Opening and Closing Your Mountain Home: A Seasonal Storage Checklist

If you own a second home in the Colorado mountains, you probably open and close it at least twice a year. Ski season gives way to summer, summer gives way to fall, and every switch means moving gear, clothes and supplies around a house you only live in part of the time. A little planning, and storage built for the way you use the home, turns that twice-a-year scramble into an afternoon.

Here is a simple checklist for closing up and opening your mountain home, with the storage that makes each step easier.

Closing up for the off season

Closing the house is about leaving it ready for the next visit. Your property manager or caretaker will have their own list for heat, water and security. On the storage side, work through the house room by room:

• Entry and mudroom. Clean and dry boots, gloves and helmets before they go away. Damp gear left in a closed house is how mildew starts. A mudroom with open cubbies and hooks lets things air out instead of sitting in a pile.
• Garage. Put skis and snowboards on wall racks, hang bikes and store summer gear in labeled bins by season. Wall systems keep everything off the floor, which matters if snowmelt or road salt gets tracked in. See our garage storage page for complete systems.
• Primary closet. Rotate out-of-season clothes to upper shelves or a guest closet, so the main closet holds what you will wear on your next trip.
• Pantry and kitchen. Clear anything perishable and group shelf-stable items so you can see what to restock when you come back.
• Owner’s items. If you rent the home between visits, move personal items into the owner’s closet before the first guest arrives.

Opening up for the new season

Opening the house should feel like arriving, not unpacking. When storage is organized by season, the switch is mostly a matter of swapping what is within reach:

• Bring the current season forward. Ski gear moves to the entry and the lower garage racks in winter. Bikes, paddleboards and hiking packs take those spots in summer.
• Check the closets. Swap the clothes on the upper shelves with the ones at eye level, and note anything that needs replacing.
• Restock the pantry. Pull-out shelves and clear zones make it obvious what ran out.
• Reset guest spaces. Clear a few empty hangers and a shelf in each guest closet so visitors are not living out of suitcases.

Storage that makes the switch easy

The homes that open and close fastest share a few features. Each season has a defined zone. Gear is stored where it is used, not carried through the house. And adjustable components mean the same wall can hold skis in January and bikes in July.

In practice that usually means three spaces doing most of the work:

• A mudroom or entry with a spot for every person’s boots, gloves and jackets.
• A garage with wall panels, cabinets and overhead storage so gear can be swapped by season.
• An owner’s closet for personal items, if the home is rented when you are away.

For more on how second-home projects work when you are not in town, see do you serve second-home and vacation property owners. If the mudroom is your biggest problem, our mudroom ideas for Colorado mountain homes are a good place to start.

Serving second homes across the valleys

We design storage for second homes throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and Eagle County. See the services, price ranges and common questions for Aspen, Vail and Snowmass Village.

Make next season easier

If closing up this fall showed you what is not working, now is a good time to plan. Book a free design consultation. If you are out of town, the first conversation can happen virtually with your measurements and photos.