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Leaving for a vacation is stressful – I get it.
But adding these 8 little things to your list will be worth the peace of mind, knowing that you were proactive about leaving your home ready if disaster strikes while you’re away!
It’s always a good idea to let someone you trust know that you will be gone. That way they can keep an eye on things for you and let you know if anything sketchy happens. Be sure to let them know if you expect anyone to come to your house for any reason while you’re gone.
It’s also a good idea to ask them to get the packages off of your porch while you’re gone. Not only will this prevent your packages from possible theft, but it will also remove the evidence that no one is home.
This becomes important if there is an extended power outage while you’re out of town. A refrigerator/freezer thermometer allows you to know the temperature inside your fridge/freezer, which helps you determine if your food is compromised.
There are many types of thermometers, ranging from a basic thermometer to a fancy bluetooth one with alarms.
A basic thermometer is better than nothing, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Even if you are home during a power outage, you still have to open your refrigerator to see the temperature. Since you don’t want to open the doors and let the cold air out, it is preferable to have a thermometer that you can read outside of the fridge/freezer.
This is the thermometer that I recommend that allows you to read the temperature outside of the refrigerator/freezer. However, this one does still require you to be home, so that you can see the screen on the thermometer.
For a vacation, this is the kind you’re going to want!! This thermometer allows you to receive email alerts and app notifications. This allows you to know the temperature of your fridge/freezer regardless of your location.
Speaking from personal experience, I HIGHLY recommend that you get one of these ASAP. This can save you hundreds of dollars in spoiled food. Let me explain:
When we were out of town, our neighborhood lost power for about 48 hours. It wasn’t due to a huge storm or anything that was well known, so we didn’t think to ask any neighbors if our power was out. We came home to our 2 fridges and 2 freezers full of spoiled food.
Had I had this thermometer with alerts, I would have known that the power was out, and could have had a friend go and plug our fridge and freezer into our generator. Even if we hadn’t had a generator, I could have sent a friend to get as much food as possible to a working refrigerator/freezer.
**Note: If this does happen to you, I have a whole blog post on how to tell if food is safe after being exposed to higher temperatures during a power outage.
Power surges are real, and they can happen whether or not you’re in town. These can happen when the power comes back on abruptly, forcing too much current through the system. Power surges can knock out electronics, appliances, etc.
To prevent this from happening, it’s a good idea to unplug as many electronics/appliances as possible before you leave town (excluding your refrigerators/freezers, of course).
This one is pretty self explanatory – I just wanted to make sure it made the list.
There’s also a side benefit to closing your blinds that I think is worth mentioning; not only does closing your blinds provide privacy, but it also helps keep the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter, by adding a layer of insulation to your windows.
Closed doors drastically slow the spread of fire and smoke in a house fire. In fact, we should all be sleeping with our doors closed whenever circumstances allow for it.
If you want to give your home (and your belongings) the best chance of survival were a fire to break out in your home while you are on vacation, be sure to close all interior doors before leaving town!
Just like your neighbor getting the packages off your porch, timed lights give the illusion that someone is home.
And you know how much I love side benefits: this is just a great idea for all the time for convenience, as well as saving energy.
If you have a home alarm, don’t forget to set it before you leave town!!
It’s not a bad idea to shut off your water before you leave town, to prevent flooding in your home, leaking faucets, etc.
If you live in a warm climate, the water shut off is under that big cement rectangle in your front yard.
If you live in colder climates, the water shut off is probably either in your crawl space or your basement (if your basement is finished, check the closets in the bedrooms).
If it’s in the basement, it will probably be either in the wall or on the water pipe leading to the water heater.
To turn it off, lift up the cement block, and twist the valve clockwise until it won’t turn anymore.
It may have a little handle already that you just turn, or it may look like ours, in which case you would need pliers or a shut-off tool to turn it clockwise.
Here are a few other things that aren’t going to prepare your home for an emergency, but are a good idea to do before you leave!
There will always be things we don’t think about before we encounter an emergency. But, I’m here to help you think about some of the non-food storage items you might want to keep on hand for the next rainy day.
Why you should schedule an emergency preparedness weekend every 6 months, and what you should be doing, reviewing, rotating, and maintaining. Free printable checklist!
Berkey water filters are THE BEST water filters, not only for emergencies, but for everyday use. They are so good, they are classified as a water purifier, which is a step up from a filter!
