It's vacation season, and you're probably dreaming about jetting off to sunny shores. But you may also be worried about your home. After all, you want everything to be exactly as you left it. Simply taking part in some pre-planning can help out in a big way when it comes to making sure that your home is not on your mind when you are trying to soak up the sun. So, here is a brief holiday checklist of things to do before going away.
Take Care of Your Plants
The last thing that you want to come back to is a house full of dead plants, so make sure that you have watered them thoroughly before leaving. There may be some which require some extra care and attention, so you should ask someone who you know well to pop in every few days to water them. As well as being good for your plants, this is also good from a home security point of view.
Clear Out Your Fridge
Even if you are only going to be away for a couple of days, it is worth getting rid of any food which is going to expire. If you don’t want to be wasteful, find a way of cooking up your remaining ingredients before you go. After all, you don’t want to come back to a home with stale or unpleasant odours if you can avoid it!
Heating and Electrical Items
There is no point wasting energy if you don’t need to. And if you still have the heating on a timer, that is exactly what you will end up doing. Similarly, make sure to turn off air conditioning, fans, and other cooling devices. While you are at it, now a good time to look at how to keep your bedroom cool in summer so that you don’t come back to a stuffy environment. In fact, it is worth unplugging all your electrical devices as these will all be wasting energy. Even just small amounts all add up in the long-run.
Secure Your Home
Now is the time that you will want to make sure that your home is a-ok from a home security point of view. If you have been delaying putting extra security measures up around the house, now is the time to do so. Go to every room around the house to ensure that the windows, doors, and gates are all securely locked. It is worth telling your neighbours that you are leaving so that they can keep an eye on your home for you. Ultimately, having this level of peace of mind around the house is invaluable.
Do a Thorough Clean
It is not pleasant to come back from holiday - only to see a list of chores that you need to do in front of you. To get around this, it is worth doing a deep clean of your house now. You are much more likely to be able to muster up the enthusiasm to do this now rather than when you are in the midst of post-holiday blues. You may also want to combine this cleaning with a summertime decluttering. This way, you will return to a house which appears as welcoming as possible.
Make Sure That Your Bills Are Taken Care Of
Even though most people automate payments these days, it is worth taking that extra bit of effort to ensure that you are not going to be met with any late payment charges upon your return - particularly if you are going away for an extended period of time or you are going to a place where WiFi access may be limited. It is also worth calling your bank to let them know that you are going away on holiday so that you don’t end up with your card being blocked when you return once again.
Keep Your Home Fresh
As well as the cleaning that we have already discussed, there are a couple of other ways that you can make sure that you are coming home to a fresh home. Scented disinfectants down the toilets and sinks will help you to clear out any drain odours which may become a problem. As well as this, you can also invest in some air freshener to keep the scents feeling fresh.