Travel tips: How to prepare your home before you leave for a holiday

Preparing your home before a trip away can make the return home less daunting. Photo / Unsplash

Whether you’re headed on a short weekend road trip or leaving for a longer holiday escape, there’s a lot of stress that can be saved by getting everything at home in order before your departure.

While the rush before a trip can leave travellers feeling like there isn’t any time to spare, taking a few moments to get organised could reward you with a more pleasant return. It will help to prevent nightmare scenarios too – no one wants to come home to smelly odours, sky-high power bills or unexpected infestations.

Get rid of food scraps and rubbish

This is one of the most important tasks to complete to ensure your space is prepared for your absence. Taking out the bins, clearing out perishable food from the fridge, fruit bowls and pantry, as well as cleaning dirty dishes, will secure your home in several ways.

Firstly, it will prevent odours and mould. Secondly, you’ll turn away the interest of unwanted creatures - even a few “harmless” crumbs could make you popular with critters and rodents. Lastly, it leaves your storage areas ready for the hearty food shop you’ll likely do upon return.

Giving your plants a bit of love pre-trip can make all the difference. Photo / 123RF

Water your plants

This step is one that’s very easy to forget, especially when you’re off on a short trip and don’t have a house sitter set up. Make sure to keep your plants well-hydrated before your trip and set up a watering system if your itinerary demands. During a short trip, you could fill a sink or bathtub with a bit of fresh water, if you have some very thirsty plants (just make sure you’ve turned the taps off!).

Turn off appliances

Switching off home appliances can help to save you money on your power bill and conserve energy usage. This also includes turning off all the lights and checking the wall plugs, not just the appliances themselves, are switched off.

Clean your space

Doing a tidy of your space can make the return home feel less daunting, but it also is handy for getting rid of crumbs and rubbish scattered in locations not immediately obvious. It can also help you in locating crucial items for your travels that might have gone on a walkabout in the pre-trip panic.

Crisp and clean sheets might help restore your energy post-holiday. Photo / Supplied

Lay out fresh sheets

While this step can be handy for preventing odours and keeping a space clean, it’s also a luxury to afford to your future self. Returning home after a trip can leave you tired and, if bidding adieu to a holiday, slightly sad. Providing comfort and clean bedding for yourself will make the first sleep at home feel rejuvenating, giving yourself the best chance of post-holiday recovery.

Close the windows

Securing the windows and doors before you leave is the last thing to tick off the pre-departure list. Ensuring each entry has functional locks is something you might want to check a few days before too, so you’re not left scrambling with a nightmare-ish DIY just before departure.

Check your schedule

If you’ve got a big commitment coming up very close to your return time, it can pay to arrange the things you’ll need for that event. You might need to prepare some clothes, pack a bag, complete important work or notify important people about key details. Getting those bits done can mean you’re fully relaxed on holiday too, and not worrying about the transition back to everyday life.