Do you wish that you were more organised upon returning from your holidays and stopped leaving your suitcase full of dirty washing for days after you get home? My post-holiday checklist will help you get prepared so that you have less to do when you get home.
Have you ever heard people say that they need a holiday to recover from a holiday? LOL, it’s a thing, isn’t it!! This is usually because holidays can be stressful when you don’t plan properly for them. Using a pre-holiday checklist to make sure that you have everything in order before you leave is a great idea – but have you ever considered using a post-holiday checklist too?
A reader recently requested a post-holiday checklist and I thought it was a fabulous idea so I created one! This post-holiday checklist will help you remember all the things that need to be done after you get home, helping to take the stress out of the return.
Getting back into your daily routine following a holiday can be a struggle. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a day or two to continue with your feels of holiday bliss.
- Pick up pets – pick up your pets if they are getting looked after
- Pick up food essentials – on the way home from a trip away I usually like to pick up a loaf of bread and milk on the way home.
- Unpack suitcases – even though you are tired from your trip, take your suitcase straight to the laundry and unpack it. I do this as soon as I get home as I don’t want dirty clothes lingering and smelling up the suitcase.
- Put on a load of washing – sort your clothes into, dark, colours and whites and make a start to washing your holiday clothes.
- Throw away food – Check your travel bag and suitcase for any leftover food. Dispose of it as necessary. I also usually empty the fridge before our holiday, but sometimes you may keep something thinking it will still be OK when you return, double check just in case.
- Air out suitcases – before storing them away
- Top up supplies – top up supplies like shampoo & conditioner that you keep in your travel bag so that they are ready to go for next time.
- Grocery shopping – restock your fridge with food
- Check the mail – sort through your mail from your mailbox and email inbox, checking there is nothing that needs to be responded to urgently.
- Be kind to yourself to get over your jetlag – jet lag can really knock you. Try and adapt your waking and sleeping hours back to normal and expose yourself to strong daylight early in the morning so that you’re not sleeping all day.
- Check car batteries – if you’ve been travelling for a few weeks it’s a good idea to restart cars to make sure your battery isn’t flat.
- Mow lawns – grass grows so quickly!
- Check the calendar – to see if you have for any due bills or upcoming appointments you need to prepare for.
- School uniforms – check that the kids have school uniforms ready for school return.
- Check your budget after a holiday – a week or so after your holiday it’s always a good idea to spend time going through how much you spent whilst on your holiday, reviewing your credit card and bank statement to ensure there are no extra charges or withdrawals (you can never be too cautious) and see that you kept within your holiday budget.
- Book your next holiday – travel is a powerful addiction and you might want to start planning your next adventure sooner rather than later. While your holiday is till fresh in your memory, think about what you enjoyed and didn’t so you can make your next holiday even more enjoyable. If you don’t have time to book make a note so you can refer back to it.
We also have a pre-travel checklist so that you’re completely organised and can go on your holiday without any worry that you might have forgotten to do something before you left, or that you left important documentation behind.
DOWNLOAD HERE: Pre-Travel Checklist
