Clean house before you leave?

[katwmon]

I always clean before I leave...even if its a short weekend to families house. I do not like to come home to a mess after a nice relaxing trip. Or in case the trip wasn't relaxing at least I know I don't have to clean. Never thought about changing the sheets before I leave though. I will try that! Usually need the laundry for trip so Its always done too. Fridge and dishes are a must for me. Nothing like forgetting to set the dishwasher and coming home to moldy smelly dishes...only takes once to forget--- to never forget again.

Kat

[pongo]

Ok we go in 2 weeks the house will be cleaned before we goes i hate comming home to a dirty home however we are leaving a 18 year old boy well ok young man home alone somehow I dont think it will be done if we asked but it has been normally clean when we come home but that is after the friends come round and party the night before we come home then they all clean up before going home thanks for girlfriends in this group of friends:D

[TSCOTT]

Without a doubt! Who wants to come home after a relaxing cruise and start doing housework? The only thing that we have to do when we return from a cruise or any vacation is laundry.

[jules815]

I definitely clean before we leave for vacations. If we road trip to Florida or have an early flight, I've been known to stay up all night doing last minute things and cleaning up the place...I'm usually too excited to sleep anyway.

 

Next month we won't be leaving our house until 4:00 p.m. to go to the airport, and when I booked the later flights, the first thing I thought was how much cleaning I'll be able to get done that day!

[JnK]

Oh sure I clean, too! Everything is done; clean beds, clothes, bathrooms & floors. After being treated like a queen for a week, I definately don't want to have to do all this stuff when we get home. The clothes will get washed, but I will be in denial for a fews days after we're home! LOL

[westernmom]

I remember posting to this thread during the winter when I just had to worry about making sure the house is neat and clean and now I have to worry about flower beds, lawns, and the garden! Oh my! It takes six hours to mow the lawn alone with two riding lawnmowers!

[Looking Forward]

I will have a clean house before I go; my friend is staying there while I'm gone, to take care of my tough little terrier (in her mind only).

[ngl116]

I clean my house too before leaving on trips. I'm already in shock because there is no bartender when I get home to bring me a nice cold DOD, I don't wanna have to clean when I get back too! :eek:

[cowprintrabbit]

I remember posting to this thread during the winter when I just had to worry about making sure the house is neat and clean and now I have to worry about flower beds, lawns, and the garden! Oh my! It takes six hours to mow the lawn alone with two riding lawnmowers!

 

Yup - weeded, barked, mulched, etc. Lawn mower is broken, so I hate to think of what it's going to look like when we get back!

 

Inside of house spruced up; and the most important - parrot cage cleaned! Nothing like coming home to week-old "dirty parrot cage in a stuffy house" smell :eek: She has her own cage at her sitter's house, so this one will stay clean until we get back.

[Parrot Mom]

Okay...so I get the house clean, clean the cages for the birds.. and on the cruise we have two large mesh bags.. one for dark and one for white clothes and they are left downstairs next to the washing maching... The hardest part is putting things away.

[sirarthur]

My wife insists on leaving the house spotless.... I think she is afraid that if she didn't and our boat sinks and we go with it someone entering our house would remember us as being slobs!!! Thats really not true...she is just a "neat" person in every sense of the word.

 

Also, living in Florida and traveling after June 1, we have to "Hurricane Proof" the place. Shutters, bring in lawn and pool furniture...etc.

[monakayk]

:p Nice to see I am not alone! I also clean my house...I make sure all the beds are made (even when we have to leave the house to drive 1 hr. to the airport at 5 AM!), dishwasher unloaded, ALL dirty clothes washed, etc.

I guess not only the fact that I know I will be tired from vacation (wasn't it suppose to be restful-NOT!) and will have enough to do just unpacking and getting our clothes we took washed, but deep down...if anything should happen to us..Heaven forbid...the house will be nice and clean! Sounds morbid, but so true!

I have taken care of friend's pets so many times and had access to their houses during their vacations..to see the way they leave their homes a total wreak, I was beginning to think I had a problem! 'OCD' is what my kid calls it. (Over Compulsive Disorder). Nice to hear I am not the only one who likes a nice clean house to come back to when returning from vacation!

:o Happy Cruising........after the house is cleaned! LOL :o

[Luvsdaislands]

Add me to the list!!! I am a Virgo so you know we are organized neat freaks by nature :D . The day before I clean the house from top to bottom, mop the floors, wash clothes, dust, etc. I do not cook at all on the day before leaving, I just order take out so I don't worry about doing a second kitchen cleaning. I package most foods that could spoil (deli meat, cheese, etc.) and place in the freezer, the other stuff I throw out. But I try not to purchase too much food the week before we leave...hate to waste food and money!!!

I am not worried about how people would see my house if something happened to me....it's the dust and dirt that will accumulate from everything just "sitting" for a week. The day after I return I wash the clothes and restock the fridge.

[Drew's Wife]

Everything is always spotless before we leave on any trip! Just could not abide coming home to clutter and a dirty house. Also, we have to have someone come in to take care of our cat while we are gone and I would never want someone to come in and see my house dirty! Also as soon as we get home, I try to unpack ASAP and get things put away and washed so that they will be out of sight and taken care of.

[Need2Cruze]

Ok, so I can tell DH that I'm not crazy! Last year before we went away (actually was not a cruise but a trip to Portugal) I was up all night with last minute packing and cleaning. Emptied out fridge, took out trash, ran dishwasher, did all the laundry, mopped floors, and in the morning before we left, changed the sheets. All of this to the sound of "why are you doing all that? you're insane! get some sleep!" It actually turned out alright, because I was so exhausted that I actually slept on the flight over! And when we returned, everything was in its place, and it was so nice after a long trip with two under 2 to climb into my bed with the fresh clean sheets! Love the idea of keeping something in the freezer for our dinner back. I'm not one to freeze pre-made foods, so any ideas for stuff that defrosts well?

