Know Before You Go: Preparing Your House for Vacation

Dale Lavine — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 14:03:49 +0000

What to plan for when preparing your house for vacation.

The weather is warming up, the trees are regaining their green, and the kids — if you have any — are hauling toward spring break at breakneck speed. For some families, that means vacation to a distant destination, like a certain mouse-sponsored amusement park, perhaps? For others, vacation means a quick road trip to visit in-laws or other nearby loved ones. Either way, vacation of any kind means leaving your home for a number of days. And while smart technology has made taking care of ourselves and our homes easier, there are still a few things you need to do manually when preparing your house for vacation.

Clear fridge, full bellies, can’t lose.

We’re not recommending you eat everything in your fridge before making a mad dash for departure, but food doesn’t stay fresh forever. Milk, meat, produce, and other food items that go bad quickly should be consumed, composted, or straight up canned if you’re not going to be home for an extended period of time. Imagine coming back from one tropical ecosystem to find another green ecosystem growing in your fridge. *Shudders.*

Keep it clean.

If you’re anything like us, you know that there’s nothing quite as comforting as coming home to a clean home. After all, the last thing anyone wants to do is drag their luggage inside and lose it among a field of laundry. Worse still, walking into the stench of week-old dishes. If that sounds like something you’d like to avoid, consider the following:

Load, run, and unload your dishwasher. When it’s done, leave it cracked to let the steam escape and help the remaining water evaporate completely.
Don’t forget the load in the washer. Look, who doesn’t let the dishes sit overnight every now and then to help get the gunk up? Unfortunately clothes don’t work the same way. Once they’ve been washed, you’re going to want to throw them in the dryer or hang them up to dry ASAP. Otherwise you’re looking at coming back to a moldy, stinky pile of wet clothes.
Wipe it down, vacuum it up. You might be on vacation, but bugs and rodents might see your empty home as a hotel. To keep these uninvited guests out, consider wiping down all the countertops and vacuuming up any debris in high-traffic areas.

Leave a light on. Turn everything else off.

We’re not huge fans of waste around here, but when it comes to keeping your home and your belongings safe, leaving a light on is one of the best ways to keep ne’er-do-wells off your property. A single light in the living room or bedroom should suffice, but if you’re running a high-tech home you might consider scheduling different lights to turn on and off at various times while you’re gone for that extra measure of safety.

As for everything non-essential? Turn it off. Things like fridges, freezers, and pet feeders can stay on. Things like game consoles, microwaves, ceiling fans, coffee machines, and wax warmers can be turned off or unplugged to temporarily reduce your footprint (and your utility bill).

While you’re at it, don’t be afraid to turn off your thermostat if the house is going to be completely empty. Unless your pets are staying back, who’s the A/C running for?

Finishing touches.

One of the simpler recommendations we have for preparing your house for vacation is to wash your sheets, pillow cases, and comforter. Once those are dry, make your bed. Why? Wouldn’t you rather crawl into a clean bed than one that’s been sitting in your sweat and skin cells for upwards of a week or more? Your mattress may not live up to a hotel mattress, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give yourself something to look forward to when you get back.

While smart technology has made taking care of ourselves and our homes easier, there are still a few things you need to do manually when preparing your house for vacation.

The post Know Before You Go: Preparing Your House for Vacation appeared first on Cardinal Financial.

Cardinal Financial’s 30-Day Spring Cleaning Challenge

Cardinal Financial — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 12:00:34 +0000

A checklist with a challenge is our kind of checklist.

Emerge from winter’s icy grasp with arms (and windows) wide open. When you feel that first warm day, who doesn’t get bit by the cleaning bug? There are so many ways you can embrace the warmth of spring in your home when you use our spring cleaning checklist!

Kitchen

Day 1: Anti-stink the sink

Cleaning the sink sounds like an oxymoron, but believe it or not, the place where your dishes get clean gets dirty itself. Take an old toothbrush (or a new one designated for home cleaning), some baking soda, and a little bit of lemon juice and go to town on that sink—especially getting in the nooks and crannies of the drain opening/garbage disposal. Wipe down the faucet as well. Be sure to wipe the whole area dry so there’s no standing water.

Day 2: Reclaim your refrigerator

To deep clean your fridge, remove all food (it might be best to do this right before you go grocery shopping) and wipe down the inside with a good multipurpose spray. Then wipe it dry and put everything back neatly. Throw a box of fresh baking soda in there too to absorb the odors, but remember to replace it every 30 days. Don’t forget to wipe clean the outside of the fridge, including the handles.

Day 3: Home on the range (and oven)

Give your oven some lovin’. Clean off all that baked-on food that’s on the inside. Then, wipe down the stovetop (range). Also, wipe down the vent/hood and the area surrounding your stovetop because, though you might not notice it, oil splatters everywhere while you cook.

Day 4: Do the (micro)wave

For many families, the microwave is a major mess zone in the home. Spray the inside with a multipurpose spray or warm vinegar, let that sit for a few minutes, and wipe clean. Use a scrubby sponge on particularly tough baked-on stains. Remember to also wipe clean the microwave facing and handle too!

