Getting ready to head out on vacation and want to make sure you come back to a clean apartment? Or at least not a smelly apartment?

I travel a lot. I go on a few vacations every year and beyond that, I spend a lot of weekends down the Cape. I’ve definitely made the mistake of not taking care of basic tasks before I leave. Then I open my front door and wonder what that smell is. Ugh, the trash! Or the dishes you left in a hurry! Suddenly, all that vacation glow seems to fade away.

Let's talk about how to make coming home part of the vacation, not the end of it. Or at least not something you dread coming home to.

I'm here to share some quick and easy steps to ensure you're not just hitting the road in peace but also returning to a fresh, tidy, welcoming home. Trust me, it’s worth those few minutes!

Empty the Fridge

First things first, I empty my fridge. I ditch things like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, those leftovers I swore I would eat. And I’ve learned my lesson, now I always check the crisper drawers. I’ve come home to funky lettuce (it’s always the lettuce) one too many times to forget that lesson now. I know cleaning the fridge isn’t what you want to do when you’re getting ready to leave, but you just don’t want to come home to a disaster - ‘cause cleaning a mess in the fridge is never a treat.

Trash

I may not do every step in this post every time I go away for a weekend, but I make sure to empty the trash. I check trash bin, recycle bin, and my compost bin (trust me, don’t make my mistake of missing that!). Predicting when the trash might start to smell isn’t a guessing game that I want to play. So, I err on the side of caution to make sure my place stays smelling fresh (or at least doesn’t smell) while I’m away.

Dishes

Next on my list is to do the dishes. Most importantly I clear my sink and counters of any dirty dishes. I do not want to come home to dried-on food stuck to dirty dishes in the sink. I try to remember to run the dishwasher, even if I don’t have a full load because again, smells. If I’m really ambitious and thinking ahead I run the dishwasher in enough time to empty it before I leave, but I’ll be honest I’ve rarely reached that level of organization or preparation. I’m happy to start the dishwasher right before walking out the door.

Food Disposal

I got these handy disposal cleaning tablets that make my sink smell like oranges when I use them. When I run out of those orange or lemon peels work great. I know I’m supposed to clean the disposal on a regular basis, but that’s so far down on my list I never remember. A lot of times I will remember when I run the dishwasher before heading out for vacation.

Laundry

Yeah, laundry is down there on the list of priorities before I head out. And I’ll be honest, if I’m going away for the weekend I skip this entirely. And pro tip - I never throw my sheets in if it means I’ll have to make my bed right when I get home. But otherwise, I’m going to come home with a suitcase full of dirty laundry, so I like my hampers to be empty. I’ll warn you though if you start laundry make sure you don’t leave wet laundry in the washing machine when you leave. That’s a terrible way to ruin clothes.

Pick up

I really like having a picked up apartment. Even coming home to having clear counters and things (mostly) in their place makes me feel better. This is all relative, since I have a dog who likes to strew his toys all over the floor and gets cardboard boxes to shred when I’m trying to get work done (like right now). But mostly, I try to get the stuff off the floor and counters, even if it means just putting stuff into a neat pile to deal with later. Before I go away, even for a weekend, I like to make sure all the clutter. is away, use my stick vacuum on the floors (the battle against dog hair never ends), and wipe down the surfaces (again, the dog hair).

Pets

Winston either goes to his doggy-daycare for boarding or to my parents’ house when I’m away. If he’s going to doggy-daycare I like to pre-measure his food so they only need to dump the baggie into the bowl. It takes more of my time, but it saves them some time and avoids any confusion over instructions. I write out feeding and medicine instructions. If I were to leave Winston home with a pet sitter, I would still pre-measure his food and make sure his water bowl is clean and full.

Payments

When I get really lucky my cleaner comes while I’m on vacation. Coming home to that clean of an apartment is the best! Which means I need to remember to leave a check for her. I rarely have any other payments I can’t make online, but if you do don’t forget to leave them where they can be found.

Check doors and windows

I do a lap around my apartment to make sure all windows are closed and doors are locked. If I need to leave a key for a pet sitter or cleaning service, I make sure it’s in its spot. I make this a habit so I won’t spend time worrying about whether or not I remembered to do it while I’m away.

Lights

In addition to closing the windows, locking your doors and setting an alarm, I make it look like I’m still home. I have Phillips Hue lightbulbs on a schedule. I leave them on their regular schedule while I’m away. I got the Phillips Hue system when I came home from vacation late at night after a delayed flight. I didn’t think to leave any lights on, so had to walk into a dark apartment, where I lived alone, that had been empty for a week. That was uncomfortable enough that I got lights that I could turn on from my phone. If you don’t have smart lights, leave a light near the door on, so you aren’t walking into a dark apartment that’s been empty for awhile.

Preparing my apartment before my vacation might seem like a chore, but I think of it as a gift to my future self. The last thing I want to deal with after a trip is a smelly, messy apartment. My advice is to take out the trash, run the dishwasher, clean the food disposal, and do a general pickup. Your post-vacation self will thank you!

Have any other pre-vacation tips? Leave them in the comments below!