It’s almost time! You’ve printed out all of your confirmation emails and itinerary, finished packing, and looked through all of your “must-see” lists a final time. You’re all ready to head off on your latest trip! Have you gotten your home ready, though?
This is important for anyone who’s going to be traveling – even if it’s only for a few days. Here’s a quick look at some of the things everyone should do before heading out into the wide world.
Prep for Packages
One significant indicator that nobody is at home is packages being left on your porch. If criminals see this, they might decide to steal your packages and possibly even break into your home. You can alleviate this worry with a bit of package theft protection. Look into getting a package locker or any number of options to keep your packages (and your home) safe.
Hold the Mail
If you’re headed off to Santorini, nothing will advertise that you’re gone, and your home is empty like the mail piling up and falling out of the mailbox. It’s a good thing that the USPS has you covered. You can easily use their service called Hold Mail by merely filling out an online form. This means that you don’t even need to go down and spend an hour in line at the post office to get this done!
Look After Plants and Pets
Before heading off on your bucket list to travel, you need to keep in mind that all of the living things at your house will need to be kept alive while you’re gone. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a family member who lives nearby or a friendly neighbor who can care for these beings, try things like self-watering terracotta spikes or plant watering globes for your plants and services such as Rover for your pets.
Pre-Pay Bills
If you aren’t already using automatic payments, ensure that you take a peek at each of your recurring bills, such as your cell bill, water, power, and cable bills, and pay any of them that might come due while you’re off discovering America’s treasures. By doing this, you won’t be faced with any nasty surprises when you go through the mail the post office was holding for you only to find late notices for any bills that weren’t paid while you were away.
Empty the Fridge
Be sure that you check all of your food of the perishable type and get rid of anything that might expire while you’re traveling. Remember, though, that food will last a little longer when people aren’t always opening and closing the fridge door, but even with that being said, you never want to come home to a fridge full of food that’s past its prime.
Adjust the HVAC
Unless you happen to be lucky enough to live in a temperate climate, you’ll more than likely not want to turn off the HVAC entirely, since we all know that homes aren’t overly fond of extreme temps. However, because they’re able to handle temps that are outside of the range that we tend to be comfy in, feel free to turn down the heat or turn the A/C up so that the system only kicks on when the house becomes overly cold or warm. A safe temp would be something like 80 for the air and 60 for the heat.
Once you know that you’ve taken care of your home and it will be as safe as possible while you’re away, you’ll be able to enjoy your travels so much more.
Lindsay Nieminen hails from Vancouver, Canada and shares her love of travel on this website. She is passionate about showing others that they should not put off traveling the world just because they have young children or are single parents. She aims to encourage them to seek out adventure, whether it is at home or abroad by providing information on how just about everywhere can be a destination to explore as a family.