Don’t Forget These Home Organizing Tips As You Prep for Vacation

As you prepare for your vacation, it can be hard to focus on what you’ll be leaving behind as you look forward to the exciting destinations ahead. However, taking some time to put these home organizing tips into action prior to your trip can save you a lot of headaches upon your return!

Security is Key

The number one task on your to do list before leaving for a vacation should be ensuring that your home is secure. Below are some tips from our NYC Professional Organizer to help you as you make security a priority:

• Don’t Make It Obvious that You’re Away: If you will not be having someone stay at your home while you’re away, take some measures to hide the fact that you’re not home. Use timers to automatically turn on and off lamps in your home and/or a radio or television. Have the post office hold your mail or ask a neighbor to pick it up for you so it doesn’t pile up in the box.
• Establish an Emergency Contact: Before you leave, give your contact information to a trusted neighbor and ask them to please get in touch with you in case of emergency. You can also ask them to check on the house and occasionally park their car in your driveway so your house doesn’t appear empty.
• Secure the Perimeter: Do a sweep of the house before you leave, locking all doors and windows and activating any security systems.
• Label Your Luggage: Place Luggage tags on your bags with your name and number so you can be reached if the bags are lost. Leave off your address though as it may present a security threat.
• Relocate Garage Door Openers: Take garage door openers out of your vehicle and put them in a safe location before you leave. When in the vehicle, whether at the airport or in your driveway, they make your home an easy target for break-ins.

Efficiency Proficiency

Making sure your home is operating at optimal efficiency while you’re away cuts down on your energy bills, helps you stay green and avoids potential issues.

• Adjust your thermostat to save energy by programming it to run the air conditioning (or heat in the colder months) as little as possible.
• Unplug your appliances and electronics – this will help you save energy and prevent damage should a thunderstorm hit.
• Turn off the water to your home, if possible. If a leak should occur, even a small one, it can cause quite a bit of damage over several days.
• Use up or throw away any perishable food items and be sure to empty all of your trash cans prior to your departure.

Welcome Home!

Finally, make an effort to declutter your home before your trip. Using some of these home organizing tips to get everything in order may take a bit of time

• Return everything to its rightful place before you leave. When you walk into an organized home after a long day of traveling, you’ll be glad you took the extra 10 minutes to put away those clothes and clear your kitchen counters.
• Stock fresh linens and make your bed with clean sheets.
• Make a menu and grocery list before you leave to make stocking up when you return easy and stress free.

What About the Office?

Whether you work from home or in a separate office, these office organizing ideas can help you prepare as you leave for vacation and reduce the stress once you return to the office.

• If you work from home or are the only one in your office space, the home organizing tips above for security and efficiency can help you ensure that your office is safe while you’re away.
• Take the time to file any outstanding paperwork and clear your desk so you return to a clean slate.
• Clear all of the emails from your inbox, filing them accordingly or forwarding them to others who will be filling in while you’re out. This way you’ll reduce your chance of missing something before you leave and you’ll know that everything in your inbox when you return is new.

We hope these home and office organizing ideas help you as you prepare for your vacation and we wish you safe travels!