Nanabee~ my procrastination comes in handy at times. I still hadn't unpacked from Hawaii in January & now have a spur of the moment trip to Mexico next week. Just washed everything out & packed it back up! Ready to roll!!

scan the mail. if it is all junk, return to it in a week or so.

I usually take the laundry out only and everything else stay in the suitcase. Most of the stuff I only use when I travel (first aid kit, ipod charger, travel toilteries kit), they stay right there until my next trip!

Another cat owner...
Ours goes neurotic when we return, running in and outside the house continually. We never had the vomit problem, but she has an uncanny knack for missing the litter box.

Basically I would prefer leave our stuff in the car for the next day- or week- while my better half cannot relax until every last thing is put away. Somehow we compromise (I hide my suitcase in the closet until ready to deal with it).

Just got home yesterday afternoon after three weeks in Europe and this is what I did:

1) Grabbed, kissed, squeezed the two cats (both met us at the door) Then proceeded to do a walk-through of the house, checking for pee or vomit. :) None found. My cousin housesat so apparently he got rid of any evidence.

2) Caught up on episodes of AI (even though we knew who won), Office, Sopranos.

3) Threw a load of wash in so I'd have something to wear to work today - SOB husband has a few more days off.

4) Made mac and cheese and almost fell asleep standing over the stove.

5) Crashed at about 7:30 p.m. Now it's 4 a.m. and I'm awake!!!

I start unpacking before the luggage hits the floor - sick, I know...

If you don't unpack for weeks, I'm guessing you don't need those clothes? That's all my "good" underwear in there, so it's gotta get washed or else... :-)

That's true... especially the beach vacation travel clothes don't get much play in my every-day life.

I love the 'hello house' as that's exactly what I do. I investigate that all is well, kess Zoey, my dog, greet the cats, check the plants. I can tell how things went by the attitude of the animals (not to forget Itsy the sheep). If everyone is calm and relaxed then the house sitter did her job. Can't stand to unpack and do laundry immediately--first need to sink back in to the rhythm of the home--sometimes that takes days. BMK

After getting home from a trip, we always go out for a great burger and fries - something you just can't get outside the states! Then, we start a diet the very next day:)

I think it's funny about the cat lovers.
Cats couldn't care less if you greet them at all, could they?....they would "put you on hold" and get back to you later!
Can you tell I'm NOT a cat lover!?(:>)

Dogs are another story.

Anyway...it's always good to get home,,and THAT trip is always the BEST EVER.
THEN it's time to start thinking about the NEXT trip.

gather the mail, lug in the luggage, take a shower, head to bed -- with my wife. sleep comes later.

Open the door and pet the cats as they run out. Seal up the window (altered to let the cats go in and out as they please), feed the cats, let them in and open a beer. While the cats eat I drink and then we all three crash in bed and cuddle until I fall asleep. I always arrive home very late the night before I have to return to work.

When I return to our home, I'm always struck by something about our house that I don't see usually (forest for the trees kind of thing). I make a mental note to change or fix something, for which improvement I attribute to the previously visited country for. I then plop into my wonderful bed, eternally grateful I insisted on the most comfortable pillowtop mattress we could afford - it makes the hard landing of back-to-everyday-world a little bit softer (in fact, it was a travel trip and a heavenly bed of a certain hotel chain that made me want to have one). I usually sleep very deeply & wake the next morning thinking I'm still in the country I was in the day before. Only the extreme comfort of my no-place-like-home bed lets the disappointment slide away.

Before a trip, I clean my house thoroughly so that it smells good when I get home. The cat knows something bad is going to happen when the luggage comes down from the attic.

On return from a trip, we bring in the luggage, say hi to the cat who gives us the cold shoulder for leaving him for so long. We scan the huge pile of mail and newspapers, see if the house sitter did a good job of cleaning up after herself and the cat, unpack the souvenirs, pour a vodka and tonic, check my garden, check voicemail and try to stay up until a normal bed time.

Spend time with our cats (we have cat sitters come in when we are both gone). Unpack my Sainsbury's goodies, divide up the souvenirs, upload the photos, email everyone and go to sleep. :)

Hug our son, who takes care of the dogs, hug the three dogs, or try to since they are jumping all over the place, unpack souvenirs, then sit and read the mail.

Start a load of laundry. Shower. Spread peanut butter on saltines. Eat. Follow with a large glass of Nestle's Quik. Do more laundry. Debate merits of Mexican food versus Szechuan. Do more laundry. Snarl at my husband, as he brings good tidings, and grim, straight from the voice mail after I've told him to ignore messages and mail until tomorrow. Do more laundry. Foil husband's attempts to read mail (aloud). Intuit husband's need to feel useful. Send him to fetch take out, Mexican or Szechuan, his choice. Decide laundry can wait. Search bottom of purse for stray m & m s. Make popcorn. Spend next few days musing about what a wonderful trip I've had.

I used to prefer to unpack and throw everything in the laundry right away, but with the proliferation of bedbugs in hotels around the world, DH now prefers to let the clothes sit in the foyer for a few days so that hopefully any bedbugs we may have brought don't find their way to our bed.

Anyway, we got home from Iceland on Sunday night, and the first things we did were pet the cats and open the windows. DH started offloading our photos from his image tank to our server, which takes a while, then he made us grilled cheese sandwiches out of stuff my mom brought us when she picked us up (thanks, mom!) I munched on a couple of Mom's brownies while waiting and turned on the tv. We spoiled the cats some more with treats and our food. This was our 2nd "long" (1 week) trip away from them, and they didn't seem as freaked out as when we spent 2 weeks in Greece last year. I think they're starting to understand that we're not abandoning them (they were both shelter kitties and we've only had them for about 18 months).

Mari5, you don't know cats very well. According to my cousin who housesat, my one cat sat outside our bedroom door meowing every morning and every night, looking for me/us. He finally had to open that room to show her that we weren't in there. :)

And yes, they both very enthusiastically greeted us at the door when we got home.