8 Things to do when you come home from vacation

Sunny days, blue seas, beautiful places are the best, but unfortunately we all have to come back. Just came home yesterday from vacation and now there is plenty to do at home. Sometimes it can get stressful and we let the after-holidays mess get the best of us. Here are the 8 things you NEED to do when you come home from your lovely vacations. 

1. Open the windows

Probably you left your house closed and all the shades down. Open the windows, let those sunny rays come in as well as the fresh air. When your house doesn’t get ventilation it can become a steamy box of germs. So get the air circulating. The sunlight is great to increase your vitamin D also!

2. Water the plants

If you left for a week or more, your plants probably need some water. Put your finger in the soil to see if is still moist, if not water it. Don’t try to compensate for all the days you didn’t shower your plants.

3. Take everything out of your travel bags

Don’t wait until tomorrow to do this step. I’m the first to admit that I don’t do this right away, and I find myself going for my stuff in the bags several days after coming home. This is the worst thing you can do after a vacation. You will feel frustrated because your stuff is not in the place it should be, and your home will be all cluttered and messed up.

Take all the clothes, toiletries and electronics you took with you. Put the bags away in their place and start to tidy up everything.

4. Do your laundry

This one is crucial too. It feels so nice to have your clothes clean and ready to wear. Don’t let your dirty laundry hanging around waiting for you to wash it. If it is a boring thing for you to do, do it before everything else and get it out of the way.

5. Fresh bed sheets

If you didn’t do it before leaving, put new sheets on your bed. I love the feeling of laying in a fresh clean bed. I feel like I even sleep better. If you are coming home and going back to work, that sleep is very much needed!

6. Clean your fridge

I’m totally talking myself into doing this after I write this post.

Probably you didn’t left much stuff on your fridge before going away. This makes it the best time to clean it. Take out anything that got spoiled or that expired and clean it. The best way to do it is with baking soda and warm water, or even with white vinegar diluted in water. I don’t like to use cleaning products in my kitchen because I feel like the chemicals contaminate the food. And after doing this…

7. Buy groceries

Now is the time to go outside and get what you need for the week. With a clean fridge it will be much easier to organize everything you buy. I’m doing this today, let me know in the comments if you want me to write a blog post about organizing your fridge. (Update: Here is the blog post about How I organize my fridge if you are interested!) I’m going to try a new system and I’m getting excited about it (I know, who gets excited about an organized fridge… only me, right?)

8. Take time to relax

After all this work, take a relaxing bath, or watch a movie. Do something that you enjoy! Your vacation is over and probably you are going back to work so spend this last moments wisely. For me, a warm shower, a face mask, a lit candle and a book do their wonders!

My holidays with my sister, my husband and little Pablo were truly great! We went to a little beach village I love going to here in Portugal. See my travel post about this place here. Warning: it contains lovely-hard-to-resist ice cream pictures!

Let me know if your vacations are over too or if not, were are you planning to go!