Do These Essential Things Before Going On Vacation

Vacations are exciting. Once you book the plane tickets and confirm your hotel room, the planning begins. There are things you need to do beyond making a packing list and constructing the perfect itinerary. You need to be proactive and make some time to create a plan for your home while you are away. This way, you can focus on having fun instead of worrying about what’s happening at home.

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Hire a Sitting Service

While leaving your house unattended is always an option when you travel, it is so much easier to hire a house sitting service. When a vetted house sitter takes care of your home while you are away, there is a physical presence in your home that will deter others who otherwise might think that no one’s home. As a bonus, the house sitter will collect packages from the front steps and bring in the mail, so there is no need to put them on hold.  

Professional house sitters are the perfect answer to what you should do with your beloved pets when you take a vacation. Your furry family members can all stay in their home. Pets tend to be more comfortable and less stressed when they do not have to go to a boarder. The house sitter will feed, water, and walk them while giving them lots of pets and care.

Alert Your Neighbors

If you have an established rapport with the people in your neighborhood, have a quick chat to let them know that you will be out of town. Tell them the timeframe and ensure they have your current contact information. They will not need to do anything regarding your property – just keep an eye out for anything unusual. If you plan on hiring a house sitting service, inform them so they are not concerned when a stranger begins entering your home while you are away.

Set the Alarm

If you have a home alarm system but rarely use it, now is the perfect time to begin. Brush up on how it works and install the corresponding app on your smartphone to track and monitor the system. You can set up a special visitor code to give to your house sitter and deactivate the code upon your return.

Be Mindful of Social Media

Of course, you want to share your wonderful travels with your family, friends, and followers. This is not a good idea, however, as you are also telling anyone who has access to your content that you are not home. Announcing that your home is unoccupied is almost an invitation to those with nefarious intentions. Even if you hire a house sitting service to ensure your home is safe, it is still unwise to post anything regarding your absence. 

Besides, who wants to be face-to-phone while on vacation? Enjoy your adventures and relax with the people you love. You can curate your content to your heart’s content upon returning home.

Hire a Yard Care Service

Nothing says work like pulling up to your home after a much-needed vacation than snow piled up against the front door or grass that is almost taller than you. If snow is in the forecast, or even if it is not and you live in a climate where it is expected, hire a snow removal service to take care of your driveway, walkways, steps, and sidewalks while you are away. A simple contract stating they will remove any snow should it fall during an agreed-upon timeframe (your vacation dates) will do.

As for yard work in warmer months, hire a professional lawn service or neighborhood teen to mow, edge, and weed for you. Simply hire them to come on the day of the week you normally take care of the yard – no guesswork for this one.

Secure a Ride

If you are flying to your vacation destination, leaving your vehicle uncovered in long-term parking might be easy, but it also might lead to problems. If the temperatures drop while you are away and your car has not been started, you may need a jump. It can be difficult or impossible to find someone to help you, especially if you return after hours. You will need to call a service and shell out extra money. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, your vehicle may succumb to hail or damage from flying debris in a storm.

Take the easier route and hire a car service or schedule a ride share to take you to the airport. This way, you and your fellow travelers will be dropped off and picked up right at the front door. While you will pay for a ride each way, you will not pay for parking or any problems that may arise.

Check Your Cell Service Options

If you are traveling out of the country, contact your cell service provider to determine whether or not you will have seamless connectivity during your travels. Ask if an eSIM card is an option for a better connection upon arriving in-country. Additionally, ask whether you will incur roaming charges or data caps and what they will be. If you have other people on your family phone plan, inquire as to whether they are included, as well.

Prepare Your Travel Documents

Almost any type of travel requires at least one document. To prepare for your upcoming trip, you need to safeguard your important documents. Everything in this list should be handled in three distinct ways: scan it, save it to a cloud service, and keep a paper copy. Here are the documents you should prioritize:

• Drivers License
• Passport
• Extra Passport Photo
• Itinerary
• Health Insurance Card 
• Travel Insurance Documents
• Plane Tickets (also save on the airline’s app)
• Travel Visas

Watch this video for tips on how to ensure you have the necessary travel documents and paperwork for the countries you are traveling to.

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By making plans to keep your home, pets, and yard safe and attended while you are out having fun, you will have peace of mind. Knowing that you have done everything you can to prepare before going on a vacation means you will enjoy it without worry. Happy travels!