apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The last things I always do between the time I call for a taxi and the pickup is to haul out the kitchen garbage and turn on the dishwasher...

...but before making the call, I always put fresh sheets on the bed for my return home.

cleaning out the fridge...

i always forget and have nice little treats wanting to walk out of the fridge when i get back.

its so funny that you post this today...

i just moved to a new place and am so lucky that it has a dishwasher (YAY!).

but this weekend i was out of town for father's day and returned home late last night to the most horrible smell. after a little hunting around we tracked it to the dishwasher. we had left dirty dishes in the dishwasher for the weekend. and i think it was probably worse because the air was off and the windows were closed. now we know better.

so... add this to that list:

RUN THE DISHWASHER!!!

make sure the toilets are flushed/potties emptied if you have kids (adults) who tend to forget!

unplug small appliances/iron/hair dryer/etc.

make sure there aren't food spills in the microwave or on the stove top

empty pet water and food bowls (assuming they're not staying home)

put light(s) on a timer

arrange mail/paper pick up or stop it

Arrange for pet car, change litter in cat box, water plants, tidy the place, make bed, vaccum/mp etc., (I hate coming home to a dirty apartment).

Fresh bedsheets for me too. It makes a huge difference on my first night back home!

run the garbage disposal, if you have one, with a little bit of dishwashing liquid

power down extraneous electronics (tv, cable box, laptop)

So true! I left some watermelon on the counter for a weekend away recently and the smell that greeted me was completely repugnant!!! Fortunately the fruit flies aren't out yet...

Basically, I clean as if I was a maid in the hotel I will be staying at, so that I can relax upon returning home.

Then I prepare the house as if a disaster might occur while I am gone.

Run dishwasher, then turn off the water (I'm not brave enough to run a dishwasher before locking a door), unplug major electronics (to guard against power surges/electricity waste), clean the bathroom (nothing grosser than returning from maid service to discover how you were living), water plants, stop mail, do all your laundry, put lamp/radio on a timer, adjust the inside temp. And this last is a weird one...I close all the doors in the house. I read once it might slow down a fire. My husband tells me it wouldn't do much good, but I do it anyway (maybe in time for a neighbor to see smoke??).

Unplug all power strips and anything else that saps energy. One of the perks of being out of town is having a really low energy bill that month.

i hook up all my indoor plants to a self watering system. i was away last summer for 5 weeks and all my indoor plants not only survived, but thrived.

I recently had to make an unplanned trip to visit my sister in the hospital and had just a few hours to book the train ticket, pack, and get out of the house. No time to really clean up, but I managed to do a couple of quick things that made a difference. So I present:

How to run off for the weekend in a hurry without coming back to a disaster.

1. Close doors. If you forget something, it will confine any noxious odors to that area. I also forgot about laundry in the washer, but the washer lid was down, laundry room door was shut, so no pervasive smells. I just ran the wash cycle again and all was well.

2. Spray those dirty dishes you don't have time for with disinfectant. I have some sort of Lysol kitchen spray I normally use for raw meat that drips on the counters--sprayed it on the dishes I didn't have time to wash. No mold, no flies. Not as good as washing them, sure, but not a biohazard.

3. Put the compost in the freezer. I do this already, but if you leave it on the counter most of the time, this will eliminate that odor.

4. You can't get around emptying the trash, but there's rarely anything in my bathroom, bedroom, or office trash cans that's going to be nasty, so they're low priority. (My bathroom trash is mostly Kleenex, and the office trash got converted to a recycled paper bin because that's all I ever threw in it.) Everything that goes in my recycling bin is clean, so leaving it for a few days is no big deal.

5. Make sure everything is locked up, the oven is off, curling iron unplugged, etc. I'd prioritize checking all the windows over doing the dishes every time. Having to clean when you get home is way less unpleasant than having to call the police and the insurance company.


It's great when you plan a trip and can take an hour and clean your house before you leave, but when life surprises you, sometimes you just have to do the minimum.

Before I knew better, two years ago, we left a full chicken carcass in our attached garage trashcan for an entire week in August while we cruised Alaska. My car and house smelled like death for weeks, and our windowsills were lined with dead flies trapped between panes.

I always try clean my house top to bottom, especially my sheets! Coming home and having a mess is not my idea of post-holiday relaxation. I also go through the amazing check list from Knock-Knock called "Bon Voyage"... I love lists and thank god there is a company who makes check lists for me.

I'm diligent about cleaning before leaving, and making sure bed linens and towels are fresh. Upon arriving home, I empty suitcases and begin laundry as soon as possible, and make sure that any papers, receipts, etc., are organized. Admittedly, I'm on the compulsive side!

lurker2209, I think your list is so good I might actually print it out! The only thing I would add is I would make sure all my appliances were turned off at the socket switch (I usually do this anyway but I would check them just for peace of mind).

In addition to the above: If you have a home, turn off the hot water heater!!!

: )

Wow! Glad to see that I'm not the only organizing nerd that has a list when I go away! I print one out, complete with checkboxes, the evening before we leave. I find it helps keep my husband on track too. In addition to all the items listed in the comments section I add that we:
- make sure all the curtains and blinds are open
- unplug the computer and tv in the event of a power surge
- give kitty tons of food and water
- make sure to pack snacks for the trip
- wipe off the counters to keep ants at bay
- empty the mailbox
- make sure the shed, cars, bbq, bikes etc are locked up

- Empty the coffee grounds
- Turn off the taps to the washing machine

In addition to many of the things listed above:

I have an alarm clock that is programed to go off at the same time every morning.... Make sure you turn that feature off! Once, my poor upstairs neighbor had to listen to mine going off for a good hour every morning for a week. Whoops.

I haven't always followed this advice, but it's not a good idea to leave the dishwasher or clothes washer running when you leave.

i always make sure the toilet seat is down. this may sound odd, but i grew up in an area with lots of mosquitos, and upon returning from a family vacation once, we found them living in an open toilet. yuck! never again.