Unpacking From Vacation Made Simple: 3 Steps To Get It Done Efficiently
Did you know that unpacking from vacation starts before you even leave your house? Sounds kind of crazy, but believe me when I say that it really does work. By doing a few things before going, you will have a less stressful time when you come home.
I love traveling with my family on vacation. Packing for vacation can be a bit of a nuisance but your trip is your ultimate reward for packing. However, the unpacking from vacation part afterwards is not on my list of fun things. Before I start packing for vacation, I makes a list of the things I need to do in order to complete my 3-step unpacking from vacation routine.
Common Questions About Unpacking From Vacation
I will admit, unpacking from vacation is so overwhelming sometimes, especially if you may have a large family. When chatting with other vacationers, I find that some people have the same common questions. I thought I would address them first.
Why Is It So Hard To Unpack?
A short and to-the-point answer to this question is the reason why it is so hard to unpack is that we tend to take too much stuff and bring too much stuff back.
How Do I Stop Being Overwhelmed By Unpacking?
Being home from vacation can be really stressful. You may be sad it’s over, worried about catching up on work, or other things. The key is to take things one step at a time, one suitcase at a time.
How Do I Motivate Myself To Unpack?
Play some music while you are unpacking from vacation. Something upbeat or related to your vacation. Also, set a timer for 15 minutes, you will be amazed how much you can accomplish.
How Long Should Unpacking From Vacation Take?
Ok, there are some trips that my suitcases will still be full a few days later. But ideally, unpacking from your trip should take no longer than two hours, depending on when you arrive back home.
Unpacking From Vacation Begins Before You Even Leave!
Some people can’t believe that you can do your unpacking from vacation in these steps. Each step has a few parts to it, and each one of those shouldn’t take a long time (with the exception of the laundry, as we all know that takes some extended time), and many can be done simultaneously.
Make sure all your laundry is washed, dried, folded and put away.
Having empty baskets to come home to makes it a lot easier to unpack. Leave the empty hampers right next to your washing machine. Split it up over a couple of days so it isn’t so overwhelming. I even make a note in my calendar for it!
Wash and dry your sheets.
There is nothing more comforting than coming home to a clean and fresh-smelling bed. If you have been staying at a number of places, being in your own bed can be a vacation after your vacation. While being away from home is fun, having your own pillows and sheets makes it all worthwhile.
Clean your bathrooms.
I am not talking a complete deep cleaning. Windex the mirror. Scrub the toilet and tub. Quick wipe the floors and shake and hang out the rugs. This should not take longer than 15 minutes per bathroom. Take a moment to check, and fill, if necessary, hand soap or bathroom cleaners.
Make sure your kitchen is cleaned up.
Starting 3 days before vacation, I institute a disposable dishes rule. That way, there are only a few dishes that may need to be washed before you leave. If you have a dishwasher, take a moment to add a cup of white vinegar, run a cycle, then leave it open to dry. You will come home to a fresh smelling appliance.
Clean out your fridge.
It will make after-vacation shopping so much easier, and you will avoid spoiled food in the fridge.
So why is this relevant to unpacking from vacation? Easy! You are more inclined to unpack when you don’t have all these other things waiting for you once you arrive home. You will only have to unpack and won’t feel so overwhelmed.
What To Do During Your Vacation To Make Unpacking Easier
There are a few things you can do while you are at your chosen vacation destination to make it easier once you return home.
Have a place for used clothing for each person in your family.
Have some green garbage bags and toss dirty clothes in each bag. Or do what I do: take one collapsible laundry hamper for each person. They fold up easily for travel and keep everyone’s clothing contained and sorted. You will find this especially helpful if your hotel room is not very large. I generally store them in the closet area, but you can decide what works best for your family.
Designate one suitcase for clean clothes, one for dirty, and a third (if you have one) for souvenirs, empty bags, etc.
When it’s time to repack, you can very easily have everything sorted and organized. Plus, having all the dirty laundry together in one suitcase minimizes the stinky smells.
Bonus Tip: Take a dryer sheet and toss it in the suitcase of dirty clothes to help keep the vacation smells to a minimum.
When you are ready to leave, toss the dirty clothing in the suitcase you set aside for dirty clothes, so it is all together.
If you want to be ultra-organized, place each person clothes in a green garbage bag, smoosh out the air, and stick them in the suitcase. I used to do that for the boys, but now, I just toss it all in together (generally split between 2 loads) and wash away.
How To Make Unpacking From Vacation Efficient Once You Are Back Home
After returning from your vacation, whether by plane travel or travel by car, now it’s time to unpack and get organized. I know that you may want to just sit down and put your feet up, but trust me, doing these next few things will make unpacking from vacation more efficient and manageable.
Immediately take the suitcase of dirty laundry downstairs.
Remember the empty hampers before you left for vacation? Use them to quickly sort the laundry and then toss in the first load. I have to admit, I am not always good with this step, but it really does make a HUGE difference. Somehow neatly sorted laundry hampers are less intimidating that a full suitcase of dirty clothing.
Take the suitcase of clean clothes upstairs and put them all away.
Don’t set the suitcase down and come back, do it right then. You may think “but I am tired from traveling.” But you still have the happy feelings from your vacation, so why not put them to good use. Later on, when everything is done, you can relax on the sofa and look through all your vacation photos.
Let your suitcases air out, spray lightly with Febreze, and toss in a dryer sheet to keep the scent fresh (and chase any potential bugs away).
Immediately store them where they belong. I love that most of our suitcases will store inside one another for easy storage. I have a space in our cellar that is vacation central, and everything is in one place. When it’s time to pack for vacation, I am all set.
More Tips For Unpacking That Will Keep You Motivated
- 10 Tips For Unpacking From Vacation is a great resource for this task.
- She Packs Lite has some great tips to Unpack After Your Vacation.
- Here is a different view about whether you should unpack immediately after getting home.
- And we know that coming home from vacation can be stressful, here are a few tips to help cut down on post-vacation stress and unpacking.
Now that you know how to unpack from vacation, I hope that you feel less stressed and be more efficient. While it is always more fun to be packing for vacation, we can all agree that there is absolutely no place like home! Be sure to leave a comment with any unpacking tips you may have.
More Easy Vacation Tips
These are all great tips, thanks for sharing at #Alittlebitofeverything Link-up Party
We always have our clothes washed before returning home as I hate mixing the clean and dirty clothes together in one bag.
Generally where we stay you would need to pay to wash laundry, so we don’t do that. But that is a great tip!
It’s exciting to pack but it’s hard to unpack haha! I’d be honest. My bag from my August vacation is still full of clothes- clean ones!
Hey, at least they are clean! I know last year my suitcase was full of dirty clothes for over a week. Crazy circumstances, but I wanted to make sure it never happened again!