7 Things to Clean Before You Leave on Vacation
by Amy Sardone
on Jun 24, 2024
What’s on your checklist to make sure that you take care of it before you head out on vacation? Probably things like holding your mail, renewing passports, buying tickets, packing your bag, and boarding your pets. But before you sail out the door and close up your house for an extended period of time, don’t forget to take care of these essential things to clean. The last thing you want to face when you come home exhausted and exhilarated (and sunburned) is a messy, smelly, dirty house.
1. Clean out the refrigerator
Toss out any expired items or produce that will go bad while you’re gone. If you’re feeling extra energetic, double down and clean out the entire inside by removing items shelf by shelf, thoroughly cleaning the area, and then replacing them. This forces you to touch each item and evaluate whether it stays or goes. Use your best judgment about what to toss. In general, get rid of produce and milk. Your other perishables (butter, cheese, eggs) should be fine for a week or so. Squirt Speed Cleaning™ Red Juice onto the shelves and wipe them clean.
2. Take out the trash
Now that your trash bin is brimming with nearly-expired food from cleaning out the refrigerator, you definitely don’t want it sitting out for a week or so. Roam through the house and collect all the garbage, then put it outside in your trash bins so it can be collected as scheduled. If you were really motivated, you could use Speed Cleaning™ Stain Gobbler to clean up any stains in the trash bins themselves.
3. Do the laundry
When you get home, you’re going to have a few loads of laundry to dump into the washer, so be sure to clear out whatever lingers in the laundry room right now. The last thing you want is to come home to some damp towels that got mildewy by sitting wet the entire time you were gone. And when you get back, throw your bathing suits into a laundry net to protect them in the wash.
4. Wipe all countertops and sweep floors
You want to be extra careful that you’re not leaving crumbs around that might attract any bugs or vermin. So wipe down all your kitchen countertops and sweep or vacuum the floors. Red Juice will give your countertops an extra dash of clean, and wipe away with one of our Speed Cleaning™ Premium Cotton Cleaning Cloths.
5. Do the dishes
Another area that could attract critters is a sink filled with dirty dishes. So load them up in your dishwasher and run it before you leave, or hand wash them.
6. Clean the toilet
Grab one of our Speed Cleaning™ Large Angled Toilet Brushes and a bottle of Speed Cleaning™ Scum Bum and clean the toilet before you leave. Give the toilet an extra flush or two to be sure that there is nothing lingering in the pipes before you leave.
7. Change the beds
It will be such a treat to come home to fresh bed linens, so why not set yourself up for that pleasure? Strip your old bed sheets and launder them, and put fresh sheets on the bed to await your exhausted, travel-weary arrival home.
Bonus tip: Tidy up!
This is a bonus tip and not entirely essential. If you get a chance after the whirlwind of packing and making sure the house is ready for departure, go through one last time and tidy up the house and put things back into place. You will thank yourself later when you come home to a clean and tidy home.
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