Ever dreamed about backpacking around Europe for six weeks?  Preparing for a 3-month relocation across the country? Heading home to spend time with ailing parents?  Spending the summer in at a beach house?

Whatever your reason, leaving your home for an extended period of time is not as simple as it may seem.  Houses need people; they’re constructed for constant use.  When the people disappear, the house will not only get lonely, it will begin to fall apart. 

 Here is a simple checklist of important things to do or arrange for before you leave your house vacant.

 1. Home Visitors

Your house will get lonely without you.  If you have a lawn, window boxes, or houseplants, they will get lonely even quicker. You need to have someone either staying in your home or regularly checking up on your place.

 Hiring a House Sitter can have some serious advantages over a friend dropping by every once in a while.  If you have pets that you are planning on leaving in your home, a house sitter is almost a necessity. Especially dogs and cats, animals can cause a lot of damage when left alone for long periods of time. The other advantages to a house sitter is that they can pick up your mail, water your plants and do the little things that a house needs (like water running through the pipes) without too much of a difficulty.  The disadvantage to have some one stay in your home is that many people feel nervous about handing their house keys over.  Asking someone to stop by once in a while can feel much less invasive than offering up your medicine cabinets to a snoop. 

If you’re going to ask for a regular Check Up on your house, here are a few things to think about. 

• Find a friend to adopt your pets. Birds, hamsters, cats and dogs—they all need to live somewhere else while you’re gone. A kennel will work but if you can find a short-term home for them, both you and the pets will feel much better.
• You probably want to put some sort of hold on your mail. Your plants may die, the house may smell a little, but you don’t want your mailbox to get full if your visitor forgets to stop by. (More about this later)
• Write up a checklist to remind your visitor what needs to be done on each visit.  Some sample things would be: water plants, open windows, flush toilets, run garbage disposal, check to make sure no mail has arrived.

2. Mail the Mail

The United States Postal Service takes your mail very seriously.  For all the jokes that can be made about postal employees, their job requires them to follow a complex set of rules for handling first class mail.  If you will be away from your home for an extended period of time, you have three options. 

Have someone collect your mail.  This is probably your worst option.  Unless you will have someone actually living in your house or you have a mail slot in your front door, you will most likely run into problems.  If the person in charge of picking up your mail forgets for a few days, most mailboxes will become overfull. If this happens, the USPS will send you a “box full” notice. If you are unable to pick up the extra mail that did not fit in your box, it will be returned to the sender.  This is a very unpleasant situation and it is hard to rectify if you are unable to return home in 10 days. 

Place a Vacation Hold if you want the post office to collect your mail.  At the end of the hold you can either pick the mail up at the post office or they will deliver it to your door. Vacation holds may only last for up to 30 days.  If you are planning on traveling for an extended period of time, or if there is any chance your plans might change and extend your trip this may not be the best option.

If you will be away for more than 30 days, you can Temporarily Forward your mail to another address.  This could be your office, a rented box, or a friend or family member’s house.  If you will be staying in one place while you are away, don’t hesitate to have your mail sent to that address. Even if you will be living abroad, the USPS will forward you mail.  This is the best option if you will be away for longer than 30 days.

3. Prescriptions and Pills

This may not seem like a huge deal, but if you find yourself staying away from home longer than anticipated, you’ll need your prescriptions.  It’s common sense to travel with a copy of your prescription, but consider getting an extra month of pills before you leave.  If you find yourself stranded in Paris (wouldn’t that be horrible) don’t let an empty inhaler, bottle of cholesterol medicine, or birth control kit spoil your fun.  Even if your insurance won’t pay for the extra refill, it’s worth it.

4. Bring your Phone

You may not be able to physically bring the phone from your home, but technology has unlocked new options. 

• Many cell phones now work all over the country and even in Europe.  Talk with your provider about unlocking your phone for traveling.
• Voice Over IP (VOIP) is a way to make phone calls over the Internet.  For a flat fee, you can make unlimited phone calls in the US and you can bring your VOIP box anywhere there is a high-speed connection. Even if you are out of the country, by bringing a US VOIP box, you can maintain a US phone number and area code.  You can even forward your cell or home phone calls to this number.

5. Credit Yourself

The days of travelers’ checks are really over. Instead of buying up checks at your local bank that may or may not work in a back alley restaurant in Thailand, your ATM and credit card will work worldwide. Make sure you call your credit card company and your bank before you leave and let them know where you will be traveling. This will ensure that you credit card will work and you’ll never be strapped for cash when an ATM machine is nearby.

6. Plan to pay

The last thing you want is to ruin your credit while having the time of your life on an extended vacation.  If you will be away for more than one billing cycle, pay at least one month in advance. This can be an inconvenience, but you don’t want to be worrying if your checks arrived in time to keep the electricity on.

Spending an extended amount of time away from you home can be an enjoyable and eye-opening experience.  Just make sure to make the necessary arrangements before you leave so coming home will be just as enjoyable.