Tell me about your pre vacation clean?

[StrezzedOut]

We’re going on holiday in half term. The thought of all the preparation I’ll need to do is starting to stress me out.

DH will pack for everyone. It’s the pre vacation clean I just don’t want to do. MIL is coming to feed our cat and as lovely as she is, I hate having people in my home. I feel judged and it is definitely not a show home.

I struggle to keep on top of things because I’m disabled with a disabled child also.

I’ve started a list. What can I take off it?

Change all bedding (day before we leave)

Tidy bedrooms

Mop all floors

Vacuum whole house

Clean bathrooms

Re grout the bathroom (touch up pen)

Do all laundry so the basket is empty (near impossible)

Wash duvets (coverless)

Dust

Clean out all kitchen cupboards

Clean all skirting boards

Clean out the pantry

Empty bins and take to the recycling centre

Sort DC closet and our closet

Have I missed anything? I want to say forget it and embrace the mess but my anxiety will not allow it .

I don't do any cleaning before I go on holiday- why would you? I don't understand 😕
I empty the kitchen bin (so it doesn't smell), clear the fridge and run the dishwasher, that's it 🙂

All we do is empty the fridge and bins and make sure dishwasher empty/washing up done.

This is absolutely crackers @StrezzedOut I’m afraid.

We are going away in a few days time. I will sort out the fridge, empty the bins, change our bed dust and hoover round as I usually do at the weekend, leave dishwasher empty. Just so it’s nice to come home to. The burglars will have to put up with dusty skirting boards! You sound very anxious for your MIL’s approval , so perhaps leave a key with someone else next time. I’d put cats in a cattery too.

What on earth?! I can honestly say I’ve never done a special clean before a holiday.

Bin emptied, fridge cleared of anything perishable that’s likely to go stinky and that’s it, off on holiday we go.

OP, just wanted to say your post really resonates with me. we need to have family stay on our house when we're away to help look after the dog but I hate it. For everyone saying, she isn't going to go through your cupboards - she is! Not in a nosey way but when you're staying in a house you don't know well you need to open lots of cupboards to look for things you need (glasses, pots and pans etc). If she's staying there she'll be cooking etc so using your utensils and things. I agree with everyone saying you probably don't need to do all the things on your list, but I understand you feeling as though you do. 💕

I dint know anyone who does a pre vacation clean. Why burden yourself with it?
Do washing
Clean kitchen and toilet
Empty bins
Go on holiday

I do:
Empty bins
Empty dishwasher and leave door ajar
Bleach in loo
Beds made
Full tidy & clean so it's nice when we get home
Heating off
Laundry up to date
Book food shop to arrive as soon as we get home/it's feasible

I go on holiday pretty often, I make sure dishes are washed, bins/fridge emptied and washing up to date so the washer/dryer are free to wash the holiday clothes when we come back. That's it.

Does everyone have a clean and tidy house to start with?

Skip the cleaning and invest some time in trying to work out why you feel this way. The state of your grout and or your cupboards do not determine your self worth.

Tidy-ish, clean-no

All I do is clear out the fridge, empty bins, make the beds (clean sheets weekly anyway), put the dishwasher on and fling a bit of Bleach down the toilets.

When I say I, I mean either DH or I, takes about 20 minutes tops.

You could book a cleaner to do a one-off clean while you are away, if you want to come home to a lovely clean house.
I used to enjoy that when I could afford a cleaner!

You don't need to re-grout a frigging bathroom before you go on holiday.

I used to always leave a spotless house but as the years have passed I couldn't give a shit. Fridge will be cleared out as we go for long periods of time. Kitchen will be clean. I leave dirty clothes in the wash basket. It will all get done when we ho home!

I think do the grout if it has been bugging you and you need the impetus. It is the sort of job that once done you can feel pleased and not need to do it again for years. Don't be messing around with bedding the day before a holiday though, sheets that have been slept in a few times are fine (unless someone in the family isn't fully continent ofc)

I feel exactly the same. Oh the shame of family having to sort out a dirty home . Bleach down the loo is the most important

No of course not.

I haven't cleaned our skirting boards (other than a quick whizz with the hoover brush) for at least five years, probably more. Life is too short to worry about cleaning skirting boards.

My family tease me a lot for pre-vacation cleaning but I don't do half of what you are suggesting!

I'd empty bins, hoover, mop, tidy, wipe all kitchen surfaces, check fridge for perishables and give it a quick wipe with antibac, put dishwasher on and change bedding. If I had coverless duvets that weren't dirty, I'd just air them.

I do try to clear the laundry too, but if I don't get around to it all, I don't mind, as long as nothing damp like towels or dishcloths are in there. I definitely wouldn't clear out cupboards or closets or regrout.

If you lay out all the cat food with clean cat dishes, a stack of clean tea towels, cloths and washing up liquid, then she shouldn't need to open a cupboard. You could leave out tea, a mug and a packet of biscuits for her too.

It actually might be really good for your anxiety to only:
empty the bins
fill dishwasher and put it on - you could always ask MIL to open it so it dries before you are back.
put on 1 load of washing but not necessary.

nothing bad will happen as a result.

Your list is really long, more like a deep clean.

Same. We also change the beds.

Anything more sounds like a lot of unnecessary stress.

I like all rooms to be tidy and cleaned, dusting done, hoovering done and bins emptied as well as checking what needs to be chucked from the fridge. I do all the laundry before going and strip the beds to air the mattresses. I do it because I like coming home to a clean home. We have young kids so holidays for us aren't as restful as they will be when the kids are hopefully older. We did a trip to Disney and it was full on with early starts and lots of walking, dh remarked how nice it was to come back to a clean home and not have to do anything but put a wash on. I get quite tired travelling and always feel like I need a few days to recover once back home.

My what???

Well generally I was in camp ‘why would you?’
Then I took a six week holiday and had some terrible plumbing/ guttering issue that meant water spewing from the side of the house and dripping into next door. I had to organise access for a neighbour, who had to liase with workmen on my behalf. I spent the whole holiday cringing and trying to remember if there was any stray underwear on the bathroom floor or anything 🙈
So now generally I prepare for this sort of scenario!

I'll be dead! I couldn't give a shit! I wince a bit at the thought that one of em will see the sex toy cupboard of joy but, again, I'll be dead and iv never seen an embarrassed corpse!