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

[CaramelEmporium]

Adding unnecessary stress or an essential pre-holiday task?

We’re in the throes of it today. Going away on Tuesday. Ds 14 and DD 22 are staying here though so it might be futile this time!!

The cleaner comes in and does it whilst we are away.

Before we leave I stick bleach down the toilets, and I also stick a couple of denture cleaning tablets down as well.

The last thing I do is spray Indorex flea spray in every room and in the skirting boards.

Get into the car and promise myself I won't say it, but I do every year............Bye Bye House be good.

Essential. I’ll clean few days before and if time on day hoover. Wipes sinks. Bleach loo.
I do t bother with beds tho. I just stick to my routine in that

I pack gradually though over a few weeks so I never have that last min packing panic.

I clean any dishes from the last meal and take the rubbish out.

That’s it

What a waste of time! I always leave stuff out and around the house to make it look as though we're here anyway.

I like to get all the washing up to date even if it is not ironed as we bring so much back with us. Dh goes to the tip the day before we go so that is very little rubbish about and I tidy the house, more so now because my son in law will pop in to make sure everything is ok.

This year Dh is out the night before we go so we will pack my car before he goes out and then I will tidy. Mind you we do have to leave at about 4 30 in the morning to catch our ferry!

Coming back from a long over night flight I think clean sheets should be saved for the next day, not the night you arrive and crash into bed!
But else yes why would you not do dishwasher etc and ensure minimal dirty clothes to add onto holiday washing

Our cleaner comes while we are away so that helps, but I also change beds on the last day before we go and make sure all non-holiday laundry is done and put away.

Spent the end of last week mucking out dd2's bedroom (she's 15). Actually she did the work, I supervised. Then we went away for a week. When we got home yesterday she came running back down stairs to tell me how nice it was to come home to a tidy room!!

Genuine question from a clean freak - why do you put bleach down plug holes and put plugs in?? What am I missing??

How do you pack over a few weeks madeye? Don't you need to use the things?

We can only pack a couple of days before and a few things go in just before leaving like toothbrush, makeup, hairbrush, reading glasses, etc.

It depends how long is the holiday.

I wouldn't want dirty laundry festering in the bin for 3-4 weeks. But it's inevitable some will the in and I'll just leave it for one or two weeks.

What I can't bear to leave is dirty dishes or a dirty kitchen. Or a dirty bathroom. So, those get a last minute clean if necessary.

I always want to and never manage to do it, and it's so depressing coming back to a shit tip.

This is the ideal.

Sometimes time runs away with me and I end up leaving a mess where I have packed in a panic. I hate it.

Coming home to a clean and tidy house = bliss.

I do the dishes, put drain cleaner down, bleach the toilet, take the bins out and put the washing machine on hot rinse. Then there's nothing grim or smelly. Otherwise I don't care that much.

Essential! We change all the beds and I practically hoover my way out of the house.

I also get the cleaner and gardener to come just before we get back.

Nothing better than coming back to a pristine house.

I do it, my husband calls it "cleaning for the burglars". I think he gets it now though.

I'm a neat freak and it is a must. It would depress me to come home to a house to clean...

Essential!

Coming home to a stake smelling house with clutter everywhere isn't pleasant. I like it to look nice so I don't have to throw myself into housework right after coming home.

Always, but now have a cleaner, so she does it whilst we are away.

I once let a ‘d’ friend borrow my place when she had family visiting from overseas. I came back to a filthy kitchen overflowing bins and worse still, unflushed toilets complete with contents.
I also found out, a week after we had got home that her family had not washed and changed the bedding.
Never again. Obviously

Always
Not just holiday though I hate to leave the house untidy.
Dh will tidy up before I come home from work on his days off and I always say god I couldn't do that not tidy up until late in the day .

Dishwasher has to be empty and no dishes in the sink, plus hoovering done. Thats it, i have cats that stay home (cat sitter comes in daily) but they will inevitably leave furr on the floor, go on the kitchen sides and occasionally be sick (it is cleared up but i have to hoover and remnants then scrub) so i have to clean a fair bit on my return, makes it even harder coming home

Always! Including defrosted freezer, cleaned oven and clean bedding.

I have been sad enough to pack a small amount of outstanding laundry too, wash it whilst away (we usually self cater) and bring it home clean. I never bring dirty washing home at all, and wash it whilst there and then we literally unpack suitcases when home and it’s as though we haven’t been away.

Heaven, sad yes, but worth it.

Oh and bins all get emptied

Essential. I once went on holiday for a fortnight, thought I'd cleaned everywhere but I forgot to take the kitchen bin out. Came back to a huge buzzing cloud of bluebottles in the kitchen (thankfully I'd shut the door so they weren't all over the flat). It was utterly revolting.