How do you unpack once you get back home?

[love_the_life]

We each unpack separately, usually not long after we get home unless it’s late at night. Hate having things hanging around.

 

[Himeno]

Normally unpack clothes. Other stuff tends to stay in the suitcase/related bags/boxes for a while.

Only just got around to sorting out stuff from Oct/Nov and Feb trips 2 weeks ago.

 

[tgh]

I am all tidied up within a day ,but of course the mountain of dirty washing is not my job.

 

[Pushka]

I just find if I dump all the washing into one bag them it messes with my packing up.

 

[I love to travel]

Theres now a thread on unpacking . There will be FF outrage among the hard'corers

Well I was thinking about starting one on " do you get stressed out about washing clothes when overseas?" Have a 6 week o/s journey and are obsessively trying to find decent aparthotels which is not easy in Germany

 

[LadyC]

The dirty clothes and toiletries tend to come out fairly quickly. Most other things remain in the suitcase for an extended period of time.

 

[JessicaTam]

My bag gets emptied when I get home. Washing into the basket, toiletries back into the bathroom for restocking, electrical back on the shelf and any remaining items into the lounge for sorting over the next day or two while I am watching tele.

Of course the advantage of packing light (HLO) is that the unpacking is just as quick.*

*You knew I was going to bring that up, didn't you!

 

[dajop]

Pretty much immediately do the dirty laundry straight away, but the suitcase and anything remaining in it often sits in the spare bedroom until I can be bothered unpacking. Or more often stays there until the next trip, which might be just a few days or a week (or sometimes even the next day).

 

[Austman]

I learnt, decades ago, that to the quickest and easiest way to handle packing and unpacking for a true frequent traveller is to have a completely separate set of many items duplicated just for travel.

For me, I have a separate set of bathroom items, clothes, shoes, electronics/adapters and even a separate wallet pre-filled with travel only type cards and standby cash.

That way, packing and unpacking at home takes less time than packing and unpacking at a hotel. Many items can just stay in the bag at home and are replenished/replaced during the next trip(s) as necessary.

Unpacking for me is about doing laundry and not too much more. Packing is about putting that now clean laundry back into the bag and not too much more. Ironing, except for the clothes I am wearing on the plane, is done at the hotel.

 

[Eija]

What!?! I am supposed to unpack...why? Everything is clean & folded, ready for next trip.

 

[kookaburra75]

Unpack almost immediately on getting home. I pretty much run everything through the washing machine which makes it easier -so it’s sorted into the relevant piles on the laundry floor.

I like to think of the dirty laundry in my suitcase as an anti-pilfering device

That's my approach too, as when I'm on the road I run my supply of clean clothes right down to one set of jocks/socks/tshirt for the trip home. I just dump everything from my bags into the washing machine, extract anything with a cord attached, and turn it on - and ignore any extra bumping noises. Although MrsK has a different approach - strange that...

 

[get me outta here]

I do the same - no dirty clothes in the suitcase. I unpack everything immediately and only the things I'm wearing need to go in the wash.

I travelled with one colleague who always took 2 cases. As he wore things he then put them in the 'dirty' case, then returned home and presented it to his wife.

I try come home having washed everything except the most recently worn clothing. I’m a little weird like that

 

[Himeno]

That way, packing and unpacking at home takes less time than packing and unpacking at a hotel. Many items can just stay in the bag at home and are replenished/replaced during the next trip(s) as necessary.

You unpack at the hotel?
At a hotel, I only take out what I need that day and put back in what I'm done with.

 

[Buzzard]

Dirty laundry out and sorted as soon as we get home. Cases usually unpacked same day, next morning at the latest. I like to get things back in order.

 

[Julesmac]

I learnt, decades ago, that to the quickest and easiest way to handle packing and unpacking for a true frequent traveller is to have a completely separate set of many items duplicated just for travel.

For me, I have a separate set of bathroom items, clothes, shoes, electronics/adapters and even a separate wallet pre-filled with travel only type cards and standby cash.

That way, packing and unpacking at home takes less time than packing and unpacking at a hotel. Many items can just stay in the bag at home and are replenished/replaced during the next trip(s) as necessary.

Unpacking for me is about doing laundry and not too much more. Packing is about putting that now clean laundry back into the bag and not too much more. Ironing, except for the clothes I am wearing on the plane, is done at the hotel.

Chap I knew who flew more than monthly os had a top drawer all set out with currency and coins, travel cards adaptors etc. in baskets separated by country/region. He too had a bag prepacked with the duplicate items. Must be so different to we wage slaves who dither about deciding what to take. Personally I have never used the words 'pack' 'overseas' and 'light' in the same sentence

 

[Hillbilly64]

Washing out (but try to do that all prior to return)
Unpack MrHBs bag straight away.he packs light
Leave mine in lounge..trip over it for a few days, move to bedroom.. slowly unpack..often takes a couple of weeks..as I'll unpack one packing cells every few days (mine usually contains everyone else's clothes so I offload those)
Master 12 ..unpacked within 5 mins
Miss 10...same as her mama..her current record is 10 weeks..and was only unpacked to repack for next trip.

 

[Hillbilly64]

Well I was thinking about starting one on " do you get stressed out about washing clothes when overseas?" Have a 6 week o/s journey and are obsessively trying to find decent aparthotels which is not easy in Germany

I stress if I can't wash. Last time we went to the states (first big is trip with kids) I booked a mix of Airbnb and hotels and apartments to make sure I had access to a washing machine (and time to dry..won't use a dryer) every few days...even though we had a weeks clothes each

 

[Blinky]

I learnt, decades ago, that to the quickest and easiest way to handle packing and unpacking for a true frequent traveller is to have a completely separate set of many items duplicated just for travel.

For me, I have a separate set of bathroom items, clothes, shoes, electronics/adapters and even a separate wallet pre-filled with travel only type cards and standby cash.

That way, packing and unpacking at home takes less time than packing and unpacking at a hotel. Many items can just stay in the bag at home and are replenished/replaced during the next trip(s) as necessary.

Unpacking for me is about doing laundry and not too much more. Packing is about putting that now clean laundry back into the bag and not too much more. Ironing, except for the clothes I am wearing on the plane, is done at the hotel.

I have a similar packing procedure, except for a seperate wallet. That seems a bit, er... excessive.

 

[Austman]

You unpack at the hotel?

Bathroom items.

And for longer stays I iron my clean clothes all in one go and hang them in the hotel room closet.

 

[Austman]

except for a seperate wallet. That seems a bit, er... excessive.

Actually that works pretty well, especially for international travel.

A lot of my cards are only useful during travel:

Certain credit and debit cards.
Airline FF cards.
Transport cards for elsewhere than my home city.
etc.

And a lot of my "home" wallet cards, many valid only in Australia, I simply don't want to risk losing when overseas.

It makes for a much smaller wallet size both at home and when travelling.