8 Tips for a Stress-Free Vacation

Preparing for a vacation should be exciting and fun. Unfortunately, it seems as though whenever we go on vacation, there are always last-minute household concerns to attend to, such as: Who will take care of our pets? Who will water our plants? How will we keep our home secure?

Without a plan, we may be left wondering whether we left the oven on, locked the doors, or packed everything we needed for our trip. These concerns can make our journey less enjoyable and our vacation worrisome. The following helpful vacation preparation tips will ensure that you always leave for vacation feeling fully prepared, relaxed, and secure so you can get the most out of your trip.

Vacation Tip #1: Use a packing checklist when you pack.

Whether you’re packing for a long weekend or a 3-week excursion, a packing checklist simplifies the process. When you use a packing checklist, you can be certain that you have everything that you need to fully enjoy your vacation. You can get a comprehensive travel packing checklist free from GoSightsee.com. Sign up for the free travel newsletter and you’ll also get insider travel tips, helpful articles, and travel discounts.

Vacation Tip #2: Arrange for your mail and newspapers to be held until you return.

Mail piled up in your mailbox and unclaimed newspapers stacked on your doorstep can indicate that you’re not home. This can signal to would-be thieves that your home is unguarded and a good target. Prevent this by calling the Post Office a few days before your trip and asking them to hold your mail. Once you return, you simply go to the Post Office to retrieve your mail and they’ll start delivering it to your mailbox again.

You can do the same thing with your newspaper by calling their subscription line and asking them to pause delivery for the days you’ll be out of town. They’ll either extend your subscription or give you a reduced bill for the non-delivered papers.

Vacation Tip #3: Ask a friend to check your home while you’re away.

It’s a good idea to ask someone you know and trust to stop by your home a few times while you’re on vacation. Give them a key, directions, your contact information, and the dates that you’ll be away. Your friend can park their car in your driveway, check your home for any signs of entry and/or theft, can water your lawn and/or plants, and can take care of anything else you need.

This achieves several goals:

• Your friend’s car will be parked in your driveway sporadically, giving would-be thieves the message that your home isn’t a good target.
  
• If they encounter a problem or suspect entry or theft, they can contact you right away instead of you having to wait to discover and deal with the issue once you return.
  
• Your friend will be taking care of your plants and lawn so they’ll be alive and well when you get back into town.

Vacation Tip #4: Hire a petsitter to care for your pets.

A petsitter will feed, groom, play with, and watch your pets while you’re on vacation. If you have pets and you’re going for longer than two days, it’s definitely a good idea to hire a professional petsitter.

You’ll want to familiarize them with your home and the location of your pets’ supplies. Provide them with a key, written instructions on how to care for your pet, your contact information, and the name, address, and phone number of your veterinarian.

Vacation Tip #5: Set automatic light timers throughout your home.

An easy way to make your home look inhabited while you’re out of town is to program a few light timers to automatically turn lights on and off throughout your home. These devices are inexpensive and can be found in any discount retail store (such as Target). They are simple to program and work best if you use them on lamps in different areas of your home and stagger their on and off times. For instance, if a lamp in your living room is programmed to stay on from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., then a lamp in your upstairs bedroom could be programmed to stay on from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m.

These are also helpful if you have pets so they aren’t spending an unusual amount of time in darkness. Using automatic light timers can help your pets relax more while you’re on vacation by keeping up their regular light exposure.

It’s also a good idea to have some of your outdoor lights automatically turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. This will not only make your home look inhabited, but may also thwart would-be thieves who will be deterred from breaking into a well-lit home.

Vacation Tip #6: Turn off and unplug electrical equipment and appliances.

The day you leave for your trip, you’ll want to check all of your major appliances and electrical equipment to make sure everything is turned off. This includes:

• Oven and stove
  
• Lights that don’t have an automatic timer
  
• Computer, printer, and other home office equipment
  
• Televisions
  
• Fans and plug-in heaters

You also want to unplug electrical devices and some major appliances to help prevent potential fires. This includes:

• Plug-in heaters (baseboard, dish, etc.)
  
• Hair dryers
  
• Curling irons
  
• Shredder
  
• Blender, food processor, toaster oven, and other kitchen electrics

While you’re checking and unplugging these devices, also check your faucets to make sure that no one has inadvertently left water running. Taking these steps will help put your mind at ease and ensure that your electric and water bills don’t balloon out of control while you’re away.

Vacation Tip #7: Adjust your thermostat.

To keep your gas and electric bill in check while you’re on vacation, set your thermostat to a lower temperature (in the winter) or a higher temperature (in the summer) than you would normally use in your home. Since you won’t be there, you can save money on your heating and cooling bills by keeping the thermostat slightly higher or lower.

If your pets will still be at home while you’re away, make sure to keep the temperature comfortable for them and show your petsitter how to operate your thermostat in case any extremes in temperature are experienced.

Vacation Tip #8: Lock all doors and windows.

One of the last things to do before gathering your packed luggage and loading up the car is to check that all of your doors and windows are securely locked. Be sure to check your garage doors and windows as well.

Using this checklist to prepare for your vacations will give you less to worry about while you’re away. Less stress translates into a better vacation. Knowing that you have everything you need and that your home and pets are secure and being cared for will give you peace of mind. You’ll be able to truly relax and enjoy your vacation. Happy travels!

Sheri Keyser is the Founder and CEO of GoSightsee.com, a travel website that will save you time and money on your next vacation. Get insider travel tips and recommendations on sightseeing destinations, vacation planning resources, and travel deals at GoSightsee.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sheri_Keyser

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