Do you vacuum and dust before you go on holiday?

[nappyaddict]

We are going on holiday soon and I am just making a checklist of cleaning jobs to do before we go so I can relax when we get back without having to do a load of chores apart from getting the holiday laundry done.

I have put on:

take the rubbish out
change the beds
make sure all washing up is done and put way
make sure all laundry is clean, dry and put away
clean the bathroom
mop the kitchen and bathroom floors

I was about to put on vaccum and dust throughout but then i thought is there any point? Won't a weeks worth of dust gather on the surfaces and carpet whilst we are away so it will need doing again anyway when we return?

Get a cleaner to come in while you are away, preferably just before you get back, and give it all a thorough clean.

We don't use a cleaner and I would feel funny about someone we don't know coming in whilst we weren't there

I'd Hoover if floors visibly need it, otherwise don't bother

Yes, I do all the usual housework. There's never much dust moving around an empty house, so not much to settle in your absence. It will be far less dusty than if you'd been home, with people shedding skin, doors and windows left open etc.

I would just do a general tidy up to be honest. Yes, pack all the washing etc away as you will have a mountain to do when you get back. I cant even go out to the shops if there are dirty dishes about, so yy to sorting out the dishes...

I don't usually as I'm too busy packing and getting everything ready and making sure I've done the crucial things like emptying the kitchen bin and locking the windows.

I love Bonsoir's idea of getting a cleaner in while you are away. It would be lovely to come back from holiday to a spotless home.

My house is at it's cleanest before I go on holiday think it is my house equivalent of worrying about clean underwear on if I get rush to hospital, weird I know

I always do it now....we were in a car accident on the way home from being away and ended up staying away for a couple of months. My friends had a key for the house and went in and tidied everything, took our cost, emptied the fridge......
I know it's probably a bit odd of me, but now I like to leave the house as pristine as possible just in case someone has to come in for some reason - I fully accept and embrace my oddness and it does mean that every time I make it home unscathed, it's alway lovely and clean!

Took our cat that should say....they'd been feeding him for the two nights it should've been, and ended up with him boarding there for eight weeks!

I always do a big clean before we go away, it might seem a pain when your trying to get everything else organised but I am always thankful when I walk through the door after a long journey home and the house is sparkling.

Yes, I do everything on your list too, although I wouldn't get too upset if I ran out of time to dust!

I wouldn't change the beds - won't the dust just settle on them while you're away?

Yep... I clean and tidy. Empty bins and change beds.

I literally hoover myself out of the front door and leave the whole house spotless!

There is nothing worse than coming back from a break to a messy house and loads of housework on top of the holiday washing

I would do a thorough clean. Not nice coming back from holiday, exhausted, to a mess or feeling you have to do housework straight away.

A clean and tidy house is so restful

Yes I do. Everything in it's place, tidy, bathroom cleaned, all washing ironed, washing basket empty-ish (just the pyjamas just used), kitchen spotless, emptied and washed bins, dusted, hoovered, clean bedding. Not because I am smug, but because I really enjoy coming home to a clean, calm, familiar place.
I also have a quick meal in the freezer that I can just throw in the oven while unpacking.
Unless it's 2am, all the laundry gets washed straight away on our return and everything put back before going to bed.
The next day the car gets valeted.

Yes, I clean a lot, and but on fresh bed linen etc so that coming home is very very very welcoming.

It's really worth doing. Extends the post holiday relaxation a bit.

Honestly - get a cleaning company to come in and do a deep clean. First of all it will encourage you to do a good declutter and tidy before you leave and secondly the feeling of coming back to a super-clean home when you are all refreshed from a holiday is like nothing else!

If you are very organized you can even get an internet shopping delivery for the day after you return, so that the fridge is refilled and all you have to think about is laundry.