A Checklist of Things to Do Before Your Vacation Articles | Vacation

By: J.Morgan

Your vacation is a time to enjoy yourself, relax and forget about stresses. However, in order to relax fully there are several things that you should do before leaving home. This will enable you to enjoy your trip and know that everything is being taken care of back home in your absence. Here are some useful guidelines:

1.    Obviously you do not want to advertise the fact that nobody is home. It is a good idea to make your house look lived in. You might want to put the lights on a timer so they come on at certain times and make it look like somebody is home. You can also stop your newspaper and mail deliveries because piled up mail is an indicator that people are on vacation. Some neighborhoods use a police-sponsored vacation watch where a patrol will keep a regular eye on your house to make sure everything looks all right.

2.    You should call your security company, if you have one, to let them know when you are going to be away. This means that if your house alarm goes off, it is real and not a false alarm. Knowing this, they will act faster, with the knowledge that anybody in the house must be an intruder.

3.    If you are going away for more than a couple of days, you should remove food from your refrigerator which will not keep. It is not very nice coming home to a moldy mess!

4.    Unplug every electrical appliance except for the refrigerator and freezer. Appliances which are switched off but still plugged in can be a fire risk and they might be damaged if there is a storm while you are away. Just unplug everything before you go so you won't have to worry about it.

5.    Ask your friends and family to check your house, especially if they live close. They can take care of your pets, housesit or check on the house every couple of days. Don't be afraid to ask them. This will also ensure that you can relax more on your vacation.

6.    Make sure you pay your bills before leaving, including those which become due while you are away. It might be hard to pay them while you are away so just sort them out before you go, so you won't have to worry about them when you are gone or when you get back.

7.    Take medications and important papers with you. If anybody in your group uses prescription medications, make sure you bring enough. Also bring medical records, emergency phone numbers and copies of your identification in case anything gets stolen or lost while you are away.

If you follow the above tips, you can head off on your vacation prepared and have a more relaxing and fun-filled time, rather than worrying about things you should have done before you left or things you forgot to bring. You owe it to yourself to make your vacation relaxing and hassle-free and these tips will help you to accomplish that.