We’ve been back since Wednesday last week.
We just finally finished unpacking tonight.
And only because there was an assortment of my favorite jams, candies and cookies buried beneath the layers of clothes. Jet lag still has me hitting the sheets by 9pm and I’m not quite at a “stringing pretty sentences together” again yet place.
So, tell me this – how soon do you get unpacked and resettled in when returning from a big trip? And most importantly, how?
I usually get the unpacking/laundry done by the next day! It mainly depends though on what day i come home and what is going on on the day after! I usually plan trips so I am home Monday a.m. and that’s my usual laundry day anyway so I hop on to it and get it done asap. Because if not my procrastinating nature takes over and it might not get done!
Although, I have never had jetlag so I would think that would be harder to overcome! Glad you got your goodies out of your bags though! they were likely worried you would never come :)
Love your blog!
Oh well, I usually take my time unpacking and settling down.
I look for some specific clothing when I actually need them to go out and start slowly placing my stuff back in my room as the need of doing it comes, but I don’t have the urge of unpacking and organizing everything as soon as I arrive.
It kind of helps me realizing the trip is over, life goes on as a cycle and unpacking is part of this (preferably) slow process.
Wish you all the best organizing your stuff and your inner self now you’re back home.
Shalom!
We usually arrive home at night so we leave everything in the car (in the garage) until AM other than what we need, and then bring it in one load at a time. When we leave our destination, we pack all dirty laundry in a suitcase, all “redeemable” laundry in another and then all the random stuff in what we have left. We take all the cases right to the laundry area, and I get going right away, or I lose motivation, and stuff sits for.ev.er. And then the fam gets restless and starts revolting, since there are no fresh undies in their drawers! ;)
Well, if it makes you feel any better I often won’t unpack my bag fully from a weekend trip for a full week or more! Just get the stuff out as I need it!
But really unpacking everything… if it’s in the living room I’m tripping over it so it only takes me a day or two. Then again, that depends on whether or not we hit the ground running when we get home and I have time!
Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!
I usually leave all of the suitcases in the living room — with the intention that maybe it will force me to unpack more quickly if I have to keep stepping over them? I leave a couple of days for everyone to just “be” with no requirements or expectations … then try (key word = try) to get them back in the groove of responsibilities and chores.
We usually try to get the kids a bit acclimated to jet lag in the day or two before we leave to go back home (currently it’s a 9.5 hour difference for us between the U.S.) but the last couple of years have just become ok with the fact that it takes us a better part of a week to get over jet lag and that is just OK. (Jetlag is one of my LEAST favorite things!)
I start laundry pretty quickly because these kids always need clothes! But if it’s not a dirty or necessary item- it could be weeks before it’s unpacked! (Don’t tell)
And when we do international travel with jetlag? Well, when you figure out a system let me know. (A mother with jetlag is totally excused from laundry. Kids can wear dirty undies for a day or two! They think its fun.)
Start at the top and work your way down. It will get done eventually.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It sounds as if you have filled it will memories and love, what a great way to have on a trip. So glad I could be a part of it.
Last summer, when we flew back into the States from Taiwan, I avoided jet lag by, well, working nights. We were just fortunate enough to be assigned to that shift at the orphanage. Which is good, because 24 hours after we landed in the States, we moved. And that was dumb. Just sayin.
we unpack quickly – like right away – but it is because my husband does it. i would leave the luggage open on my bedroom floor and unpack as i needed the things. so if i had been to SA where it is winter and come back here to 100 degrees, MONTHS!
Yes, exactly – that’s our situation exactly. If no one needs what’s in the suitcases, it’s hard to feel motivated to unpack them. But, like others above – if I leave them in the lounge then I eventually trip over them enough times to finally get motivated to empty them and put them away!
Jet lag is awful, isn’t it?? I’m still recovering from our trip to Hawaii…we’re home a week & I’m still off. I find that unpacking right away does help and (depending on what time zone you were in), staying up later & getting up earlier puts me back on track. Although, the older I get, the harder it is to bounce back…sigh…and then to chase a 6 year old! lol! ha!
Welcome Home!
sometimes i feel like i never get re-settled! (and occasionally when i pull a suitcase out of the closet and find the belt i’ve been looking for for months, it reminds me that this is true) i generally try to unpack in zones. i just get all the suitcases put out on the living room floor and empty them into the places where things will go – all the clothes (worn or not) go in a huge heap in the laundry room for washing. food/candy in the kitchen, kid stuff in kid rooms, shoes back in the closet, etc. then put the suitcases back in the closet until we need them again. even if the laundry never quite gets caught up or if i’ve left my favorite belt in the tiny front pocket of the suitcase, i feel like it’s kind of life-as-usual, instead of digging through suitcases to find the (dirty) blouse i wanted to wear today!
I have been back in Guatemala for 3 months and I am still living out of two suitcases!
One day at a time. One day at a time.
I’ve learned the hard way that I’ve gotta just dump everything out…so I have to deal with it, sort thru, even if it takes a few days. But if I leave things in bags, satchels, boxes? Well, there was the time I still couldn’t find the boys’ swimsuits, 3 weeks later…and when I found them, they (and the bag) were, ummm…growing things…
I always love your posts. I would dig through bags for the chocolate for sure. Unpacking for a family is a big process. Have fun getting back into your routine; and I am happy you had such an awesome adventure.
Blessings to you!
My oldest son went to church camp the 3rd week in June……I just finished unpacking his suitcase this morning….It was in his closet. I forgot about it! So don’t follow my example of unpacking.
xoxo,
Jess
I’m the more messy one but coming home or to parent’s home, I’m the one excited to unpack and put everything away. Our last big trip out of the country included stranding in airports for 32 hours and my husband had a bad cold…it took him weeks to recover, good thing he could. But I stayed up all night after having slept a little in the plane, and stayed out in the sunshine and just tried to be gentle on myself, husband, and child. So that was a really good re-entry, although I didn’t get around to pricing our August trip until the plane tickets were high. Oh well, take it easier, don’t worry about how you’re writing and know that we all love to hear about your life!
I usually wait to unpack until I have run out of underwear and my choices are to unpack and do the laundry or go by more underwear. Sometimes I tempted to buy more.
Jamie – you just made me laugh so hard!! :)
Joh, I feel for you Sis. It def takes me at least a week to recover from the jetlag. I feel guilty cause when I go to the states I’m with family and my mom does our laundry when we need it :). Then when I come home to SA I sleep for a week and sweet Hieta (our housekeeper) has it all clean and packed away when I wake up!
Shame, am I lame or what?!!
I make unpacking easier by sorting the dirty clothes into the suitcase. I pack all the jeans together, whites together, etc. Once we get home, the clothes go straight from the suitcase to the washing machine, one load at a time.
The toiletries get unpacked as we need them.
For gifts and other souvenirs, we pull those out as soon as possible and they usually sit on the counter for a while until we have a chance to find new homes for them. How busy we are with other stuff determines how long things sit around.