7 Things to Do For Your Home Before You Go On Vacation
So you’re going on vacation…hooray! There’s nothing better than taking a much-needed break to reset, recharge, replenish, yada yada. Not only do you get to experience fresh new sights and sounds in faraway places, but doing so can make you appreciate your own home even more.
But to return to a house or apartment you’re actually excited and relieved to greet, there are a few important things to tend to before you hit the road:
1. Unplug devices that do not require electricity. Unless you want to keep some happy ghosts nice and cool, you don’t need to keep the AC running while you’re out of town. Same goes for your air humidifiers or purifiers. Nor do you need to keep your pet’s water filter plugged in and running if there’s no pet around to lap it up. Bonus points: switch off power strips that power up multiple electronics in your home (i.e., the TV area and desk area). Save electricity, save the planet, save your utility bill.
2. Turn off that random lamp. I sometimes organize clients’ spaces while they’re on vacation, and what I find is that people like to leave one lamp turned on in their home. While this might make more sense in rural areas to deter any burglars, in a NYC apartment it doesn’t make much sense. So pull on the old lamp chain and keep it dark until your return home!
3. Switch the fridge to vacation mode. Last bit of electrical housekeeping here, I promise. Set your fridge to vacation mode, especially if you’re not keeping a ton of food in your fridge while you’re OOO.
4. Toss any leftovers. On the topic of foodstuffs, consume or get rid of any leftovers to avoid being greeted by said spoiled leftovers upon your return home. The sight of a clean, near-empty fridge is a chance to start afresh. With all this space, you might say to yourself, “Wow! Now I’m only going to stock my fridge with kale bunches and cucumbers.”
5. Do a quick load of laundry. If you’re leaving town with a hamper completely full of laundry, this makes doing the wash when you return home a real mountain-sized bummer. Vacation laundry + house laundry = your entire Sunday. Wash what you can before you head out so you only need to wash your vacay clothes. It’s the little things!
6. Wash the sheets (if you can). One of the under-appreciated joys of travel is the anticipation of collapsing into your own bed at the end of the trip. To make it much more appealing, why not wash the sheets before you head out. Extra crisp sheets >>> mealy sheets in need of a wash. Or let’s bargain here: at the very least, make the bed so you can peel back the duvet like your hotel’s turn-down service when you get home.
7. Fluff pillows and fold blankets. While we’re on le topic of pillows and blankets, fluff the living room pillows and fold the throw blankets. There’s something about this mise en scene that says, let’s watch less TV this time around! We can do this!