To think there are standard pre holiday jobs?

Yes I do all the things mentioned here cleaning trash out refrigerator cleaned beds changed laundry done. My DH call is THE PURGE.

I water all plants well, clean toilets, sink and vacuum sitting room. Adult DS comes to look after cats and dogs so I usually buy in fresh food and fruit for him and leave him a home cooked lasagne. Sometimes I've been known to bake some cakes for him too. It is always clean and tidy when I return and he strips his bedding off and pops in washing machine too.

Yes! I will do a full house clean, laundry and fresh bedsheets for us all. We can come home to a nice clean home and straight into bed if we get home late in clean sheets.

It’a nice to just have the holiday laundry to do.

I'm far too busy trying to finish all my work in time to worry about the house. Although admittedly I'm spoilt and our cleaner comes as normal so it is always nice to come back to and if we're gone for two cleans she will deep cleaning.

If it ain't broke... 😄

I completely blitz my house before I go away, so much nicer coming home to a spotless house!

I’m a bit neurotic before we go holidays, my house has to be clean and tidy with bedding all washed so that we come back to clean beds to sleep on. I leave the house spotless, dh thinks I’m mad.

now we leave our adult son home alone and I leave it spotless so that he knows how clean and tidy I want it to be when I come back. Most times it’s pretty clean and tidy.

Yes I always like fresh sheets on too. Such a nice thing to come home to.

I don't really bother as often someone will be staying in mine at least part of the time . Obviously would make sure no perishable food in fridge and bins empty but wouldn't be doing extra cleans and hovering. .wound be dusty again by time I returned and if people staying in the place they can hoover it lol

Clean bedding day before leaving is a 'must do' as well as the cleaning

I always clean from top to bottom. Can’t stand the thought of coming back to housework.

Definitely take out bins and get rid of any food that will expire while you are gone. I don't turn the fridge off though as we only ever go away for a week so there is plenty of stuff that will keep. We do have someone come in every day to feed the cats so the house is being checked on. Washing is all done but that is because we all maintain small wardrobes so we take almost all our clothes on holiday with us so they need to be clean. We spend the last 1-2 days before going wearing ridiculous, old scraggy decorating clothes and PJs.

I will confess I always ask our cleaner to come just before we get home so it is all lovely when I get in.

I always empty the fridge, put the bins out, unplug everything and have a general tidy up. We have a lady who comes in to feed the cats so I like to leave it tidy and presentable for when she comes.

I get a bit demented about cleaning the house before holidays. But we often have hard work holidays (camping, long drives, self catering) so if I come back to a messy house it's just too much.

Me too. With clean bed sheets on the beds and clean PJs ready too.

Not the fridge and freezer though, we trust those not to burn the house down when we are away 😆

Which is ironic @BoredZelda as a lot of the time it's fridges that are the culprit! I don't turn mine off, so there's no point unplugging the tv.

Yes to all of those things. I don’t want a full washing basket to come home to when there’s already holiday washing to do. And it’s bad enough returning home from a wonderful holiday without walking into a shit tip. The other things like throwing away food that would spoil I’m assuming everyone does - otherwise you’d be coming back to new life forms developing…

Switch off the electrical stuff at the wall.

Not the fridge and freezer though, we trust those not to burn the house down when we are away 😆

We do the washing and cleaning before we go. My husband used to think I was weird but bless him, mucked in anyway to get it done. 20 years on, I suggested we left it not done before the last holiday we went on as things were really hectic and he was horrified at the thought and said no, we should find the time to do it. Thankfully our teenager is on board with it and will do her bit too.

It makes sense as you don’t want to come back to an untidy house, which is instantly made untidier by the stuff you are unpacking. There will be tons of laundry to do so starting with an empty basket is much better.

Yesss I have this discussion with DH every year as I get stressed before we go away due to all the tasks that need doing.
I don’t turn off the electric plugs though.

I clean and tidy but I don't switch off any plugs.

Love coming home to a sparkling clean house after hols ...unfortunately I have a 23 year old DS so will come back to a bin full of takeaway cartons ,toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror /taps and various bits of clothing draped over the clothes airer ...

I am the same as you- love coming home from holiday to a clean and tidy house.

Laundry - yes, partly so we have the right clothes to pack

Fridge and bins cleared - yes grim otherwise

Empty coffee machine water as pp said

Water plants/set houseplants up on a wet towel

Stuff off at the wall - never done this

Cleaning - nope nothing extra to usual cleaning

I use up or throw out food and empty bins.
The rest is business as usual, I would not bother cleaning before a holiday and usually cancel my cleaner when we are away.
I don’t understand the obsession with coming home to a clean house 🤷🏻‍♀️

My DH and i both like the house to be clean and tidy before we go away. It's lovely coming home and everything is tidy and sorted.