[LHARTWICK]

My house is always spotless (almost) before we leave. I mean, I can LIVE in a messy house but heaven forbid if I vacation with it that way! LOL!

 

I just don't like the thought of coming home to a messy house or the thought of someone finding it in that condition if something happend to us while traveling. When I get home, all I want to do is greet my critters and then collpase on the bed after having such a good time at sea!

[PACKMYBAGS]

You can add me to the list of "neat freaks" before I go on vacation. All of the laundry is done, the house is cleaned, and new sheets go on the bed! Nothing is worse than coming home from a trip after traveling all day and walking into a mess.

 

The fridge is cleaned and emptied also, as we don't want to play the "Guess what spoiled while we were away" game.... :eek:

 

The first thing we do when we get home is march the luggage down to the laundry room so it is ready to tackle in the morning... It doesn't seem so bad after a good nights sleep in a clean snuggy bed...

 

After we got home from our honeymoon cruise last year, we headed up to bed and found that my family had left chocolates and a towel animal on our bed as a surprise.... It made that first night back to reality a little easier!

 

-Katie :)

[MeleniePHX]

I am also one of those The-House-Needs-To-Be-Clean-Before-We-Leave people. I'm fully aware that it's a bit neurotic and obsessive compulsive, but I just feel... wrong leaving my house a mess. My husband teases me about it.

 

And yes, it's nice to come home to a clean house, ao I can say, "Ah, home sweet home," and not, "Ew, home-crap-home." :D

[Nurse Daybreak]

My husband has always kidded me that the house looks better as we leave on vacation than it ever does while we are at home. He never understood why I was so fanitical about emptying the fridge, making sure all laundry was done , etc.. Three years ago we went on a cruise with some neighbors/friends. Arriving home the limo dropped us off at their house. They had left their 14 and 17 year old kids home with their young aunt(21). As we walked in the place, while not a hovel was a mess. He really appreciated the house as we walked in to our pristine home.:o

[Andros]

I too am glad to know I'm not alone in the cleaning dept. Usually the house is kept in pretty good order all the time anyway. I do make sure it is decent before I/we leave on any trip though. No need to come home after a pleasant cruise and have to clean right away. I even went through all my closets, kitchen cupboards, storage areas and the whole house upon returning from our Transatlantic last year, it does help beat the blues from ship/cruise withdrawals/depression. Also, you get very organized in the process. However, it still doesn't help that where is that such and such thing! That never goes away and only gets worse with age:eek:!!! LOL! Happy cleaning/cruising to all! Andros/Tony

[river_sand_bar2]

We always clean before a trip..... and the wife makes sure that there is plenty of toilet paper in the house...

 

WE HAVE KIDS, that come over when we are gone.... and raid the frig, cupboards and take every single beer in the place. Not only that, we have come home to dishes in the dishwasher... at least they didn't leave them in the sink.

 

So basicly, on the way HOME from any of our trips, we must stop by the grocery store and pick up a few things as we know the frig will be empty..

 

I LOVE my KIDS!!!!! :D:D:D:D:eek:

[lovebug33]

I hate coming home to a messy house because I'm already going to have tons of dirty laundry :). My mom has always made us make our beds so when the house burns down, the firemen won't think we are slobs. She didn't get the fact that if it burned down, there would be no beds!

[gxchan]

I posted on this thread way back when and noted that I'm a "must clean everything" before leaving for a trip person, including organizing the drawers--what is that about?? LOL. Alas, for my upcoming cruise in October my place will be left a mess!! Why you ask? Because I'm having it painted which requires packing up everything and putting it in the middle of each room (yeah, that'll work, LOL). While I'm happy that my place will be freshly painted I'm not sure I will be able to handle coming home to disarray, let alone the thought of having to unpack from the trip and the entire place!! HELP!! Assure me that a messy home is not the worse thing I could come home to.

[Nurse Daybreak]

Well, I guess it would not be the worse thing you could come home to, but I sure home the housecleaning fairy visits you before you get home. The new paint will be nice but it sure will get you out of vacation mode fast:(

[SailAways]

This is the funniest thread I've ever seen on a Cruise Critic board.

Keep the great answers coming.

 

I have always been accused of being "Mrs. Clean".

I swear though, I spend much less time cleaning than anyone I know.

It is a matter of being so completely organized, that nothing ever really gets too messed up. I'm not obsessive, just find it easier to tidy things as I go along rather than let messes accumulate.

 

I haven't driven anyone crazy yet, and DH and sons actually have picked up a lot of "Mr. Clean" habits. My DILs are thrilled that they never have to pick up dirty underwear after their guys.

 

I can't imagine doing the weekend cleaning that so many working women do. When I worked, we all pitched in, did the cleaning here and there during the week, and had the entire weekend free to enjoy. What a pure joy this was - Such special times we had!

 

Unlike many of you, I don't really give a hoot what someone else thinks about my clean phobia.:rolleyes:

 

All of it is for our personal enjoyment, and if clean is what makes us happy, Clean it will be.

 

If the house happens to be untidy the day that they come to drag me off in the white jacket - I really won't care.:) :)

 

Answer - Yes, I clean before we go on a cruise, vacation, or just for the pure pleasure of being able to sit down and enjoy the beauty of a tidy home.