Before you go away from home for an extended period of time, it’s important to know how to prepare your home for vacation. There are lots of things that can happen to your home while you’re away, many of which can be avoided by being proactive in your vacation preparations.
The chief reason to prepare your home for vacation is so that you can relax while you’re gone without worrying about what’s happening back home. Instead of worrying about being flooded out by a potential plumbing problem, it’s easy enough to shut the water off to your home before you leave. If there are electrical storms in your neighborhood that are causing damaging power surges, you won’t have to worry if you’ve unplugged your home’s appliances and your other electronic equipment such as TVs and computers. Following is a checklist of things you can cover before leaving for an extended vacation.
Checklist For Home Vacation Preparation – 13 Things to do Before You Go
- A key to preparing for vacation is ensuring your home stays safe and secure and appears as though it’s still occupied. Follow these steps to help make your home safe and secure:
- Lock all doors, windows and your garage. Be sure to secure the garage door from being easily opened.
- Set programmable timers to turn outdoor lights on and off every day.
- Turn on outdoor motion-activated lights.
- Turn off your water heater to save energy and shut off the water coming into to your home.
- Close all windows and blinds and remove any valuables from view.
- Don’t hide a house key near the door.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on your property and to notify you of anything that seems suspicious.
- Ensure that your home security system is turned on and is working properly.
- Prepare your home for any kind of possible weather. Any outside furniture or loose items in your yard should be stored in your garage or shed.
- Take care of mail delivery by pausing it, forwarding it or having a friend or neighbor pick it up regularly. Any expected deliveries should be collected and held by a neighbor until you return home.
- Protect your vehicle by either parking it in the garage or covering it with a weatherproof covering. You might ask a friend or neighbor to drive it once a week if you’ll be gone for an extensive stay.