.

For us the key was having a home not far from our primary home or else it would be too difficult to go whenever we wanted to. But YMMV and it is not for everyone. There are times I want to say that's it. Too much work. But I know I would really miss it.
 
Yes. If it's something I like to wear and would likely want to wear it at the weekend house, I get another one or two or whatever and just leave it there. It's less of a hassle than not having what you want or having to schlep everything back and forth then forgetting stuff at one place or the other.

I also have two Nespresso machines because I love those darn things!! Unfortunately, mine did not come with George Clooney as part of the package. I'd be satisfied with just one of him.
 
My grandparents have their main house, a second little cabin/cottage thing, and an RV. They started by taking a bunch each time and back again. Left some as they found they had extra at the main house. Then they would take over to the 2nd house if they replaced anything at the main house. Same for the RV. As they found good prices or stuff that was a fit for one of the other places, they would buy and take it with to leave the next time over.

I watched them go from packing a car FULL every time they went to the 2nd house to now when they just grab their medicine boxes and toothbrush.

They are fully set up in both houses with everything they need to be comfortable. The RV has stuff that stays in all the time and other stuff that comes in for cleaning/storage. They don't keep clothes in it. Basically just kitchen/bed/bathroom stuff stays. I think they would have drifted to having it fully set up too except they seldom use it anymore due to health issues.
 
Definitely 2 of everything...except clothes in my situation. My second home is in Italy and because I don't get there all that often, I don't keep clothes there. ( and, I LOVE shopping for clothes while visiting!) And the furniture there is much different from what I have at my primary home in the states. It took work to get things set up there.
 
My second home is four hours from my primary home (which needs two new ACs but we are trying to get to next year before replacing these) and is in a big city, not a beach home. It is only 3 hours from the beach though!

It's missing all of its hairbrushes now too lol. I must have decided to move brushes around... on the list of things to bring back next week. I'm planning to spend most of the summer there.

My big luxury was to buy a cpap machine especially for the second home. And then I decided to have one for the RV too lol. So no more packing and lugging the cpap around.

I am slowly buliding up a wardrobe there. I hate shopping though so right now it is just black pants and some dinner blouses.
 
never had 2 houses but growing up we had a house and a large camper at the campground that we lived in a lot during the summer.
So it is sorta the same and the answer was yes over time there ended up being 2 of a lot of things.
Buy an new one for the house and take the old one to the campground.
 
Two countries, two houses, two kids, two "my" places, projects doubled, two or three hobbies, some things come in threes, but I think it is not doubling rather fear of putting all eggs into one basket.
 
Arkteia said:
Two countries, two houses, two kids, two "my" places, projects doubled, two or three hobbies, some things come in threes, but I think it is not doubling rather fear of putting all eggs into one basket.
Click to expand...


I like this way of thinking and when we had a few hurricanes in 2011 and 2012 the thought that at least I could go to our other home did comfort me when I was worried one home might be destroyed...

and I also think that my dh secretly enjoys having double the projects. Handy guy that he is. He is always enjoying being constructive and creating and fixing stuff.:halo:
 
Yes, just double up. I found it most annoying in terms of food. Which place has the freaking spaghetti sauce?! Is the wine at the other house? Argh! Then makeup. So you end up carrying a bag, though hopefully a small one.
It's really not as easy as one would hope. But it is fun.
 
Yes, makeup is a problem too. I finally had to bring it all to my main house and then sort from one pile.

Now, however, I am in the rotation of throwing out old make up and buying new, so it's an annoyance all over again.

Karl, there is a campground 15 minutes from my house where we have spent a lot of time in the RV. It has a lake too, and I am so entirely thrilled that it has played a major role in my children's lives and memories. Going back for July 4.
 
Thank you all for the replies and the advice... and the slap of reality. Pretty much two of everything it is! And NOW I am having a weird "reverse" kind of problem... I find something for the second house that I like so much that I buy one for the main house too. OY. I need an intervention!

Rainwood, your Nespressos didn't come with George either?! We've been ripped off!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top