Later this summer, we are going on a Royal Caribbean cruise with my mom, sister and her family, cousin, aunt, and uncle. I am very excited because I haven’t really traveled much since I joined my current company last year. Also, I have been so busy with the job promotion and increase responsibilities that come with it, as well as the MBA program. A long way to say that I need and deserve this vacation.
Before going on vacation, I always start making preparations for the house and our pets. Additionally, I start making sure that we have everything we need on the trip to have a relaxing, fun, and stress-free time.
Making Sure Pets are in a Safe Place
When I only had my Pekingese Mix, I would leave him with my mom (if she is in the US) or my sister. Now that the German Shepherd (GS) has joined the family, it’s gotten hard because my family isn’t used to big dogs and so they do not want to take care of her. Therefore, we have to board them somewhere. I looked at different options and it is not cheap. I started saving a year ago using SmartyPig for boarding them. I eventually decided to go with my veterinarian. It makes me feel good that they have always taken good care of both of my dogs (they just recently did a great job with spaying my GS), and their boarding is nice. I also made sure that any vaccinations that are needed for them to be boarded were taken care of.
Get the House is Ready
Depending on when you go on vacation, you have to make sure that your house is ready because your pipes can freeze, the basement can flood, etc. If you have someone who can check your place while you are gone, then please contact him/her for the favor. If you don’t, then make sure you take the appropriate precautions to make sure that you reduce anything occurring while you’re gone.
- Clean the house – I always clean the house before I head out. Nothing is better than coming home to a pristine home and not having to do anything but relax even more before work begins.
- Set your thermometer – Make sure you set your thermometer to a temperature that will save you money while avoiding pipes from freezing or mold to appear. In the hot months, you can have it at 85. In the cold ones, it can be as low as 50. If you have a smart thermometer, like Nest, set it to Eco.
- Put your lights on a timer – Burglars target empty homes. Make sure you have timers for your lights so the house does not look completely abandoned.
- Get rid of food – Depending on the length of your vacation, you might want to get rid of the food or give it away. If you are gone longer than a week, go through your fridge and empty your trash. Nothing is worse than food rotting and coming back and smelling it.
- Unplug appliances and turn off your water – I usually would go around the house and unplug appliances that don’t have to be on while I am gone. There are people who also turn off the water from the outside to avoid floods or frozen pipes
- Turn your alarm system on – Turn on your alarm and also notify your alarm company of your vacation and who they can reach in an emergency if you are out of the country
Get Everything Needed to Have a Good Vacation
I usually will create a list of everything that I need on the trip that I am going to. I then make sure to slowly start buying in the month before going all the things that I don’t have. The worse is not having an essential item and then going to store on the cruise/resort and what was $3.50 at home is now $13.50.
I am counting down! What summer plans do you have?
