Cleaning the house before going on holiday..

[HappyEverIftar]

...Yes or No?

I'm in the 'there's no point' camp DH disagrees. What do you do (or don't do?)

absolutely no way, I'm lucky if we can even pack the car and cases in time let alone clean the house.

My thinking is that if you've cleaned before you go, you'll come back to a week or two of dust/cobwebs etc which you'll just have to do again, so you may as well wait and do a big clean (normally the following day) when you're back.

I do make sure to clean out the fridge before I go, that's one surprise I can live without!

We didn't have time when we went away last month and I swear I've only just caught up. Miserable having all the washing to do plus hoovering etc. Love a clean tidy house to return to.

Definitely, although not in as much as depth as some of the rest of you! I like to make sure everywhere is perfectly tidy; hoover; mop; clean the bathroom; empty all rubbish, including any food that can't be frozen; make sure all laundry is done; and ideally, change the bedding. It helps make the post-holiday blues more bearable.

Yes. Always clean. Bleach the toilets is the last thing we do before we shut the door.

I have to have a clean house to come back to. Like others have said, helps with the post-holiday blues.

A definite no here, we're just trying to get out of the door.

You could always tell your DH he's very welcome to spend the night before you go cleaning ;)

Yep, always clean and tidy the house and make up all the beds so everyone falls into nice clean beds. Then once all the cases are opened it's carnage bug at least it's clean underneath.

If I can get back from holiday before midnight, I can't stop myself from unpacking and loading the first wash into the washer too, which is very annoying. Each time, I promise myself I'll leave the unpacking til the next day, but I can't seem to do it.

I never want to do this, but DH thinks it's important- and I'm generally glad we did it when we get home.

Never but I always get the cleaner to come in and do a big clean. It makes coming home lovely.

If I couldn't afford the cleaner I would definitely do it myself

Yep definitely

Sheepy we leave tonight so I guess I'm going to have to do it today! I'll experiment this time, see how I feel and whether it changes my attitude to cleaning before we go .

CremeEgg I'm exactly the same! I have to unpack, whatever time it is, as soon as we get back. I'm like that when we arrive at our holiday destination too. Somehow it makes it feel as if you're there for longer?

I've tried cleaning before, but find when Dh traipses in and out of the house with the luggage, kids come back for forgotten toys, there was really no point in me washing the floors. I used to change the sheets so they would be fresh on our return, but we very often get back later than expected due to traffic etc and kids just want to fall straight into bed without showering, so again, no point. Obviously do the emptying of fridge and taking out the rubbish though.

I hate coming back to mess so I tidy, empty dishwasher, wash any cups etc, empty fridge and bins. Change beds if I have time. Or do the day before if we are leaving early.

Have a cleaner so make sure she comes in while we are away. I continue to pay her so ask her to do deep clean of certain rooms if we are away for a few weeks.

The cleaner cleans it whilst we are away, so we always come back to a clean house with clean bedding

Just got back from hols and spent today cleaning . Lots of dust and cat hair so really needed doing.

Not sure I'm going to bother pre-cleaning in the future!

Always. We go away for long periods and I like to make sure everything is done before I go. I do the same at our holiday apartment as in both cases I can start living straight away without concerning myself with washing and cleaning for a few days.

Yep, the house gets a good clean. Partly its due to not wanting to return to a dirty house. Also, I've lived in hot climates over the years and if you don't keep an eye on things/clean like a madwoman, you may return to an insect invasion. So, that fear keeps me honest!

Absolutely! Do a mega deep clean including fresh bedding to return home to.

It is bliss walking back into your own home all sparkly and clean. Only the post holiday washing/ironing to worry about then.

I paid our cleaner an extra hour to do a more complete clean while we were on holiday. Coming home to a clean house is lovely.