Happy Homecoming: What To Remember Before a Business Trip

September 29th, 2011 by Crystal Beran| Posted in Apartment Guide, Apartment Living, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »

Traveling for business can be both rewarding and stressful. On the one hand, there’s plenty to see and do in a new location, but on the other, there’s a lot of new information to keep straight. One way to help manage the stress of traveling for work is setting up your apartment to be more accommodating upon your return. Before you leave for your next trip, here are a few ways to make your apartment feel more like a home when you get back.

1. Take out the trash.

This is one of the most important things to do before you go on a trip. There’s nothing worse than coming home to week-old stinky garbage (except maybe coming home to month-old fermented garbage). Take your trash out to the dumpster before you head off on your trip and spray a few squirts of deodorizer around so that your apartment smells fresh and clean when you get back.

2. Wash your sheets and make your bed.

If you’ve been living out of a suitcase in a hotel room for a while, it’ll feel great to get to sleep in your own bed again. You can make your bed even more inviting by throwing on a set of fresh sheets before you leave. Making the bed also helps your room feel tidier.

3. Tidy up before you leave.

Even if you don’t mind a little clutter normally, coming home to a cluttered apartment will increase your stress level. Put things away before you go and you’ll feel much better when you get back. There’s no need to vacuum and dust before you head off on a business trip, but there’s also no reason to leave you underwear strewn all over the floor or a pile of DVD’s splashed haphazardly across the floor.  Organizing your space might also help organize your thoughts about the trip.

4. Have food ready to go.

Traveling is hungry work. It can be hours from the last meal or snack on the airplane to the time you step in through the front door and having something to eat right away can make you feel a whole lot better. If you’re getting home at a mealtime, you can prepare something for yourself ahead of time and stick it in the fridge or freezer, depending on the length of your trip. That way, all you have to do is pop it in the microwave and enjoy. If you’re coming home at an odd hour, a fulfilling snack, such as whole grain cereal and fresh fruit is a great choice. Remember that if you’re traveling across multiple time zones you may get hungry at odd hours, so be sure to have food available at any time that first day back.  Consider taking food with you, too, in addition to other things you pack.

5. Plan on decompression time.

Unless you’re taking a day trip to a place an hour or so away, a business trip is going to take a lot out of you. If you can, plan on relaxing the day you get back. Of course, if you have to got to work the next day, there’s not much you can do about that, but if you’re coming back on a weekend, don’t plan a lot of activities; they’ll only create more stress.

Have any other ideas for making a homecoming as smooth as possible?  Please share them–here or on our Facebook page!