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Vacation Prep | Pad Patter 7.14

IntenseMagic

IntenseMagic

Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.
Pollywog
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Feb 28, 2012
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We are heading out on vacation this morning and I'm just running around doing a few last minute things while I wait on the sleepy heads to get it in gear. I have to have the house clean before we go anywhere...laundry done and put away, trash out, floors swept, dishes put away, etc. The coming back part is hard enough without having to deal with a messy house, too. When my oldest went to Disney last month, he called me the night before and when I asked if he was ready to go he said "Not yet, we're cleaning. I wonder who drilled that in my head" :giggle. I told him he'd thank me when he got back!

So I'm curious, do you clean house before a trip? Any other things that must get done before you can head out?
 
We are leaving on Wednesday for a week. Certain things have to be done: water the plants, run the dishwasher, take out the trash, arrange pet sitting and mail pickup, and that is about it.

Our usual pet sitter also stays at the house and she tries to make things cleaner than when she got here. This time we have a young one coming over a couple times a day. I am just hoping he keeps the litter box clean so the cat behaves.
 
I also have to come home to a clean house, which means before vacation everything needs to be taken care of. The kitchen island must be completely cleared off before we leave (that thing attracts clutter LOL). But I need that space cleared since we tend to just plot stuff on it as we empty luggage. We have a fish, so when we were gone the week of July 4 I had a friend's daughter take care of it. My kids are so cute, every once in a while they'd ask me "do you think the fish is being fed? Do you think he misses us?" :)

Oh, and I like to unplug electronics like our Keurig while we're gone.
 
Yeah, I'm another one that has the house relatively clean when I leave even if for a short weekend away. Also, whenever I leave the house overnight, the computer is off as is the router.

Pet care in the past was a kennel so I also had to get their stuff together to take with I dropped them off. After that I would go home, go over the list one more time, pack the car and head out.

I haven't traveled since having this dog so not sure if I will kennel... of course, the kennel/groomer is trying to sell her business so I have no idea if there will be one for me to take her to when I do travel (hopefully in 2020). I have no faith in the other kennel in town... too many horror stories about them.
 
We have a cleaning lady twice a week so the house is always in good shape. I will however make sure that there are no dishes out, all will be washed and packed away. All toilets are flushed and rubbish bins emptied.
Hubby though, always has to wash his car before we take a road trip - not sure if that helps the bugs stick better or not?
He says that he prefers looking at a clean car when he drives.

have an awesome vacation!
 
I've always had to come home to a clean house! It's in my DNA, I guess. We just got home from our vacation so here's wishing you a great time, Jan! @IntenseMagic
 
My mother always cleaned the house top to bottom before we left for a trip. As a young child and teenager, I could not grasp why this was so important. My mom huffily responded to me when I asked her, probably for the 100th time why (as I hated cleaning), and she said, well, if we all die, then they'll know we live in a clean house. LOL

Now, it's just part of my life. I always like the house to be in order so that anyone could drop by and I wouldn't be caught in a dirty house. It's not always perfect, but it's acceptable to most everyone I know.

So when we go on vacation, the biggest thing left to do is generally laundry because I do wash the towels and sheets so we come back to those being clean as well. There is, of course, some sort of dishes to take care of, but we usually run the dishwasher as a last thing to do and that takes care of that. As we are leaving, hubby/son will clean out all the garbage cans. We have someone who comes to take care of the cat on a daily basis, so they check on things for us, too.

The other thing my mom always did THAT I DO NOT DO, is she would fry chicken and have all sorts of amazing things for a picnic lunch. SERIOUSLY. My grandma would fry eggs for fried egg sandwiches (which we would eat on the road as we got up so early). For lunch, we would stop and my mom would bring out this hamper/picnic basket, along with a tablecloth and we would have such yummy food. She usually had fresh tomatoes and potato salad, along with fresh cut fruit and homemade cookies. The last time I remember her doing that was when we went to Walt Disney World with her when Olivia was little . . . 2002 I think. Anyway, I have photos of that picnic. I was an adult so could truly appreciate everything she did for that meal.
 
I don't love to clean, but I do it before we leave for vacation too. I HATE coming home to a messy house and also it helps motivate everyone to just unpack and put their stuff away if the house is already clean! :)

That's so funny that you drilled it into your son's head too! I love it!
 
gonewiththewind said:
My mother always cleaned the house top to bottom before we left for a trip. As a young child and teenager, I could not grasp why this was so important. My mom huffily responded to me when I asked her, probably for the 100th time why (as I hated cleaning), and she said, well, if we all die, then they'll know we live in a clean house. LOL
Click to expand...

Yup.. that plus the clean underwear and also never leave the house without makeup on... was all in the mother handbook!
 
We are on vacation this week & I totally cleaned the house before we left. All laundry was caught up, dishes done, trash taken out, etc... I love coming home to a clean house. It just makes it so much easier to adjust back to real life.
 
Not really? We don't really go on vacations so this is not something that happens regularly for us. I suppose I might if we were going to be gone for a few days and/or going someplace rather far. Hopefully I have this "problem" to consider soon!
 
I never used to feel this way, but in the past 10-15 years, I have become that person that cleans the entire house and gets all the laundry done before I leave, so that when we walk in the door, we have nothing to clean up except putting our stuff away. It's usually late at night, and we have work/school the next day, so I want to be sure we have clothes also.
 
I always plan on cleaning the house, but most of the time I'm panic packing and I simply run out of time. I hate returning to a messy house.
 
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