My Before-and-After Vacation Routine That Make Coming Home Easy

I’ve learned that the difference between “that trip was amazing” and “why did we do this to ourselves?” often comes down to the state of my home before and after the trip. That’s why I developed an easy before-and-after vacation routine to protect my sanity.

Let’s face it: as amazing, refreshing, and compelling as travel is, it is a disruptor. It interferes with sleep routines, meal plans, school schedules, laundry cycles, and the fragile peace treaty you’ve negotiated with your kitchen counters. And if you’re already living a full life, then a trip can feel like it adds overwhelm:

I used to treat travel prep like a personal endurance test—late-night packing, panic-cleaning the morning of, coming home to a disaster, then immediately jumping back into life as if nothing happened.

Now I treat travel the same way I treat hosting. If I want the experience to feel good, I can’t only romanticize the middle. I have to care for the beginning and the ending, too.

To make travel less overwhelming, I started scheduling a few home services before and after trips, not for luxury, but for sanity. 

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The Before-Vacation Routine I Swear By

Think of this as leaving yourself a gift to enjoy when you return. A little effort before you go means your future self comes home to comfort, not chaos. It’s a small act of kindness that makes the return feel like a soft fade out of the vacation instead of a jarring stop.

A House Cleaning 

If I could only choose one thing, it would be this. There is a peace that comes from walking out the door knowing your home is in a good state – floors handled, bathrooms not growing new lifeforms, counters clear enough that you can actually see the surface. When you return, your clean home feels like a landing pad rather than another obligation.

I aim to do it the day before travel if I can. Two days before is what usually happens, then I just do a quick “surface reset” the night before we leave so everything stays calm and contained. 

The key is to change your sheets as soon as you wake up on the day of travel. Just toss them into the laundry bin (with a touch of baking soda to keep odors at bay) and lay a fresh set of beddings to welcome you home. 

A Fridge & Pantry Sweep 

This one isn’t glamorous, but it’s the difference between “welcome home” and “why does it smell like defeat in here?”

Right before we travel, I do a quick walk-through: fridge checked, anything questionable tossed, and trash out. I’ll run the dishwasher and make sure the sink is empty because – trust me -coming home to dirty dishes is annoying, but coming home to dirty dishes that have been sitting for five days is a personal assault.

It takes ten minutes, but it makes future-me so happy. And while you’re in the kitchen, unplug a few appliances for safety (and to keep energy costs down).

Grocery Delivery (or Pick-Up) Scheduled For the Day of Return 

I used to come home determined to “get back on track,” only to realize the fridge was empty, everyone was hungry, and the idea of going to the grocery store made me want to lie down on the kitchen floor forever.

Now I schedule groceries to arrive the day we return, or the next morning if we’re landing late. I include all the basics, breakfast staples, fruit, easy proteins, and something that can become dinner without much thought. 

Aspirational meal plans do not mix well with vacation re-entry. This is the moment to keep life moving, not start something new. 

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My After-Vacation Routine

If you want to feel like a high-performing CEO after your trip, reduce friction when you return. Think of the things you absolutely despise doing during your daily grind, and then outsource them. 

Laundry Pickup or Wash-And-Fold Within 48 Hours

Suitcases are sneaky. They sit there looking innocent, like they’re going to unpack themselves if you ignore them long enough. But what they really do is linger in your space and quietly stress you out every time you walk past.

So when I can, I schedule laundry pickup for the day after we return, or I plan a wash-and-fold drop-off early in the week. It gets the process of unpacking started and also takes the edge off knowing someone else is helping with the hard part.  

Because removing the irritation of dealing with dirty vacation clothes is so important to me, I have two alternatives if I know that I absolutely can’t schedule a laundry pickup. 

1. I do laundry during the trip. Many hotels offer laundry service upon request, and many vacation homes or suites have laundry machines available. 
2. I invite my mother over the day after we land so she can shame me into opening up my suitcases and getting laundry started. 

Food Delivery on the First Night Home

I know I already spoke about grocery delivery, but the thing is, groceries still have to be cooked. 

I have never once been in the mood to cook after a weekend/week/month of being served delicious, expensive food. I’m just a girl! 

Optional but Deeply Satisfying: A Car Wash & Vacuum

If you’ve ever road-tripped with children, you already know. The car comes back looking like it survived a festival. Sand, wrappers, crumbs in places crumbs shouldn’t exist. And somehow… a faint smell of “snack.”

I like to schedule a car wash within a few days of returning, so that I have a calm, clean car to face the errands and routines that lie ahead. It just makes me feel like I have my life together.  

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A Before-And-After Vacation Routine If You Have Less Than $50 

Vacations are already expensive as is – I get it. Sometimes we just need to keep it simple. 

Even when I’m not outsourcing anything, I  don’t leave travel prep to vibes. I’ve learned (the hard way) that a “we’ll deal with it when we get back” approach is basically a prank you play on yourself. So I keep a few non-negotiables – tiny rituals that don’t take long, don’t cost anything. 

First: I empty the fridge and take out the trash. Always. No exceptions. Nothing ruins the post-trip glow faster than a scent you can’t quite identify. 

Second: fresh sheets on the bed before we leave. This is my favorite “I love you, future me” move. Coming home tired and slipping into a clean bed feels like the softest landing. It almost doesn’t matter that the suitcases are still staring at you.

Third: I have a meal plan for the day we return. Just one simple plan so nobody is asking what’s for dinner while I’m trying to remember where I packed the chargers. 

Sometimes it’s a scheduled grocery delivery, or it can be cereal. The point is that I decide before the trip, while my brain still has bandwidth. 

If I do nothing else, those three things keep travel from spilling chaos all over the week that follows. 

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Travel is worth the disruption. It brings joy, perspective, stories, and a version of you that feels a little more awake. Now that I’ve locked in this routine, I feel like I come home to the vacation I need after an epic vacation. 

Ok, get out there and plan something fun with my guide to taking 52 Vacations a year without breaking the bank.

What are some must-dos for you before and after travel?