Question: When you get home from a trip, do you unpack immediately or does it take some time?
We used to be a bit … shall we say, relaxed about unpacking, but ever since hearing about a neighbor’s bed bugs story, we’ve adopted a new approach: As soon as we get home, we immediately empty our backpacks and put them out on the porch to air out for several days (up to a week), before wiping them down with sanitizing wipes and putting them away.
In the meantime, laundry, including our compression cubes and shoe bags, gets sorted and washed. Then all travel gear is organized and put away until the next time. I put my compression cubes into my backpack, while smaller pouches and toiletry containers go in a bin. Everything is stored on a shelf in my closet. When the next trip rolls around, everything is clean, organized, and ready to go.
Tell me about your post-travel habits.
Got in last night from ten days in Germany.
My bedroom looks like a crime scene.
Let's just say...it takes some time.
Ugh bedbugs. The skin on my whole body is now crawling. Ugh. You’ve adopted a good plan!
I think for those unable to immediately unpack the travel bag due to fatigue or other situations, that leaving it in a garage - on cement- or in another safe space that doesn’t have fabric covered surfaces might be an option.