Getting the house ready for a long absence

What do you do to get your house ready for a two-week absence? Do you turn off – or just turn down the water heater?

Mail, newspaper, etc. take care of. Can you think of anything else??

Thanks!

I've been gone on cruises for longer than 30 days and it really isn't a hassle of any kind. Stop the newspaper and mail, keep the thermostat at one temp---usually 65 in winter and 78 in summer, I never touch the water heater, I also call the local police department and tell them I'm going to be away. A good safety tip is to put lights in certain rooms of your house on timers. That way it looks as if someone is home. I have timers in the great room, hallway and master bedroom.

Darcie

I also ask someone to just drive by the house every so often to check it out. I do unplug my computer system and peripherals and TV's (also disconnect the cable). I type up a list of things to make sure are turned off or locked (doors, lights, water, etc) and then after the car is packed and my DW is sitting there, I walk through the house and check off the list. Then I forget about it and enjoy my vacation

Statendam-Alaska '97, Veendam-NE/Canada '98, RCCL-Bermuda, '99, Am. Queen, 2000, NCL Sky-Caribbean '03, NCL Dawn - Bahamas '03

NCL Sun Panama Canal

Besides doing the above, I type up an itinerary to leave with a neighbor and also tape it to the front of the refrigerator. I include the phone number of my insurance agent along with the policy number.

Several years ago, my sister and her family were away, I went to water her plants and found there was a flood in the house. I didn't have the info to contact her insurance, they had to return home to take care of the problem. I could have handled it for them if I had her insurance info.

We do turn down the water heater and shut off the connection to the washing machine.

Kathy

On our last trip.......a friend recently divorced and was temporarily living with her parents. We asked her to "house sit". She stayed in our home for 3 weeks. We felt better having someone in the house, she enjoyed it, and we didn't have to arrange for alternative pet care.

I turn off all the water, unplug TVS and computers. The water is really important since a broken pipe can really create a problem much of which may not be covered by your insurance. At the very least turn off the connections to the washing machine or anything that might not have a pipe but a hose such as a dishwasher. It only takes once.

Don

You might consider a trusted neighbor to check your house every few days. We give our neighbor a key and he checks about every 4-5 days depending on how long we are gone. We do all of the other things that were suggested above. In fact our neighbors who are on both sides of us know that we are gone and they keep a watch out for us. My sister has all of our info regarding the cruise and if something happens to someone at home (namely elderly parents) she e-mails any info to our e-mail address and my DH checks our e-mail in the internet cafe on the ship. Hope this helps.

Marilyn

you might check Calgons website at :http://www.geocities.com/Calgon1/Ultimate_Packing_List.html

he has some excellent suggestions for pre cruise planning at his website.

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Thanks to all for such great advice!

I'll start working on my pre-departure checklist!

I know how to turn off the water to the washer, but how do you do that for the dishwasher??

Thanks again!

I don't know about your situation, but we have a shut off valve in the basement where the hot water line goes up to the dishwasher. I'm sure you have one somewhere.

Statendam-Alaska '97, Veendam-NE/Canada '98, RCCL-Bermuda, '99, Am. Queen, 2000, NCL Sky-Caribbean '03, NCL Dawn - Bahamas '03

NCL Sun Panama Canal