Like with everything that’s related to home exchange etiquette, there is one simple question that you need to bare in mind. “How would I like to be treated by them?”

So it may be that you’re tired after totally unwinding and relaxing on your home exchange. Or that you’ve spent every spare minute darting over the unexplored city, and have ended up with that happy worn-out tiredness. What with the slightly less than welcome prospect of having to return to work, it can same like the least appealing thing on your mind, to go through the whole house and give it a good rub down and thorough clean.

But it really pays off. It can be a good idea to set aside a day for the cleaning, and you can assign, for example one section of the house to each member of the family. This way you will maintain a great relation with your home exchange partner, so you’ll have the option of swapping with them again the next time.

Also, what will really make the whole thing worth while is when you finally  get back to your own home and find it dazzling brightly clean and tidy!

In the few days just before setting off for your home exchange, there are some areas that you need to think about preparing for the incoming family. As a big part of home exchange is based upon reciprocity, it’s important to think ahead about how you would like to be treated, and then try to provide that for your exchange partner.

In an exchange, one of the most central aspects is offering a clean home. So before you set off, think not only about leaving your home tidy, but also well cleaned. Little details like cleaning the oven and the microwave really make the world of difference.

If you are precious about your towels, then take a few minutes to consider how many people will be staying, and then find enough towels - that you don’t mind other people using - for them all to have.

You could also think about occassional problems that you might have in your home. For example, if you live somewhere where you have to suffer the intermittent power-cut, think about leaving out some torches or candles for the incoming guests. Alternatively, if you have noisy neighbours, you could suggest to the guests that they bring earplugs with them.

To make our home exchanges the best that they can be (which is pretty darn great!) then allow yourself some time to think about the small touches that could raise the quality of your partners’ stay from good to excellent.

This idea, in turn, will give your own holidays that extra touch of wholesomeness. It’s what home exchange is all about.