Vacation OCD (and a poll!)
Dave and I are leaving for Vegas tomorrow, which means I’m frantically trying to do everything that MUST BE DONE before I go on vacation. Here’s my list:
- Clean the kitchen (includes sweeping, doing dishes, putting away dishes, wiping down counters, clearing off the kitchen table, and probably cleaning the top of the stove)
- Vacuum
- Change the bed sheets (I just did this a few days ago, so my OCD doesn’t dictate that I have to do it yet again (thank goodness!))
- Sweep the back patio
- Fill the fish pond
- Balance checkbook/pay bills
- Clean off desk
- Clean the car (wash, vacuum, and make sure there’s gas)
I know I won’t be able to do all this when we have kids unless I want my house to be a total stress box…which I don’t. Want my house to be a total stress box, that is. But since I don’t have kids, I allow myself the pleasure of indulging in my OCD, and while it’s stressful before the vacation, coming home from vacation is always a pleasure.
And because I love polls like I love cookie dough…
| Tags: ocd, vacation 32 comments »












June 6th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I”m always stressed out before vacation, but no, I never manage to get it all done.
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June 6th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I hope you have a fantastic trip!
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June 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I hope your vacation is fabulous.
I never get to go on vacation but my Mother has vacation OCD just like you do. I think it’s pretty common.
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June 6th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Have fun in Vegas…sounds delightful!!!
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June 6th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Have a great time. Vegas is a lot of fun.
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June 6th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Have a wonderful time! Denis and I are about to leave on a trip of our own, and I’ve been sitting here making a mental list of what I should be doing…instead of going through the new posts in my reader!
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June 6th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Have fun on your trip! I am always stressed before leaving on vacation and am rushing around packing and cleaning the house so your list sounds pretty familiar to me!
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June 6th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I totally piss off my kids when we are leaving for vacation because they just want to go and I am doing every stitch of laundry and making sure the entire house is clean.
But, Trish…. sheets again after 3 days? That’s OCD!
Put $5 on RED THREE or BLACK NINETEEN!
S
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June 6th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Vegas is one of the top 10 places I want to visit. Have a great time – and I look forward to reading all about it!
I do have vacation OCD. I stress myself and everyone else prior to leaving – but there is nothing like coming home to a nice, clean house
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June 6th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I always take the day off before a vacation just so that I can finish what needs to be done. I have kids, but packing with them in the house is impossible so once they hit school, I tackle the packing, the cleaning, all of it. It’s worth it though because when I come home I don’t want to have to do anything except maybe a couple loads of laundry.
BTW..have a wonderful trip. Vegas can be a fun town.
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June 6th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I stress out too so in case anything happens everyone won’t talk about me and what a dirty house I kept! I always feel like leaving a note: In case I die, I was JUST ABOUT to clean those countertops!!!!
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June 6th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I have kids but always need to do what needs to be done because I’m really obsessive about going home to a neat, clean home after a vacation. Coming home to a big mess is a sure way of turning a relaxing vacation into a stressful one instead! Lol.
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June 7th, 2009 at 12:27 am
The whole reason I get so OCD is because when I come back I want to enter my clean house and be happy to be home.Despite enjoying going on vacation I dread flying so when I get home I need to sleep from the stress of surviving the plane trip and would never manage to clean up as well!!
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June 7th, 2009 at 1:21 am
I am always stressed before leaving for vacation. But I am like you, I like to come home to clean sheets! And a clean house.
Have a great time. Is this your first trip to Vegas?
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June 7th, 2009 at 5:32 am
My biggest stress is catching up or getting ahead with work (two self-employed people = no paid vacations).
Enjoy your trip.
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June 7th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I totally have vacation OCD. House has to be clean, laundry has to be finished because I don’t want to deal with it all when we get back. And I do it and have kids, too. Everyone knows by now what my expectations are and overall the essential things are completed by the time we head out the door.
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June 7th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Have a great time in Vegas, just got a call yesterday, that a friend was there getting married LOL
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June 7th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Dude, it’s totally vurth it, because nothing is worse than coming home and having nowhere to drop all your luggage.
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June 7th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Have a blast in Vegas and enjoy the “lazy river”!!
I clean before we go on vacation too. Makes my family a little nuts. I can’t even pack until every single article of clothing in the house is laundered. But part of my pre-vacation white tornado behavior is because my mother (a true OCD neat freak) will be coming in to take care of our pets. I like to come home to a clean house but her standards are way higher than mine.
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June 7th, 2009 at 9:44 am
i LIVE for pre-vacation stress! each july 1st we depart on a 3-week road trip and you can usually find me packing on june 30th. i make checklists, run around like a maniac, and LOVE every second! enjoy vegas–put it all on RED!
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June 7th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Vegas! How fun! I don’t have pre-vacation OCD that badly, but my husband does. He hates coming back to a dirty, disorganized hovel. Well, I do too, but I hate cleaning and organizing before I leave. In any case, we always clean up as much as we can, because when we get home, our suitcases explode. You should see it now – books everywhere…
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June 7th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I have a mild case of vacation OCD, I think – there are certain things I know I don’t want to deal with when I get back. But I’m more likely to plan an extra “re-entry” day after I get back to do all that stuff than push myself to do much more than laundry and packing before I leave.
Have a great time in Vegas!
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June 7th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I do like to make sure everything is clean and neat before I go anywhere – no laundry, no dirty dishes, nothing out of place – but if I don’t have time, I do my best not to worry about it.
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June 7th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Happy Anniversary dears!!! Have a great time, will hopefully see you soon!!!
T&A
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June 7th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Have fun in Vegas!
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June 7th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I can’t leave for vacation unless the house is absolutely spotless. There’s just something so important to me about coming back to a home sweet home that’s as perfect as it can get. I’m not sure why, since usually the house is in a state of mess. It’s only when we go on holidays (or have a party) that it ever attains any particular level of perfection. Have a great time in Vegas!
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June 7th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
The longer the vacation will be the worse I am. My house was immaculate before my Europe trips. Less so with this latest trip to Portland. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I booked the vacation Tuesday night and left on Friday morning.
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June 7th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Just left a blog award for you over on my page: http://www.texasredbooks.com/2009/06/award-roundup.html
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June 8th, 2009 at 11:47 am
I never sleep much the night before a vacation – I’m always up late, doing laundry, dishes, packing, freaking out. But I love coming home to a clean house!
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June 8th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I love coming back to a clean house, so I know what you mean.
Have a great vacation!
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June 8th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
You’re going to have a wonderful time!
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June 9th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Yes!!! I am currently stressed out about our vacation. We leave in 2 weeks and it seems like there’s sooo much to do it’ll never get done. Ack!
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