Home: 10 Things We Miss About You

Long term travel can be amazing, but it also means doing without the comforts of home. When you are living day in and day out in the same home, you typically have all that you need and know where those things are located. If you run out of something or can’t find it, you hurry over to the store and purchase a new one.

Living in other people's homes for 30-day sessions, we are learning how NOT to rely on the comforts of “home”.

1. Tape, string, and adhesives: Things break, and you want to fix them. None of our “homes” have these items.

2. Cleaners and sponges: Spills happen. Some of our “homes” have provided cleaners and kitchen sponges while other have not. We’ve had a few “homes” that needed heavy cleaning before we even felt comfortable putting things away. Funny what doesn’t show in pictures.

3. Kitchen gadgets: Even the most well stocked “homes” were without a preferred kitchen gadget. For a couple of our recent homes we’ve been able to shop at the 160Leke store (AKA Dollar Store) to purchase a knife, cutting board, spatula, turner, and cheese grater.

4. Toilet Paper: Though most of our “homes” provided us with at least a starter roll of toilet paper, it’s always on the shopping list at the beginning of a new stay. We’ve had to compromise on the quality of the paper in many places too.

5. Linens: Read the fine print on rental “homes”. Some will charge you for linens or just not provide them. If the “home” does provide bath or kitchen towels, they are often thin and stiff as a board from drying on a rack. Dryers for laundry are very rare in Europe.

6. Bathroom fan: Let’s be honest, Sh** happens and small bathrooms without exhaust fans can be a problem for the entire household.

7. A flyswatter: None of our “homes” have a flyswatter and Greg is being eaten alive by mosquitos at times. From tiny flies to spiders and a giant cockroach, the flyswatter would have saved our lives-ish.

8. Tools: With repeated use, mechanical items fall apart. Repeatedly we have wished for a screwdriver to tighten the loose kitchen cupboard handle or front doorknob. We wished for a wrench to tighten the leg of a table. And wouldn’t a hammer have been useful with that cockroach?

9. Hot water and good water pressure: We are spoiled with the ability back in the states to take an almost endless shower with significant water pressure. Many of our stays in Italy and Albania require us to take “Navy showers” per Greg. Get your body wet. Turn off the water. Lather and scrub within the phone booth sized cubicle stall. Then quickly rinse with the trickle water pressure we have experienced often. Showers that take longer leave the second person ‘whooping’ as the few precious gallons of hot water run out.

10. The smell of home: Because they are living extensions of the people and the environment, “homes” have their own unique smell. We miss the smell of our own home sometimes.