10 Things Travelers Often Forget To Do Before Leaving Their Home

By Leila Dorari

Going on a long voyage is never an easy thing. However, people sometimes get too occupied with that they will face ahead, that they forget about things they leave behind. Needless to say, this can potentially be a cause of a whole array of difficulties. In order to avoid meeting this fate, here are 10 things travelers often forget to do before leaving their home.

1. Deal with Subscriptions and Newspapers

First things first, getting all the newspapers, newsletters and magazine subscriptions in front of your doors is not just unaesthetic, but also potentially dangerous. Why? Well, because to burglars nothing yells ‘there’s no one home’ louder than a huge pile at your doorstep. You can handle this in two ways. Either stop your subscriptions (not ideal, especially if you are leaving for less than a month) or get a neighbor to collect (or discard) these for you on a regular basis.

2. Leave the Lights On

When it comes to burglar deterrent methods, you could also consider leaving the light in one of the rooms facing the street on. This will create an illusion of someone still being there, therefore scaring off any potential intruders.

3. Turn off the Appliances

Another safety measure you should take prior to leaving is unplugging all the unnecessary appliances in your household. In case where you worry about letting some of them slip your mind, you may want to put them all on a list. Let’s be clear about one thing. A chance that one of these appliances will cause an accident is almost inexistent. Still, just thinking about this may diminish your traveling experience.

4. Clean the Place

Even though this advice shouldn’t have anything to do with the notion of going on a trip, failing to do so may have some serious repercussions. Leaving a huge mess behind, may result in a pest outbreak that will reach serious proportions by the time you get home. Furthermore, seeing how you won’t be able to leave the windows open, the smell you will encounter upon your return (if for example you forget to take out the thrash) will be unbearable. Before you head out, you home need to be immaculate, which is why it might be for the best to look for a services of a Commercial Cleaning Sydney based company.

5. Turn off the Water Supply

The truth is, that a minor leak can occur at any time, even if your plumbing system is brand new. Sure, this probably won’t be an outburst, but if not noticed in time it can be just as dangerous. Luckily, turning off the main water supply takes just few minutes of your work.

6. Prevent Clogs

Once you deal with the water supply, you are still not done with your plumbing. Namely, it would be great if you were to pour a mix of baking soda and vinegar down your drains, just prior to leaving. In this way, you won’t have to worry about clogs developing while you are gone.

7. Adjust Your Thermostat

Another thing you should definitely do before heading out is adjust your thermostat to save you some money. Sure, turning it off entirely might not be a good idea since if things get too humid and hot, your home may develop mold. In that case, those few extra bucks you save definitely won’t be worth it.

8. Seal Your Food

Even if you don’t have any pets around and you are 100 percent sure your home is ironclad, you still might want to seal your food in an airtight container. When it comes to pests, you just don’t want to push your luck, especially when all the future problems could be avoided by something so simple and inexpensive.

9. Freeze Something for a Return Meal

Seeing how the flight back may be an arduous matter, you might want to grab a dinner as soon as you get home. Still, waiting for a takeout or going to a restaurant may be too much trouble, seeing how you will probably have barely enough strength to drag yourself back home. Because of this, it might be a good idea to freeze something delicious to have for a return meal.

10. Home Monitoring Apps

For those who believe this to be necessary, there is always an option of controlling your home through monitoring apps. For this, all you will need is a simple home security camera, a smartphone and an app. With the right app, even your computer’s webcam will do.

In Conclusion

Seeing how every single one of the abovementioned steps is completely vital, you don’t want to risk forgetting something. Because of this, it might be for the best if you were to make a checklist and go through it at least several times before you head out. For those who travel on a regular basis, this routine may become a genuine lifesaver.

Leila Dorari is a marketing consultant and a freelance writer from Sydney. She has been working with different companies for 5 years now. When taking a break from making new marketing slogans, she is either window shopping or exploring new ways to make her life more meaningful.