Get Your Home Ready for Vacation
The car’s loaded and you’re ready to head off on
your summer vacation. But, then you start to
wonder if you left the coffee pot on. When
you’re trying to get ready for vacation, the devil
is in the details – and there are lots of those –
from remembering items to pack to things to do
around the house. Taking some time to thoroughly
prepare your house means you can head off for
vacation without worrying about anything more
than a sunburn.
Burglaries happen
According to the FBI, more burglaries are
committed during the vacation months of July
and August and during daylight hours. Taking
simple steps, such as having exterior lights with
motion detectors and plugging lamps into timers
is a good idea for the nighttime. But how do
you guard against daytime burglaries?
Protect your home during the daytime by making the home appear and look the way it normally does when you’re home. For instance, it’s important to have someone pick up your newspaper and mail when you’re gone. But, if you usually pick up the paper in the morning and your neighbor who agreed to pick up your paper doesn’t do it until the afternoon, then your house will not look normal. Either stop the paper through the carrier or ask your neighbor to pick up the paper at the time you normally pick it up.
Another signal can be your windows. If your shades and shutters are normally closed during the day, leave them closed. If they’re normally open, keep them open. Just make sure valuables, such as expensive art or entertainment equipment can’t be seen from the street or easily through your windows. And, as tempting as it is to turn off your air conditioning to lower your utility bills, don’t. Nothing is a dead giveaway that you’re not home than an air conditioner that’s not running on a hot day. Instead, turn the thermostat up but not off. Another tip is to have a radio plugged into a timer during daylight hours so it sounds like someone’s there.
Accidents happen
While you might not be burglarized while you’re away, it’s possible that some kind of accident can occur. One of those is flooding due to a burst pipe. That’s why it’s a good idea to turn off the water valves to the dishwasher and the washer the day you leave. Power interruption is another concern. If power to your home is interrupted, you might come home to a freezer full of rotted meat that’s draining blood and ooze all over the garage or kitchen floor. Leave a key or a phone number where you can be reached with a neighbor who you can trust to check on your house. And, if you don’t have a neighbor you can trust, be sure and leave the name and number of a trusted friend or family member the neighbor can call and who can come over and check on your home if there’s a problem.
Everybody out
When you’re trying to leave for vacation, the chaos of getting everyone packed and out on time is one of the chief causes of forgetting an important detail around the house. To ensure you can leave for vacation with peace of mind, make sure all luggage is in the car and everyone is out of the house. Then, with everyone and everything on the driveway or packed in the car, have one person go into the house and room by room check to make sure what needs to be turned on is on and what needs to be turned off is off. Now, you’re ready to leave your living space for some much-needed vacation space.
Home Vacation Preparation Checklist
Before vacation
1. Schedule pet sitting and leave contact names and numbers with sitter.
2. Make arrangements for mail and newspaper pick-up.
3. Leave house key, phone number where you can be reached, or the number of a trusted friend with your neighbor.
4. Contact your local sheriff or police department to inquire about vacation patrols.
5. Schedule lawn mowing while you are away.
Day of Vacation
1. Raise thermostat on air conditioning.
2. Turn off ringer on phone or have the phone pick up after three rings.
3. Set lamps and radio on timers.
4. Turn water supply off to dishwasher and clothes washing machine.
5. Check kitchen appliances. Make sure coffee pot, toaster, stove are all off.
6. Check all door and window locks.
7. Do a room by room inspection.
8. Make sure curling irons are unplugged.
9. Lock or unplug garage doors. Thieves often have codes to open garage doors.
10.Take out trash.
© 2007 Kathryn Weber, all rights reserved
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calender, that calender that puts you in control of your home by ending the power struggle. For more information log on to http://tinyurl.com/d9rh5.
You have permission to publish this article as long as the tagline above is included and as long as the article remains complete and unaltered. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.
©2001-2007 Kathryn Weber
All rights reserved.
