Things to Do Before Leaving for a Vacation

Protect Your House

Hide things that are valuable just in case someone breaks in and wants to steal stuff. Maybe you have a locked box or perhaps a book that looks like a book but really is meant for hiding keys, cash, jewelry, etc. Just don’t forget what you hid and where you hid it. Perhaps type out the info and save it to your computer and/or write it out and give it to someone you trust.

Adjust your thermostat. In the cold months, why heat a house if you’re not there? Put it at a reasonable temperature so that things– like your plumbing pipes– don’t freeze.

Leave strategic lights on that make it look like someone’s home. Typically, this means one light on in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the bedroom– these can stay on “all day, all night” ‘til you come home.

Prepare for Being Away

As for packing for your trip, here’s a good tip: write out your username and passwords for websites/apps you might need to access during your journey. Say, for instance, you’re at a layover in the airport somewhere and you want to log-in to your rental car site to check the reservation– have that log-in info written out on paper somewhere in your luggage “just in case” you need it.

Finally, before you leave the house give a quick look through all your bags to ensure you brought “everything.” Most people make a list and then check off items as they pack them. Don’t forget power cords/chargers, medications/pills, money/credit cards, etc.