In the midst of all that pre-vacation excitement, there are certain important responsibilities that you must take care of in order to truly enjoy a stress-free and relaxed holiday. However, many of these responsibilities often fall by the wayside as you plan for other aspects of your trip. Since there’s nothing worse than cutting a vacation short due to having unfinished business back home, here are some to-do’s that you must remember to take care of before you go on a vacation. 

Clean Up

While tidying up is the last thing anyone wants to do before they leave for vacation, it’s important that you do it so that you can come home to a clean and tidy space. Some of the main chores that you need to take care of include vacuuming, dusting surfaces, tidying up corners and taking out the garbage. 

Save Electricity

Now that you’ll be out of the house and won’t be using your appliances, it’s best that you unplug them so that you don’t unnecessarily waste energy. This means unplugging all your kitchen appliances, your HVAC system and lower the temperature of your water heater or put it on “vacation mode” if that’s possible. 

Also, it’s important to note here that the refrigerator is one of the most energy-consuming appliances in your home, so it’s very important that you give it a break while you’re gone to avoid coming home to an alarmingly high energy bill. If you’ve got a lot of stuff in your fridge, then start consuming it long before you leave for your trip, and donate or throw away what’s left so that you can unplug and clean the fridge with a mixture of baking soda and water before you leave. 

 Turn Off the Main Water Supply

Since no-one will be around to use the water from your sinks, washers and shower, it’s probably a good idea that you switch off the water supply so that you don’t come home to expensive repairs. While there may not be any perceptible leaks around your house, you just never know, so make sure to switch off the water supply as soon as you’re done using water before your trip. 

Bonus tip! If you’re planning on leaving for a long vacation then it might be a good idea to ship your car to the country that you’re traveling to in order to minimize expenses while you’re there. Montway provides a car shipping service that’s as fast as it’s efficient and affordable.  

 Pause Mail and Newspaper Delivery

One of the classic tell-tale signs of a vacant house is seeing a pile of mail and newspapers stacked on the front porch or bursting from a mailbox, and burglars often take this as a cue to take their chance and invade your home. So, forward/ redirect your mail, or put it on hold while you’re on vacation. 

  Take Safety Precautions

Aside from setting a timer to switch your lights on and off and making sure that all doors and windows are locked, there are some other safety measures that you should take before you leave. This includes doing a test drill for your burglar and smoke alarms to make sure that they’re working properly, and lock up valuable items inside a safe deposit box.