Checklist: how to prepare your home before leaving on vacation

Why preparation pays off

A closed apartment in midsummer is a little greenhouse: high temperatures, shut windows and leftover food are the perfect recipe for bad smells, mould and uninvited guests. The good news: almost all of it can be avoided with a few smart chores — the checklist below walks through them room by room, from the kitchen to the electrics, so nothing important gets forgotten.

1. Kitchen: fridge, bins and sink

The kitchen is the first place your absence shows — and the last place you want surprises.

• Use up or throw out perishable food. In the last week before your trip, cook “from the fridge” and avoid stocking up.
• Take out all the rubbish — including organic waste from the small bin under the sink, the one everyone forgets. Rinse the bin and leave it open to air out.
• Wash the dishes and empty the dishwasher. Dirty dishes or a damp, closed machine smell anything but pleasant after two weeks.
• Flush the drain with hot water and a spoonful of baking soda — a trap that dries out likes to let odours back into the room.
• Wipe down the worktops so crumbs do not invite ants. In summer, they are faster than you.

2. Bathroom and laundry

• Do not leave wet laundry in the machine. Run the last wash early enough to hang or dry it before you leave — and leave the washer door ajar so the drum can air out.
• Hang towels and bath mats up to dry; damp fabric in a closed room is a recipe for a musty smell.
• Flush the bathroom drains and check that no taps are dripping. A dripping tap over two weeks also means a few hundred litres of water.
• Turn off the water supply if you are leaving for longer — the cheapest flood insurance there is.

3. Plants and balcony

• Gather your houseplants in one spot, away from direct sun — it also makes watering a one-minute job for the neighbour or relative helping out.
• Move balcony plants into the shade and water them well; ceramic pots standing in saucers of water last surprisingly long.
• Put away balcony cushions and textiles — summer storms like to arrive exactly when you are not home.

4. Air, humidity and temperature

• Air the place out thoroughly just before leaving, then close the windows and lower the blinds — the rooms stay cooler, and textiles and parquet are protected from the sun.
• Do not leave the air conditioner running; switch it off and, if possible, clean the filter — so the first thing that greets you on your return is not a musty puff of air.
• In damp rooms (cellar, windowless bathroom), leave a container of moisture absorber.

5. Electrics and the final look around

• Unplug the appliances you do not need — TV, computer, microwave, chargers. The fridge stays on, of course.
• Check the stove, iron and kettle — a classic, but it is exactly this last look that buys you a sound sleep on the first night of vacation.
• Leave a key with someone you trust, along with your contact number, just in case.

One more thing: do something before this vacation you have never done before

The checklist makes sure nothing unpleasant awaits you at home. But there is one more step — the one more and more of our customers take, and after which coming home compares to nothing you have known before. The secret? Before they unlock the door to their vacation, they hand us the keys to their home. While they are at the seaside, our consistent, carefully vetted team calmly and thoroughly carries out a deep clean of the apartment — and instead of a stale flat, they come back to a home that smells and shines like new. How it works and why customers come back year after year is described in our tip Coming Home From Vacation to a Sparkling Clean Home.

Leaving on vacation? Book a deep clean while you are away — submit your inquiry here.