19. Organize Your House To Leave For Vacation

There are many steps involved to prepare your house for you to leave on vacation. I wish it was as simple as just walking out the door. Unfortunately not. Following is a checklist for you to use to make it easier to get out the door:

1. Houseplants - water all of your houseplants prior to leaving. Depending on the length of your vacation, you can insert water globes into the soil for automatic watering, plant in a self watering container, or ask a friend or neighbor to come and water the plants while you are away.

2. Mail - Nothing screams more that you are away than piled newspapers on your front porch or an overflowing mailbox. Place a hold on your newspapers and mail. Have a friend or neighbor come and collect the mail/newspapers is also an easy solution.

3. Thermostats: Unless there is something in your home that might suffer heat damage, turn your a/c off. If you prefer to leave it on, set your thermostat to 85-90 degrees. Raising the temperature will help save on your electric bill. If you are leaving in the winter months, do not turn off the heat for risk of freezing pipes. Keep the heat to at least 50-55 degrees.

4. Trash: Empty all of the trash can in the house. Who wants to return home to a stinky house? Arrange for a friend or neighbor to place the outside trash can on the street on the appropriate day for trash collection. Make sure they are reminded to put trash can back in their proper place after collection.

5. Refrigerator - Check to see if any food items will spoil while you are away. Milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese etc. Give these items to a friend or neighbor to use.

6. Clothes Washer - Make sure you are not leaving clothes in your washer to mildew.

7. Windows/Door - Check to make sure all the windows and doors are locked.

8. Jewelry Box - Hide your jewelry or place in a safety deposit box. Don't make it easy for a robber to walk in and grab your valuables.

9. Small Appliances - These items use small amounts of energy when they are plugged in, even when they are turned off. Unplug these items to save energy and avoid possible fire hazards while you are away. Examples of small appliances include: toasters, tv's, clocks, baby monitors, radios, stereos, printers, computers, lamps, chargers, dust busters, coffee makers, etc.

10. Lights - Turn off all the lights in the house except for one to deter burglars while you are away. Put this light on a timer to simulate someone is in the house. Make sure this light is visible from the outside.

11. Sprinkler - Determine if you want the yard sprinklers to run while you are away. If so, place the sprinklers on a timer to run more efficiently.

12. Appointments - Cancel home appointments that may be schedule during your vacation. You do not want the housekeeper, pest control, delivery guy, piano teacher etc. arriving and you not be home.

13. Garage door - Unplug the garage door. During storms and power outages, for some reason my garage door opens. I always unplug my garage door before I leave on vacation. I would hate for my door to open while I'm away making my garage a free for all.

14. Cars - If leaving any cars at home, remove all the valuables, roll up the windows and lock the doors. Park the car in the garage.

15. Yard - Check the yard for items that need to be brought indoors.

16. Phone - Turn off or turn down the ringer on your home phone. A constantly ringing phone is a good sign no one is home.

17. Emergency Numbers - Leave a key and emergency numbers to a friend or neighbor.