What to do at home before leaving on vacation? Here we outline the critical steps to prepare your home for your absence.
When preparing for travel it is easy to get caught up in the packing and the excitement of your upcoming trip. This makes it easy to forget the important things to do at home before leaving on vacation.
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The following are some of the steps to prepare your home before leaving on vacation.
Things to do at home before leaving on vacation
1. Clean out the fridge of perishables
Try to use up your perishables before leaving on vacation. Give any unused perishables to family or friends rather than throwing them out.
2. Take out the garbage and recycling
The last thing you want to do is come home to your house smelling like rotting garbage.
3. Put hot water tank in vacation mode
You might as well save a little on your energy costs while you are away.
4. Adjust the thermostat
Depending on the season either turn off your air conditioning or turn down your furnace thermostat.
5. Unplug electronics
This can help save your electronics in case of an electrical storm or power outage.
6. Leave your itinerary for family
Incase of an emergency your family members will know where you are, how to reach you and your modes of travel.
7. Leave copies of your passport for family to access if needed
If your passport is lost or stolen, a trusted family member could access your passport copies to provide you with your passport number to aid in getting a replacement.
More of what to do at home before leaving on vacation
8. Leave the name and number of your veterinarian with your pet sitter
In the unfortunate situation that your pet requires medical attention, your pet sitter would know which vet to contact.
9. Close and lock all windows
10. Have a trusted neighbor or friend keep an eye on your property
11. Consider a home security camera
The Blink outdoor camera system works with Alexa allowing you to get motion detection alerts on your phone. A camera system like this can help give you added peace of mind for both when you are home and when you are away.
12. Pay bills
Pay any bills that will come due while you are on vacation. Through online banking you can schedule a payment in advance.
13. Put indoor lights on a timer
Give your house the appearance that someone is home with inexpensive indoor light timers.
14. Change batteries in smoke detectors
Be sure your smoke detectors are in working order.
15. Plant watering devices
If you don’t have someone coming into check your house that will water your plants, consider getting plant self watering globes like these:
16. Check with your home insurance provider
Check with your home insurance provider as there may be restrictions on how long your house can remain vacant without someone checking on it.
17. Run the dishwasher
Letting dirty dishes sit for a week or more will leave an unwanted stench in your house.
18. Change the bed sheets and make sure washing machine empty
While this isn’t a safety issue or a real necessity, it is so nice to come home after holidays to your own bed, especially with fresh clean sheets. Make sure you haven’t left a load of laundry in the washing machine in your packing rush or your’ll be left with a moldy mess.
19. Pause mail delivery
Have your mail delivery paused for the duration of your absence, especially if you have home delivery. Having mail overflowing in your mailbox alerts everyone to the fact no one is home.
The above list of what to do before leaving on vacation will help give you peace of mind while you are travelling.
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