My ultimate travel hack makes me look forward to coming home — and it's perfect for anyone returning from a holiday trip
- No one likes coming home after a trip to a dusty house.
- It always feels like a chore to clean when I return from traveling.
I used to think nothing was worse than unpacking a suitcase after a trip.
But now that I'm renting a three-bedroom home and no longer living in a one-bedroom apartment, I dread returning to a dusty, stale house that's begging to be cleaned.
It used to take my husband and me an afternoon to clean our apartment, but our Philadelphia rowhouse is an entire day of work.
On my way home from a trip to the UK this fall, I decided to do things a bit differently. After repacking my suitcase and checking in online, I booked a cleaning service for two days after we got home.
I figured giving ourselves two days after our return would leave us wiggle room in case of any flight delays or cancellations and a built-in deadline for getting suitcases unpacked and laundry done, which is all too easy to put off.
The deep clean included everything I knew I'd be too lazy to do once I got home — dusting, vacuuming, mopping, a thorough clean in the bathroom and kitchen, and even changing bedsheets — plus the extra stuff I usually only do once a year (or, let's be honest, less), like cleaning the fridge and the oven.
When the crew of four arrived, my husband and I took our laptops to a nearby coffee shop. Three hours later — more than half the time it typically takes us to clean our home — I got a text that they were all done. When we got home, the place was spotless.
Being in a super-clean home felt like a luxury, especially while I was tired and jet-lagged, and it was worth the cost (around $300 for a deep clean) just to have one less task on my to-do list.
Plus, it was a nice post-vacation treat that I looked forward to on my flight back. Growing up in a Greek-Cypriot family, I learned that a clean home is everything — and, to my detriment, I can't fully relax unless my house is in order.
Since then, I've booked the service again after coming home from shorter trips, including visiting my in-laws for the holidays. As the new year approaches, it's nice to feel like come January 1, my home will be squeaky clean.
And hiring professionals to clean my home has become my favorite travel hack.
While it's not cheap, I think it's worth it — it saves me time and energy, and it's a splurge that lets me keep that relaxed feeling after a vacation going a bit longer.
So next time you're thinking about splurging on vacation, my advice is to skip that flight upgrade and put the money toward a cleaning service. You'll enjoy the benefits for a lot longer.