Going on vacation is supposed to be a worry-free break from your everyday life and routines. It can be difficult to have a nice relaxing vacation if you are concerned about how well you prepared your home for vacation, so here’s a home preparation checklist that will help ensure your house is safe and secure when you depart and return.
1. Prepare the outside of your home
Take a walk around your property and double check that you don’t have any vulnerabilities. A loose fence panel, for example, can give critters like raccoons or deer an opening to enjoy your delicious garden if you’re not there to chase them away. Broken roof shingles could result in a leak if there is a rainstorm while you are out. Make sure you have repaired everything that could cause frustration and stress for when you get home.
2. Prepare the inside of your home
The first thing you should do is clean. This may seem basic, but when you get home to a nice clean house you will thank yourself for taking the time to do it before. Cleaning out your fridge is also important if you will be gone for longer than a few days. You don’t want to come home to something growing mold or stinking out your whole kitchen. In that same realm, make sure you take out your trash before locking your doors.
If you’re planning a particularly long trip, you might want to consider adjusting your thermostat and completely turning off your water supply and drain the pipes of any remaining water.
Double check the laundry. It’s easy to forget some things while you’re running around trying to pack and make sure you have all of your travel information. Check your washer and dryer so you don’t come home to a load of moldy clothes or wrinkly clothes you have to tumble dry again.
3. Take precautions for fire
Unplug appliances that don’t need to run while you are away to save on your electricity. Unplugging your home is about more than just saving money, in the event of a power surge your electronics could malfunction or even set on fire. Make sure you unplug things like routers, televisions, computers or chargers.
4. Take steps to deter break ins
This is an easy step that will deter break ins by tricking any potential burglar into thinking you are still home. A good way to achieve this is by using outlet timers or smart bulbs to control the lights remotely and put them on a different schedule each day.
You should also ask a friend or neighbor to gather your mail for you every day while you are gone. Anyone seeing mail piling up will know you are away.
5. Check all windows and doors
This is an obvious one, but right before you leave you should check all possible entry points around your home. Make sure all doors are locked, especially the ones you might not use as often. Also be sure to lock the doors of your screen porch if you have one.
For more tips on how to protect your home while you travel, take a look at this article from State Farm!
Your vacation doesn’t have to be stressful, in fact it shouldn’t be stressful at all. Just follow these tips to prepare your home for vacation and you should be ready for your easy, stress-free break from reality.
Planning to leave your Florida home for an extended period of time? We also have tips for snowbirds!
