Taking a long trip or vacation can work wonders for helping to recharge your batteries and giving you renewed interest and motivation in life. But before you head to the airport, gas station, or train depot, you’re going to want to make sure you’ve prepared your home for your absence. Not only will coming home to a clean and safe home after your long trip help you feel more relaxed and welcome, but it will also let your mind rest easier all throughout your trip. To help you in this area of preparing for your trip, here are three tips for readying your home before taking a long trip.
Take Care of Your Food
Many travelers remember to do things like unloading the washing machine and locking the doors before they head off on a trip, but things like food in the kitchen often gets forgotten. If this happens to you, you could be coming home to some science experiments in the fridge and some questionable smells wafting all throughout the house. To avoid this, HGTV recommends emptying out your fridge, cabinets, and pantry of any food that will go bad in the time you’re gone. Also, it’s a good idea to clean out both your refrigerator and microwave to get rid of any spills or dropped food that could be unsightly upon your return.
Save On Utilities
When you’re not at home, it only make sense to save some money on the utility bills you normally have when you’re spending some hours each day at your house. Those bills come from using things like lights, appliances, entertainment devices, and more. So before you leave for your trip, be sure to unplug any appliance that you don’t absolutely need to keep on. Also, Sue Doerfler, a contributor to USA Today, suggests changing the setting on your appliances like your water heater to a vacation mode so you can save costs here as well. The good vibes from your trip will continue once you see a utility bill that’s miniscule compared to your normal bill.
Make It All Secure
Even if you think you live in a relatively safe neighborhood, you should still do everything you can to ensure your home will be safe and secure while you’re away. To best do this, Rebecca Edwards, a contributor to SafeWise.com, advises doing things like putting your lights on timers, holding your mail at the post office, getting rid of any hidden keys, and asking someone to take care of your yard while you’re away. By doing these things, it won’t appear to any potential burglars that your home is vacant for the time being.
If you have a long trip planned in the near future, use the tips mentioned above to help you prepare your home for your time away.
Originally posted on May 25, 2017 @ 9:34 am