Of course I wasn't always like this. But after I got married, I find myself becoming more and more like my mum. Anyways, this makes me busy not only preparing and packing for the holidays, but also cleaning and washing up around the house.
Apartment therapy had a good list of things to do before leaving for the holidays. I've added some of my own list here.
1. Stop your mail or ask a trusted friend or neighbor to take it in for you.
You can do this on the Australia Post website. You need to apply at least three working days before the start date, and unfortunately, it isn't free.
2. Bring your bills up to date.
These days with online banking, this shouldn't be too much of a problem if you get your bills through email.
3. Empty your refrigerator and toss out all the perishables.
We didn't shop for groceries this week to get rid of everything in the refrigerator. These days we are making all kinds of recipes to finish off the kimchi. Kimchi soup, kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancakes, etc. Hopefully we wouldn't have to chuck out any of our precious kimchi.
4. Empty all your trash cans and take out your garbage.
I remember once during my careless single years, coming home to a queer smell after a two weeks holiday. Not fun at all.
5. Breathe all the mattresses and have fresh linen out.
They say it's good to let your mattress breathe without sheets once in awhile, but this is hard to do when you have a baby who is in bed 20 hours a day. So the holidays will be the best time to do this. But I don't want to rummage through the linen closet looking for sheets for the bed after I'm back from a 10 hours plane ride. So having the fresh linen out would also be a good idea.
6. Catch up on your laundry.
The first thing that comes out of the luggage after the holidays is loads and loads of dirty laundry. I don't need another pile waiting for me in the laundry room when I come back. Besides, I use cloth nappies and leaving soiled nappies for more than three days could get quite stinky.
7. Do a quick clean up of the house.
Vacuum, do the dishes, put clutter away.
8. Clean the toilet.
When you don't use the drain for awhile, unwelcome things start to grow. So pour Bi-carb soda down the drain, followed by vinegar and hot water before you leave. Also, to avoid lime scales in your toilet bowl, clean it before you leave.
9. Unplug your electronics.
Why waste power? Turn off your wireless network while you're at it. Just to be on the safe side.
10. Lock all your doors and close all your windows.
This should be obvious but you can forget the most obvious things when you are excited (or stressed).
Of course with last minute packing and the hustle and bustle early in the morning of our departure, I couldn't do all that is in this list. I am human, after all. But at least I know I'll be going back to a place I can call home.
 |
| The scene of our bedroom on the night before our departure. |
No comments:
Post a Comment