Mistakes That Ruin Coming Home from Vacation

This blog post was updated on April 2, 2020.

You’ve snagged last minute flight deals and enjoyed a great vacation…but, you can’t avoid facing some issues when you get back home. All that relaxation from vacation can fade away when you spend hours searching for your car at the airport or open up your front door to see a flooded basement. If you don’t want to ruin your memories of a great vacation, don’t make these 7 mistakes.

You Didn’t Do Laundry before You Left

You just flew 18 hours and you walk into a home without clean towels, sheets, or clothes. Now you have to dash out and get laundry detergent and wait a few hours to take a shower and go to bed. You can save yourself a great deal of grief and exhaustion by doing your laundry before you leave. Put fresh sheets on the bed and have a clean towel in your bathroom. If you’ll be heading to work when you get home from vacation, have a clean outfit picked out and ready to go so that you don’t have to waste time figuring out what to wear to work when you’re jet-lagged and cranky.

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You Forgot to Shut off Your Water

Your vacation will be a distant memory if you come home to a water leak in your place of residence. All too often, travelers leave their homes and rentals without turning off the water at the main valve. While you might never have a leak, it’s worth the peace of mind that you’ll come back to a dry and tidy home. A burst pipe while on vacation can cause costly damage that will have you fearing ever leaving town again.

You Didn’t Make a Note of Where You Parked at the Airport

You just took a 3-week trip to Italy. When you parked at the airport, you said you would easily remember the section of the parking garage. When you touch down and begin searching for your car, all you can remember is how beautiful Positano was and how that pizza in Naples was the best you ever had. No one wants to wander the airport parking garage longer than they have to. Do yourself a favor and write down where you parked at the airport or send yourself an email with that information. Don’t rely on your memory that’s still hungover from your holiday.

You Haven’t Stocked Up on Non-Perishable Foods

More often than not, you come home from a great vacation later in the day, especially if you traveled far. Just as you don’t want to have to dash out for laundry detergent, you should be sure you have some non-perishable foods ready for you when you get home. When you arrive home at 10PM, you seldom think about breakfast the next morning. You can ruin coming home from vacation if you have to head to the grocery store just to have something to eat the next morning. Stock up your pantry with non-perishable foods so that you’ll always have something to eat when you get home.

You Didn’t Stop Your Mail (and Email)

When you head off on vacation, you can sometimes forget about your life back home. This can include your mail. If you want to protect your bills and other personal mail from falling into prying eyes, be sure you stop your mail before you head off on vacation. Failing to set up an email out of office reply can also ruin coming home from vacation. You’ll come home to hundreds of emails from angry clients and bosses if you don’t put a hold on your email as well. No one wants to spend several hours when they get home going through emails. If you let others know you won’t be answering emails until a few days after you return, you’ll stand a better chance of not losing your sanity when you get home from vacation.

You Left a Messy House

Leaving for vacation can sometimes leave your house in a mess. After a vacation of staying in heavenly hotel rooms, you’ll be quickly brought back down to earth when you open the door to your very messy house. Schedule time before you leave to clean up your home, including tossing out any food that will expire during your time away. Not only do you not want to come home to a mess but you also don’t want to come home to a stench in the kitchen.

You Leave Your Suitcase out Too Long after a Trip

Post vacation blues can hit and fast when you arrive home from a great vacation. You’ll experience that post-trip depression if you have a constant reminder of your vacation sitting around in your house, namely your suitcase. When you get home from a trip, you need to get back into your regular routine to avoid feeling depressed — this starts by first putting away your suitcase and clothes.

Feeling more confident about coming back home from your vacation and avoiding any negative vibes? Well, go ahead and look for those last minute flight deals, soak up some fun, and enjoy your time off!

What mistakes have you made coming home from vacation? Share your tales of post-vacation blunders with us in the comments below.