Three Things to Do to Prep Your Home Before Vacation

Your tickets are booked, your bags are packed, your travel playlist is meticulously curated, and you’re more than ready to relax.

However, you know that unshakable feeling that you’ve forgotten something just as you’re pulling onto the highway for your long-anticipated getaway? It’s probably because you are—you just don’t know it yet.

Your home may not need a constant reapplication of SPF 50, but it does need a different kind of TLC all its own. Before you head out on vacation, we recommend you do these three things to take care of your home before you go.

Adjust your thermostat, but only by a few degrees.

Three degrees higher or lower than normal will do the trick just fine. For instance, if you’re getting out of dodge in the winter and normally keep your house at 70°F, setting it to 67°F is a fine choice. Conversely, if it’s summertime and you’re leaving, and normally keep the house at 70°F, 73°F is the way to go. New WiFi thermostats can monitor your heating and cooling while you’re away and communicate with you from afar. We install these for as low as $250, but in the end you’ll find they pay for themselves.

Make sure everything is closed or off – and yes, we mean everything.

All lights, all TVs, all water, all windows — you name it. One lamp on or one window open a little can cost you a lot more than you might think. So, take a couple of minutes to flip all the switches off and close everything you can, then double check the house to make sure you didn’t miss something the first time ‘round. Your wallet and the environment will thank you.

Clean the fridge of all your perishable goods and empty all your garbage cans.

You might need to whip the reading glasses out for all those tiny expiration dates, but the carton of milk that is fading fast will whisper a quiet “thank you” as it’s being poured down the kitchen sink. You’ll make coming home extra clean and easy, and you won’t have an unpleasant odor wafting a “welcome home” when you return.

We’re often so busy making sure we have everything we need to enjoy ourselves during our time away that we forget to check on everything that will be waiting for us when we get back. Have a fun, safe and memorable trip, but do these three things first to make sure the return to routine is as smooth as can be.

Nobody wants to help you beat the heat or stay cozy in the cold more than Charlotte Mechanical. Learn more about our heating and cooling services, and get more advice on social media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.

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