Preparing Your Home for When You Go on Vacation

7/19/2022 (Permalink)

Making a checklist of ways to protect your home is just as important as planning your vacation.

A vacation is the best time to relax and stay worry-free. After getting your luggage ready and checking you have everything you need, it is important to ensure your home is taken care of before leaving. No one wants to come back from vacation to find problems like break-ins, rotten food, or leaking water. While on vacation, you will keep worrying if you didn't prepare your home properly before you left.

Here are some things you should do for peace of mind while on vacation.

Make It Look Like Someone Is There

An unoccupied house is an invitation for burglars to break in and steal your valuables. Even if you are not home, you can still make it look like someone is there, preventing anyone from thinking about breaking in. You can set the lights to turn on and off at specific times, control the TV remotely, and ask a friend to collect your mail while you are on vacation. You can also hire a home sitter to stay at your home, take care of plants, and keep it occupied.

Take Plumbing and Electrical Precautions

You never know when an appliance will break down, and the worst time will be on your vacation. Keeping appliances running while you're not home is an expense and can cause costly problems. So unplug all your small appliances and electronic devices except the TV if you use it remotely. Turn off water valves and electric switches to non-essential rooms. Program your thermostat to save on energy by raising the temperature in the summer for cooling and lowering it in the winter for heating. A smart thermostat can be remotely controlled, giving you full control over it.

Tidy Up

No one wants to come back from a vacation to clean the house. You don't have to deep-clean everything before you leave, but you should tidy the house to sustain the relaxation mode when you return. Make your bed, vacuum, scrub the sinks and toilets, and tidy up each room, so it looks easy on the eye.

Clean Out Your Refrigerator

Before going on vacation, open your fridge and look at what foods are in it. Some foods will spoil after a while, even in the fridge. Freeze foods that can be frozen; eat what you can and toss what you don't want. It would be a good time to wipe the surfaces clean. If you leave for an extended time, you might want to throw out everything and unplug your fridge, as most foods will expire before you return.

Check All Doors and Windows

Right before you open the door to go on vacation, take a tour around your house and check if all entry points are sealed. Go over every door and window to check they are closed tightly and can't be opened easily. If you don't use a door or a window often, check them first as you might forget to lock them.

Take Out the Trash

One of the worst things to forget before going on vacation is taking out the trash. You will return home to awful smells and pest infestations. Ensure you take the trash with you as you go out of the door and run your garbage disposal with water and half a cup of vinegar to keep the stinking smells away.

Preparing your home before leaving on vacation is necessary to avoid unpleasant incidents or serious accidents like flooding or electrical fires. You need to relax and have fun while on vacation, but it can be ruined if you keep worrying about your home. Use these tips to make your home safe and prepared and enjoy your vacation.