The checklist to have before going on a vacation


When you’re getting ready for a vacation, it’s likely that your head will be full of excitement, packing lists, and itineraries. You’ll be buying bikinis and stocking up on sun lotion but when you’re figuring out who is going to feed the cat, there is another whole list of things that you really should be considering: the security and well-being of your home. This is THE checklist to have before going on vacation.

Avoiding a ruined vacation

There could be few things worse than coming home from a fantastic trip to find that someone has broken into your house, you’ve left wet clothes in the washing machine, or you have a full refrigerator of food that will go off! Thankfully, the risk of these things can be greatly reduced with just a bit of forward planning before you rush off into the sun. Then you can spend your vacation relaxing, knowing that things back home are a-ok!

Lock it up

This is a pretty obvious one, but you’ll be surprised how often something like this can slip your mind. Especially if you’re running around, looking for passports and doing last minute checks. Make it a priority to check that your doors and windows are all closed, locked and secured.

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The checklist to have before going on a vacation

Clean out your refrigerator and cupboards

You will really appreciate your past selves for doing this when you get home from your trip to find nothing growing legs in the back of the cupboards! It’s not a lot of fun, but check the dates on all the items in your refrigerator to ensure you don’t come home to any funky smells. To really make things easier on yourselves, why not arrange a home delivery grocery shop for the day you get home so you can recover from jetlag rather than having to brave a store.

Social media

As great as social media can be for connecting with friends and communicating with people on the other side of the world, it can also be used for more sinister reasons. For example, if you check in on Facebook to say that you’re at the airport, on your way to Italy for two weeks, and you’ve previously checked in at your home, that is all the information that they would need to know your house is empty! A lot of robberies are committed this way, so be careful when you share things on the internet.

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The checklist to have before going on a vacation

Unplug

It’s not practical to unplug your refrigerator, for example, however, if you unplug smaller electronic items such as toasters, microwaves and coffee machines, you reduce the risk of fire, and also can save yourself a bit of energy (and therefore money!) while you are away.

Empty your trash

Another tedious but necessary job before you leave for your trip is to take out all the garbage. If you leave anything in your bins while you are away, they are likely to smell horrific by the time you come home, so do this now and thank yourself later!

Change your bed

There are few feelings quite as wonderful as sleeping in fresh sheets and yet when you get home from traveling you are unlikely to have the energy or motivation to change them. So, why not treat yourself in advance by changing them before you leave?! When you get home and sleep off your jetlag in fresh sheets, you will be so glad you took the time to do it.
If you plan well in advance and do a few little chores before you leave, you will find coming home from your vacation a lot nicer. Keep your house safe and clean while you are away and you can spend your trip enjoying yourself, with no worries!

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The checklist to have before going on a vacation

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