Rekindle your love for your home

How to beat those back-from-vacation blues.

I’m out-of-office this week soaking up the last week of summer vacation with my son. In the spirit of going back to the usual routine, I’m rerunning an essay about coming home.

It didn’t hit me all at once. Coming back from vacation, my head was buzzing with memories of butterflies, hot springs, red rocks, and bubbling streams. Nonetheless, walking in the door I felt a sense of relief: Home again. My own bed, strong coffee that I would not have to get dressed to obtain, lights that dimmed, a fully-stocked medicine cabinet–all the little things you miss when you’re on the road. 

The first day back from our trip was the usual chaos: the unpacking, the piles of laundry, the scramble to make breakfast with what’s in the cupboard. But then, on Monday morning, with my husband out of town for a job and my son off to school, it hit me: Our place was a wreck. 

I mean, it wasn’t a total wreck: We are pretty tidy, but my home wasn’t its best self. I couldn’t even sit down to the work that had piled up while I was away. I had to clean. And not just tidy up: I needed to deep clean. The overdue mopping couldn’t wait another minute. I couldn’t bear the site of the stealthy piles of paper.

Most people would not have walked into my home and seen an unbearable mess. But I was experiencing the feeling of returning from an inspiring vacation to see my home with fresh eyes—really seeing it for the first time in a long time. Has this ever happened to you?

 We had rented a very tidy and well-designed AirBnB in Santa Fe, and that experience of being in a home that was free from clutter and hotel-level clean was what did it. I had noticed the perfect grout in the shower. I marveled at the spotless stainless steel pans (had anyone ever cooked with them?). I relished the snow white sheets and honed concrete floors. (My husband and I own a rental property, so I may be acutely tuned in to the details of rental homes). But it was back home that I felt the power of that perfectly-appointed place: My own home felt shambly, too full.

You might think I am being too hard on my house, and it is true that it is unrealistic to hold a family’s full-time home up to the standards of a relatively pricey vacation rental. (And I LOVE my apartment: I really do!) But I think it’s healthy to have these moments of reckoning with our homes. It’s like taking off your blinders.

Whether you have traveled recently or not, I encourage you to find a way to see your own home with fresh eyes. The next time you go away for a few days, take a minute to really examine your home when you return: What do you see?

Here are some tips to help your home get out of the rut:

Unpack immediately.

For me this is not optional: I don’t have enough clothes to let our bags remain unpacked for days, but I know other people often postpone this chore—don’t! 

Remake the bed.

Yes, you’ve got a mountain of laundry from your trip, but it’s worth it to add the bedding to the hamper. Your bedroom will feel so much better. (I aspire to become the kind of person with the foresight to wash the sheets and remake the bed right before traveling.)

Clear the surfaces.

In a small home like mine, this task alone makes a world of difference. Tackle the mail, magazines, books, etc.

Throw out the actual garbage.

Recycle the mail and the magazines I just mentioned, and if you are a parent, toss all those little bits of kid crap. I luxuriated in throwing out not one but two of those awful stretchy-sticky hands and the “leprechaun trap” from St. Patrick’s Day.

Deep clean.

Vacuum, dust, mop. If you do these three things in your whole home, it will also force you to tidy. I promise it’s worth the time and effort: There is nothing like the feeling of a truly clean home.  Listen to a motivating podcast and it’ll help the time go by.

Clean out the fridge.

You may be tempted to skip this one because it’s not outward facing, but how many times a day do you open the fridge? Get rid of anything that’s gone off, but also take the time to reorganize and wipe off the shelves.

Really feeling the home again blues? Go deeper still…