To ask....cleaning the house before going on holiday....

[CaramelEmporium]

Adding unnecessary stress or an essential pre-holiday task?

Essential! I love coming home to a clean house

Always, come back to a lovely clean house, clean sheets etc

Unnecessary stress. Do basics. Change the bed though so you have nice fresh sheets to come home to. Enjoy your holiday ☺️

I clean but not a huge clean. We usually have family house/dog sit so our house is still being lived in.

Essential for me. It feels so good coming home to a clean home after being on holiday. And I'm no clean freak.

I do it with a view to something happening to us on holiday and so someone else (my mother!) Coming in to sort the house out. So I'm in the essential camp

I always clean and change the sheets!

Are you even on holiday if you haven't said 'last job!' whilst flinging a capful of dettol down the kitchen sink on your way out to the airport?

There are a few tasks that are essential.
Its not that I can't relax if they aren't done, its that I once came home in a heatwave to a bad smell and what turned out to be drain flies. So now I just double check that theres nothing around to go off, I put bleach down the plug holes and put in the plugs.

Yes I always do this. Couldn’t bear to come home to any mess!

Reminds me of Kim from Kim&Aggie - she vacuums her way out to the front door so it’s spotless when she gets home!

Essential. I hate coming back from a lovely relaxing holiday to a shit tip.

It drives my DH mad but even he gets it now.

Huge tidy
Good clean through
All washing done and put away/packed
Bins emptied
Breakfast washing up done and out away
Last one in the shower cleans the bathroom
Change all the beds
Get in the car and go

Lol

We plan our holidays so that our cleaner comes whilst we are away. Writing this whilst waiting for the bus after just getting off a plane from a week away.

Yup i spend the day before going making sure things are clean and tidy. The day we go we empty bins, put washing up away and make sure everything is tidy. I dont want to come home to it.

I was having this exact discussion with DH on Friday... as we were leaving to go on holiday and he got annoyed with me for hoovering while I got annoyed with him for not helping

I do try to because I like coming back to a clean and tidy house, depending when I’m actually at work until before I go, this isn’t always possible.

Pre dc2, I would have said essential. My standards have slipped big time .

I'm the worst at keeping up with the cleaning usually but even I clean before going away! I hate coming home to a cluttered dirty house, so depressing after whats usuallu been a lovely time away.

That and unpacking straight away. 2 tips I think I origionally got from MN but really make a difference to my mood getting back into the monotony of life post holiday.

I do as much as possibly without killing myself.
It’s really nice to come back to clean and tidy, but if there isn’t time then it limits what I do.

Essential as my colleague comes and feeds the chickens and I don’t want her to think we live in a shit heap! Also change the beds as I like coming home to clean sheets

Essential here too. Like a pp I like to get everything unpacked quickly too.

We usually rent holiday cottages so I can wash and dry clothes whilst away and then I come home with mostly clean clothes.

I do as much as possibly without killing myself.

Yes, I think this is me too.

I used to have a list of must dos before going on holiday. Now I do what I can to make it pleasant enough to return to.

I used to be complimented all the time on my clean, super tidy wee flat. Now I have a massive house full of toys .

Ok, not massive... it feels it compared to my little flat though.

Definitely. Apart from anything else, if we get burgled, I don't want the police thinking we live like animals!

Even more important is tidying before going to a festival. There's no feeling on earth like coming home filthy, starving and knackered to a clean, neat house - nothing to do except have a long shower, big dinner and flop.

Coming home to flop in a spotless house is one of the joys of holidays. I even plan the take away dinner or the freezer food for the first night back well in advance. Cleaners always come once while we are away.