Disney Ending... Back to reality preparation

[G2MAmber]

I'm curious some things you all do to prep your home for coming home from Disney. I am pretty on top of making sure everything is clean but I am not great at stocking the fridge or freezer. My least favorite thing is having to go back to the grocery store when we get home. What are things you like to have in freezer or fridge before you leave to help soften the "reality" load for when you get home?

 

[Bitsmommy]

We eat everything we can before we leave. NOTHING is in the fridge when we get home. This time we are getting home late in the evening, so I will ask my mom to throw some milk in the fridge before we get home so I can, at least, give the kids some cereal the next morning without going to the grocery store.

 

[Accident]

I'm curious some things you all do to prep your home for coming home from Disney. I am pretty on top of making sure everything is clean but I am not great at stocking the fridge or freezer. My least favorite thing is having to go back to the grocery store when we get home. What are things you like to have in freezer or fridge before you leave to help soften the "reality" load for when you get home?

I never leave with absolutely nothing to cook. It will be something safe in the freezer like a pasta dish, soup or something that will be a nice enjoyable first dinner back that freezes well and easy to reheat. Sometimes it's just something pre-frozen but fresh made at the grocery store or our butcher. I've also have some cereal and similar things that have no problem surviving our trips. If you aren't aware, organic milk has a much longer expiration date and easily lasts in the fridge while your gone.

In my daily life, I do most of my grocery shopping on the internet and get it delivered.. There's a variety of supermarkets that around here that deliver so it's not some specialty service or only packaged goods and I can get anything. I also find it better quality than what they have on the shelves since they don't want to come back to pick up something subpar. It's really easy to shop before we leave and have it delivered in a reasonable time (with factoring in possible travel delays) when we return. If you've never looked into it, it's a good time to check out your local stores and see if online shopping is possible. Also consider places like amazon pantry and drugstore (dot) com to augment what might not be available with your local supermarket if those stores interest you. We're also starting to use the startups like blue apron and plated as part of our normal meal purchases. We're finding the variety of options to be a great way to "eat out" without actually eating out.

 

[jec6613]

Before leaving, I discard everything that will go bad while we're gone. Then I re-stock with fresh coffee creamer, at least one ultra-pasteurized milk, and then fill the refrigerator with non-perishables like water, beer and such, which have a very high specific heat (we can lose power while we're away, and it keeps things from spoiling). I also pick up one log of freshpet for the puppy when we get home, to avoid having to run out immediately.

The freezer always has something quick to grab, and I ensure it's stocked with enough that I don't have to go out for at least 2-3 days once we get back, if I don't feel up to it. I also fill it with water bottles, which then freeze for the same protective effect against power loss.

Then I seal everything, and clean everything and put all of the dishes away, and verify that nothing gets left in the washer or dryer.

 

[Karin1984]

Empty the fridge as much as possible and have something in the freezer, or cans of soup. But as I fly back to Europe, the jetlag messes up my entire system. So usually when I get home all I want is sleep and I end up ordering pizza when I wake up.

I give myself one week to get back to normal, in that week I allow myself not to cook / prepare lunch/go to the gym etc. if I don't want to. After that it... Im forcing myself back into my usual routine.

 

[jec6613]

Even when I'm flying mid-hauls like to Europe and back, when I leave, I force myself into my daily routine on day one, and just get to bed really early. It makes day 2 very smooth.

 

[disneydreaming80]

Where we live several grocery stores will deliver groceries and it is usually free with a minimum purchase of $150. So before we leave I always get my order together and have them deliver it the day we return. That way I don't have to go grocery shopping. I usually include something super easy for dinner for the day we return such as a frozen pizza, etc.

 

[YawningDodo]

I give myself one week to get back to normal, in that week I allow myself not to cook / prepare lunch/go to the gym etc. if I don't want to. After that it... Im forcing myself back into my usual routine.

I got home from my WDW trip a week ago (actually a week ago today) and the most sanity-saving thing I did this past week was to just let things go for a week. Buy takeout, let the laundry pile up, and let that daily to-do list slide right past. In the last two days I've started easing back into various routines, and now I'm starting to chip away at the pileup of chores. Should be back to normal this weekend.

As for pre-trip prep...I have housemates (who weren't on the trip), so the house was taken care of in my absence. I did clean my own areas more thoroughly than usual before I left and I made sure I had an excess of pet food stocked up, but other than that I didn't do much about it.

 

[chewysmom]

We do most of the things already listed. Use up/throw out the food in the fridge, make sure we have a few meals in the freezer/pantry for when we get home (the last thing I feel like doing is getting *back* in the car to go to the store after we've already been in it for 12+ hours!), make sure the animals are stocked up w/ food-even though my FIL comes to feed them/scoop litter boxes. I also change the sheets on the beds the night before we leave, and make sure the house is sparkling clean when we leave-no laundry anywhere, floors vacuumed or mopped, etc. That way when we get home we just have to unpack-we do laundry while on vacation so it's just a matter of putting it all up.

I also make sure there's a few days to rest/wind down before either dh or I have to go back to work.

Also, since I homeschool the kids, I make sure we are where we need to be in the school year. I already have a list of what needs to be done before we go to keep us on track. I do pad our calendar with days off, so we're usually ok. I just know that it's hard to get the kids back into school mode after a Disney trip, so I make sure we have a day or two to do fun but educational things while trying to get us back in the swing of things.

 

[Jasperkitty]

I'll do a lot of the stuff already listed, but I'll also make sure little touches are ready before we get home too. we have friends that cat sit, so I usually bribe them to make sure the bed's made, twinkle lights are turned on over the bed, and maybe some music going in the bedroom. I'll then plan something small but fun to do the weekend or so after we're back.

It helps to have something to look forward to instead of having a hard emotional drop that the fun's already over. Social time with close friends helps too.

That reminds me, I was debating on picking up some new bedding and maybe a little surprise gift to put aside for after we get back...

 

[Tres Vegas]

We leave the house clean, cloths set on bed for when we return and perishables used up before we leave. Our last two trips have ran 4 weeks in Florida so it's a must to leave money behind and a list for food and to catch us up for the last month and the next months expenses.

I must admit returning to normal life is always the depressing part and makes us miss our vacation time even more.

 

[Giz1026]

I hadn't thought about something in the freezer to make for dinner the next day when we are dead tired from our 'vacation'. I will make sure I prep something just for that first day. Great idea.

We do make sure to eat/dispose of all perishables. I feel like the 2 weeks before vacay is smorgasboards of dinners as we try not to waste too much.

The one thing I for sure do, besides the obvious of a clean/picked up/made beds fully stocked of dry goods (TP, paper towels, toiletries, clean towels)- I make sure to have at least 3 days of work attire for DH and myself (ironed, ready) and 3 days of school outfits for DD ready. We tend to leave for vacays on a weekend so sometimes you don't realize your go-to work pants are in the hamper or DD is out of jeans, or all of DH's work shirts are laying on the ironing board, clean but waiting for attention! My ironing tends to pile up before vacay. Laundry is my nemesis as so much requires ironing and I HATE it with a passion.

Having the few outfits for each of us ready eases me back into the real world.