Pre-vacation tips for your home

Vacation is a time of shutting everything off - your phone, your computer, and even your brain. So the last thing you want to be worrying about is whether or not you locked the garage door. Here are some tips from Chatelaine's home editor, Andrea Ford to guarantee your place stays safe, accident-free and ready to welcome you back.

General home
-Turn off all the lights and set certain switches to a timer so it looks like people are home
-Turn the ringer volume on your phone down so someone outside can't hear that it's going unanswered
-Stow away all valuable items from view of a window
-Take care of your plants. Covering your plants with plastic bags acts as a make-shift greenhouse and helps keep moisture in
-In colder months: Set thermostat to a safe-for-pipes, but energy-responsible level. A new wi-fi thermostat by Eco-Bee allows you to adjust your thermostat remotely from a computer in case of freak weather fluctuations
-In warmer months: Set air conditioning units to a higher thermostat temperature so they won't cool your home unnecessarily
-Empty garbage bins and recycling/green bins. If you won't be home to deal with garbage collection, green bin waste can also be double-bagged and frozen in the freezer
-Make sure dishes and laundry are clean before leaving - especially damp towels
-Lock all doors and windows, especially the one between your home and the garage. For extra security, place a bar in the frame of patio doors
-Lock the garage door, and as an added precaution stick a piece of wood into the tracks
-Unplug any fixtures and appliances that will not be used and are not essential: computers, chargers, TVs, etc.

Be kind to your neighbour
-Leave your neighbour with a copy of your house key and let them know what dates you will be gone specifically
-Either cancel your mail service or have a neighbour pick up your mail for you
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Garden
-For fall travelling, remove hoses from outdoor spigots and leave taps open to drain properly before the frost. Then close the taps when water has left all piping
-For gardens, a neighbour would be the best source to adjust to weather conditions rather than sprinklers on a timer. Unsupervised watering should be avoided where possible

Protect your pipes

-Turn off the main water supply at main valves in the winter. In the warmer months leave water on to trickle through taps
-Protect vulnerable pipes that do not receive heat, such as in garages or crawl spaces, with insulated pipe tubing or tape
-Keep cabinets, such as kitchen cabinets hiding pipes, open to allow as much air, and heat circulation as possible

Worried about the environmental impact of your home while you're away? Check out Gillian Deacon's article on eco-proofing your home before going on vacation.

First published in Chatelaine.com's April 2009 issue.
© Rogers Publishing Ltd.