“Items to Handle Before Leaving Your Home.”
“Did I turn off the iron?” How many times are you setting off on a vacation and a thought pops into your head, “Did I…..?” Each of us can fill in that statement of “Did I…?” Have you had to turn around or have a neighbor check to have peace of mind for your vacation? A family member wanted to turn the power off to the house for non-essentials. By mistake, in turning these off in the breaker box, is also turned off the refrigerator and freezer. Yes, after two weeks the house was “ripe” with the smell of rotten food. A more drastic scenario is returning from a trip to find the water pipe broke or the refrigerator was hit by lightning. We have all heard the “tales of woe” from family and friends. While somethings are outside our control, it is imperative that we handle items in our control.
As frequent travelers, we have developed our checklist for handling matters and items at home prior to leaving. The checklist assures we handle each item and don’t have that “did I…?” pop up once we are gone. Everyone will need their own checklist to that is the best for their house, condo, apartment or whatever your living arrangements are. The Checklist below handles a lot of the basics items for closing the house when we are going away. Some items are more critical for a longer vacation but all are important to be sure everything is handled. Please use this checklist as a basis for building your own checklist. Then you can head off on your exciting vacation with peace of mind. Note: As Floridians some of our checklist has to also do with hurricanes while we are gone.
BEFORE LEAVING HOUSE CHECKLIST
Administrative Items:
_____ Two Credit cards for trip
_____ Bank Debit card
_____ Hold mail or forward mail
_____ Key to house to neighbor or family member
_____ Suspend auto insurance 2nd car (if long trip)
_____ Email itinerary to family
Take on Trip:|
_____ AAA Card
_____ Maps for states/cities
_____ Road Trip Calendar – Itinerary
_____ Book/Folder with details of trip
_____ Passports (if needed)
_____ Car Insurance file
_____ Home Insurance file
_____ Wills/Legal Paper file
_____ Checkbook
_____ Cell phones, iPads, Laptop/mouse, cords/chargers
_____ Blood pressure machine
_____ Neck pillows, pillow(s)
_____ Yoga mats
_____ Towels or beach towels
_____ Binoculars
_____ Laundry supplies
_____ Cooler & ice packs
Prepare House:
_____ Outdoor plant pots in flower beds
_____ Welcome mat & plant stands in garage
_____ Lanai furniture in garage
_____ Hose and garbage can in garage
_____ Make sure no loose items outside
_____ Disconnect battery to 2nd car (optional)
_____ Empty refrigerator OR empty of perishables and have it full of containers filled with water.
Final Items day/evening leave:
_____ Unplug all lamps, appliances, TV, TV cables, and power cords
_____ Unplug washer and dryer
_____ Turn off water to Washer and Disconnect water hookup washer
_____ Turn off water to house outside/optional
_____ Turn off refrigerator & prop doors open, OR if leave on- filled containers of water in it
_____ Turn off water heater
_____ Turn off circuit breakers on kitchen appliances
_____ Turn AC to warmer/cooler temp as appropriate for season
_____ Close all closet doors and doors between rooms
Notes on checklist:|
Credit Cards – always have at least 2 credit cards. Verify if need to advise credit card company of travel plans or not. Most today only require if you are going out of the country. On three trips we have had a credit card cancelled, despite having contacted the credit card company with details of our travel plans. Attempting to get a new card mailed while traveling is difficult. 2nd Car –when away an extended time suspend auto insurance on the 2nd If anything should happen to it in garage, it is covered under home owners insurance. Disconnect the battery as electronics continue to run off the battery and it will be drained before you return. Also put keys to 2nd car in a location where not visible.
USPS Mail – mail can only be held for 30 days. So if gone longer suggest forward to another individual.
Washer & Dryer – unplug washer and dryer. Also disconnect water hookup to washer (if don’t turn off water to house). Hoses on the washer can give way and flood the house.
Turn Off Circuit breakers to kitchen appliances (microwave, dishwasher, stove – NOT refrigerator unless it is empty). As soon as there is a power failure (often in Florida) it will just flash for PF. Plus no need to have power to these when not home.
Toilets – pour half cup bleach in toilet. Then cover the toilet bowl area with plastic wrap (red plastic is good as it is seen). Otherwise the toilet bowl water will evaporate and pests can get in. One time we had a big frog in ours. Now with the bleach in the bowl, it is all clean and sanitized on our return.