Is it just us or is Texas miserable in the summer? We want to go on vacation and get out of the heat! But your home needs to be prepped before you go on vacation, especially if it’s for longer than a few days. There’s so much to do between planning the trip and packing that we put together a checklist. You can print it out to go step by step over how to prep your appliances, home and security before you leave.
Prepping Your House
- You want to start by making sure that your home is prepped if you’re going away for more than 3 or 4 days.
- Whether it’s winter or summer, start by putting your water heater on vacation mode.
- Turn off the valves that lead to your dishwasher, washing machine and sink. It can’t leak if the valves are off!
- Unplug what doesn’t need to be on.
TVs, computers, game systems, sound systems, etc. These don’t need to be plugged in if there’s no one home to use them, right? And why rack up the electric bill if you aren’t using it?
- Take a moment before you leave to check your smoke detectors. This way, if the worst happens your neighbors will hear. Or if you have newer models, the fire department and your security company will be alerted.
- Run a half cup of vinegar through your garbage disposal to make sure you don’t come back to a rank miasma.
- On that note, empty out your fridge and cabinets of anything that is set to expire while you’re gone. You don’t have to throw it out, just make sure to eat it or give it away. You can also see if any of the foods could be made into freezer stable foods if you aren’t keen to give away food.
- Set your thermostat to a more neutral set of temperatures. Maybe 80s if its summer or 50s if it’s winter. Again, this saves you money, while still keeping your home at temps that won’t destroy furniture or other elements of your home.
Setting Up Security
- Engage a friend or neighbor to come and stay over a few hours a day, park their car in your driveway, water the plants, feed your pets, etc.
- Call your home security and tell them you’re going out of town and if you have anyone that’s coming to check on the house.
- If you don’t have anyone to check on your house, make sure to call and delay your mail and your newspaper. Piles of newspapers, mail and packages are a clear sign that no one has been home for a while.
- Another way to avoid that is to park your car in the garage while you’re gone. Or if you’ve transformed your garage into a shop or a bedroom, you can park your car at a storage lot for the duration.
- Set up an ‘at home’ routine with your lights. With the benefit of smart tech, you can schedule your lights at different times to mimic your usual routine. It could look something like this at night.
Kitchen: Come on 7 and go for 30 minutes
Dining room: Lights turn on at 7:25 and go for 1 hour
Living room: Lights turn on at 8:30 and run for 1 hour.
Bedroom: Lights turn on at 9:30 and then run for 1 hour.
- If you want to get really clever you could even create multiple routines for different days.
- One last night on security. Make sure that all of your windows are closed and latched, even the upstairs ones. Keys to your doors definitely shouldn’t be somewhere obvious like under the doormat or on a windowsill. Make sure that your garage is locked as well.
Take It Easy When You Get Back
- You’re going away on vacation, the last thing you want to worry about when you get back is cleaning. The simplest answer then is either to schedule a top to bottom cleaning. Alternatively, do one yourself before you leave if you don’t want someone going all over while you’re gone.
- Take out all of the trash. Kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, office. Get rid of it. Coming back to your house after a vacation and finding squatter rodents is not someone anyone wants.
- Do your laundry, especially if it’s summer. Coming home to find that you have get right into the humdrum of doing laundry is the worst. And if you do it beforehand you can…
- Plan clothes ahead of time. We don’t mean for your vacation. We know you’re already daydreaming about that.Studies have shown it can take a least a week for most people to get back into things after being gone for more than a few days. So we’re suggesting that you lay out a week’s worth of clothes for when you get back. This way you can keep yourself focused on getting back into the routine, without feeling overwhelmed.
- Now that you have your house prepped and secure, you can go on your vacation!
Go and enjoy, and tell us what you get up to while you’re out of town. You can do that, or ask any questions you might have on our Facebook page.
If you want to download the checklist, here you go.
And if the worst happens while you’re gone and some of your appliances start acting up, you can always call us at ((214) 599-0055), or go to our webpage to set up an appointment.