You’re flights and accommodations are booked. You’re mentally packing for the trip, making sure to pack properly for the flight. But what about a vacation checklist for your home? You don’t want to go away on a fabulous vacation to come home to a mini emergency – especially one that can be avoided.
Below are some things you should do before the wheels go up – the optimal vacation checklist for your home!
THERMOSTAT
Unless you are going to be leaving a pet home with a pet sitter, you should consider adjusting your thermostat so that it is somewhat close to the outside temperature (taking into consideration the season). I love our Nest thermostat. We set it before we leave and then a few hours before we arrive home, we adjust the temperature to a cooler setting via the Nest app. It is AWESOME! (Especially if you forget to set the thermostat before you leave – the app saves a lot of frustration.)
WATER
My parents taught me to turn the water off to the home before leaving. The last thing you want to come home to is a flooded house. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about flooding. It’s not fun.
If you choose to leave the water on, set your water heater to the lowest temperature. There are even some newer water heater models that have a “vacation mode”.
If you are planning to be away for more than a few days, and don’t have a neighbor that can grab your mail for you, I recommend having the mail held at the post office until you get back. You can log into usps.gov and take care of it!
APPLIANCES
To avoid extraneous energy use, and a possible electrical fire, it is recommended to either unplug your appliances (toasters, coffee pots, televisions, etc.) or use a surge protector. I remember one time we forgot to unplug our computer and came home to it fried – even with a surge protector. That was a very sad day.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is last but definitely not least. People love love love to post about their vacations on social media. It is an easy way to show their friends and family the great time they are having and WHERE THEY ARE…like, that they aren’t at home.
There are people in this world that are up to no good, and those posts translate to them as, “C’mon over to my house and break-in, take my car, have a party in my backyard. I’m not home.”
By heeding these five simple steps, you are helping to ensure that when you turn the key to your front door after that amazing vacay, that you are not walking into any surprises.
Megan says
What a smart idea to have a vacation checklist for your home. Usually, when I’m planning for a trip I’m so focused on everything that I need to bring with me that making sure everything is set at home ends up more as a last minute detail. But you are spot on with your list… thanks for sharing!
Tomi C says
We always make sure to unplug small appliances. I have a friend who’s husband is a volunteer firefighter and the story he tells us about fires while folks are on vacation.
Dennis Littley says
These are great tips. Getting the house ready for vacation is something we don’t all think of before taking a trip.
Dana says
Thank you, Chef Dennis! I never really thought of it until I heard some horror water heater stories 🙁
Karen Morse says
So many things to think about when you’re going on vacation, this definitely includes the safety of your home while you’re away! This is a very good checklist for that, it’s important to make sure everything’s in order before you leave!
Ariel Manoban says
Great checklist! Thank you so much for sharing this, I’ll definitely take note of the things you have listed here! 🙂