Vacation Prep
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 1:59PM Packing six people for a week in the Maine woods is a bit like mobilizing an army for war in the desert: hot-weather clothes for the day, snuggly warm bits for when the sun goes down and the cabin gets cold.
I have mountains of clothes to wash, dry, fold, sort, stack and pack. But I also have to tidy the house and yard too because, what if I die on vacation? I'm going to be one shit of a bother then, what with the cremation arrangements, the funeral, the party back at the house. No one wants to scrub the toilet, dust the dresser and clean the mirror if they also have to call my friends and pick the songs the cantor will sing at Mass.
So, I mowed the lawn, picked up the playroom, vacuumed under the beds, wiped the tops of picture frames and washed windows. And now I'm about to tackle the packing.
What? Doesn't everyone do this?
Reader Comments (2)
Sort of...but only if I'm going away for an extended period and someone's coming in to check on the cat. Even then I only clean what they're likely to see. Living room? Yes. Guest bedroom? No, that door stays closed.
I figure if I die while I'm on vacation (oddly comforting to know I'm not the only one who thinks about things like this), I'll be too occupied with all the being-newly-dead stuff to worry whether the tub is clean or how many dirty socks are hiding under my bed.
O.K., so we're revisiting the whole clutter/mess thing again. I get that.
I do the exact same thing...the cleaning and organizing before we leave. I haven't gonethe whole 'not making it back alive thing,' but I just loathe coming home to a messy house after being away.
As far as scrubbing the toilets goes, it's touching to know you wouldn't leave that chore to your gagging husband. Even postmortem you carry your official toilet scrubber torch. Hope he knows what a keeper you are!
Also, I pack for five, not six, however I need a spread sheet and logistics software to keep track of what I'm packing. In the end I just pack everything and then Ben rolls his eyes when he sees all the luggage. You don't like it buster? Do it yourself!
Hope you and your family have a great vacation!