USVI-On-Line

So I am roughly on the same page as every else. Good to know.

Glad to hear, PA Girl, that you have never seen a "closing sheet" per se. I never have either. Aside from mentioned take out the trash which we are vigilant about anyway.

We were told at check in that we did not need ot do dishes or clean up before check out, but we cleaned up after ourselves anyways. We did dishes, put them away and cleaned the kithchen and dining areas thoroughly. Left the towels by the washer. Took the trash with us and dropped it in the dumpster.

Like most folks here, I run the dishwasher, wash all the towels and as many of the bed linens as possible until it is time to go. Occasionally, the cleaning crew has shown up while I am engaged in this activity and they were happy becuase waiting for everything to dry in the dryer appears to be the long pole in the tent timewise. Then to directly answer the question, I leave the villa with a very heavy heart. And then start planning the next trip.

My rule is I leave it like I found it. We strip the beds and run the wash with towels if there is enough time to dry them as well. I'm never sure about the food. I would not eat open food left over by someone else and sometimes I feel funny about leaving it presuming that the cleaners would not have the same inhibition. I guess that's a first world problem. I have asked the villa greeters or the management company what the preference is and have gotten different answers. One time we arrived while the crew was still cleaning and they were finishing off the beer left by the prior renter .

PS: Mary Beth are you back from Coconuts or not yet there?

needmesomesun wrote:I'm just wondering, aside from doing a full load of laundry, what other ways would someone do laundry that conserves more water? The settings on the machine?

The biggest water conservation measure would be making sure that all the laundry is done in as few loads as possible and making sure of a full load if possible. I do not know if the cleaning crew is going to be doing laundry in addition to the towels, beach towels and linens that I would have used. I imagine that they would have items that would have gotten dirty while cleaning. When we are doing our laundry at home, we wipe down the bathroom with the dirty towels prior to laundering them. The cleaning crew would know best what size, water temp, heavy load etc settings to use.

Just read my closing instructions for our upcoming trip from Cimmaron Property Management:

Remove excess trash
close windows & doors
turn off ac
insure all water taps are turned off and no toilets are "running"
return safe keys to safe
leave keys where instructed

In addition I always load dishwasher & empty refrigerator....and return everything to its original place.

We usually start the night before so we are not in such a rush. All dishes are washed and if dry, put away. The fridge is gone thru and left over meals are discarded. As far as condiments, fruit, drinks, etc we leave those. We used to toss a lot of these items however after discussions with many of the cleaning teams, it appears this type " leftovers" are appreciated and used! We usually travel with 2-3 couples so we put all used towels together. As others have mentioned, put furniture, books, magazines back where they belong. I wipe off all kitchen surfaces including wiping out the fridge. Typically thruout our visit I will sweep up in the outside area where spent blossoms, leaves, etc have fallen. We do not wash the towels or linens. Pool toys, beach chairs are put back where we found them.

We have not stayed in a villa with a washer/dryer. Our long-time villa (now off the market) had one but not in our space. We have always cleaned up the dishes. If not, you should expect ants. We have loaded the dish washer with the rinsed dirty dishes and left it because they may wish to add something to it. We do stack up the bed linens (in the bedroom) and the towels (in the bath) separately. We clean out the fridge and dump any leftovers that we judge to be questionable. No amount of food is worth getting sick. That which is sealed we have either shared with our hosts or taken to Low Key and given out as kind of a tip. This year we had an ex-pat forumite come by with her coolers and take our leftovers off our hands. We bring food to STJ but never take any home.

Yes, put things back where you found them. Yes, generally clean up after yourself. Yes, haul your own trash away. Yes, be aware of conserving resources such as water and power.

JIM

We used to throw out all food, but last trip we were told to leave it for the cleaning crew. I label each container of what it is, when it was made, etc. I don't leave leftover restaurant food, just the homemade stuff and only if I would eat it if I could. I also bring a sharpie with me and date all condiments that we buy - oil, mustard, mayo, salsa, etc. so that the next tenants will know that the mayo hasn't been sitting there for years. I also date the spices and seasonings that I leave behind for the same reason. At checkin we always ask what is expected from us when we leave -- most of the villas we have stayed at have a list. Each villa has their own laundry rules. Most appreciate it when you get it started, especially if they have new tenants coming in the day you leave. Otherwise, we pretty much leave the place as it was when we arrived. We do most of the cleaning, packing the night before as we stay in Coral Bay and take the 6:00 a.m. ferry to STT.

We try not to overthink it. Most villa companies provide instructions and we follow them. The food instructions range from leaving open containers of condiments and closed food containers to dumping 100% of the food and taking it to the dump.

The one thing I'll add is that I like to sweep the great room a couple of times while we are there. I also skim the pool and sweep walkways. Why? I like to keep busy, otherwise all the rum disappears.

Cheers, Rick