Day 5: Backsplash and baseboards

Think about it: every time you spill something, there’s a splash. If you spill something on the counter, your backsplash catches it. If it’s on the floor, it’s your baseboards that are in the splash zone. Give these a nice scrub and wipe dry. Your kitchen is going to sparkle!

Bedrooms

Day 6: Air it out

Though you might want to do this throughout the whole house, airing out the bedrooms is especially important. Since the bedroom is where you sleep, it just feels like a groggy place. Get some fresh air in there and open up the windows!

Day 7: Don’t let the bed bugs bite

Most people recommend you wash and change your bedding once a week, but we all know it doesn’t happen that often. Now is a good time to wash the sheets that have probably been on your bed all winter and maybe swap them with some different, clean sheets. Try sheets that are made with more satin and less cotton to keep you cool in the warmer months.

Day 8: Bye-bye monsters

Oh yes. Don’t think you get to continue ignoring that mess under your bed. Now’s the time to pull everything out from under there, sort through it, put it where it belongs, and actually vacuum under your bed. Don’t put it off any longer. Remember, a clean home is a happy home!

Day 9: Giving back feels good

Go through your clothes and sell and/or donate what you haven’t worn in the past year. Donating helps clothe the needy while selling some clothing can give you a little spending money to update your wardrobe with a couple items.

Day 10: Give your clothes a 180

Rotate out your winter clothes and rotate in your summer clothes. When you store them away, make sure you’re using a tightly closed container so that bugs and moisture don’t creep in.

Bathrooms

Day 11: Toilet time

Scrub the inside of the toilet bowl, wipe down the seat, and wipe down the seat lid and the tank lid. Get in the crevices around the hinges of the seat and lid too. Don’t forget to clean the outside of the bowl as well as around the base of the toilet. You’d be surprised how dirty the outside gets too!

Day 12: Give it a good spray

Clear off the counter around your bathroom sink and spray it down. Also use a glass cleaner (like good ol’ Windex) and spray down the mirror too for a squeaky-clean reflection. This area is prone to lots of water and toothpaste splatter.

Day 13: Scrub-a-dub the tub

The bathtub/shower is a big task. This one truly requires its own day. As you spray and scrub, pay attention to the shower head, faucet, and drain. Take that cleaning toothbrush we talked about and get into the cracks and grout where mold and soap scum love to hide. Re-caulk in the places that need it. When you’re done, wipe it dry. In fact, wiping your bath/shower dry after each use keeps it clean longer.

Day 14: Curtain call

One could argue that this should be part of day 13, but we’ve given the shower curtain its own day because it entails shopping. If you have a shower curtain, we have two tasks for you: 1. Buy a new shower curtain liner. They are incredibly cheap and easy to install. Truthfully, you should buy a new one at least once a month. As for your decorative shower curtain, throw it in the washing machine (read the tag first!) or, if it’s moldy beyond repair, go out and buy a new one! This is a simple way to give your bathroom a visual facelift.

Day 15: Show your towels some love

Washing your towels should be a routine, but now is a good time too. While you’re out there buying a new shower curtain, you may want to grab some matching towels, especially if yours have lost their softness.

All rooms

Day 16: Dust your little heart out

Some cleaning tasks can apply to all rooms: dusting is one of them. Dust your ceiling fan blades, window sills, walls and corners, trims and moldings, knick knacks, frames, bookcases and shelves—the works! Dusting is so easy; it just takes time. But afterward, your home will feel so fresh.

Day 17: Shake it off

Take your small rugs and shake them out outside. Let them sit for a couple of hours in the sun. You can do this with your curtains too. Sun-warmed, they come back in the house smelling like spring.

Day 18: Channel your inner Mrs. Doubtfire

Remember that scene with the broom? That’s what we’re talking about. Don’t be shy—have fun with it! Sweep and mop all hard-surface floors. Be sure to get in the corners where dirt and dust like to build up.

Day 19: Break out the Dust Buster

Vacuum all carpet (and bigger, vacuum-able rugs). Spring is as good a time as any to actually move your furniture and vacuum underneath the sofa, bed, dresser, etc. All year you vacuum around your furniture—make this the one time of the year you get every crumb underneath it!

Day 20: Get organized

Go to your local home goods or hardware store and buy some home organization tools. Now that everything in your home is nice and clean, it’s a good time to organize your things. Try buying some plastic totes, drawer and closet organizers, and hooks to start. Grab a permanent marker and some masking tape or sticky notes and label away! At this time you might want to create a system for keeping your home organized for months to come, but make sure it’s sustainable and practical for your family’s needs.

Entryways

Day 21: How a-door-able

Let’s face it, your home’s entryways probably had the hardest winter. Wipe down both sides of the doors that lead out of your house, paying close attention to the kick plates and thresholds.

Day 22: Welcome to our home

Shake out your welcome mat or give it a good power spray with the hose. Your method might be different depending on the material your rug is made of. This could also be a good time to replace your welcome mat—get something fun and seasonal! Welcome mats take a beating in the winter (think about every time you stomp off the snow, salt, and slush).

Day 23: Wipe all over

Your entryway is dirtier than you think! Take a closer look and you’ll see this area tends to get a lot of splatter, like muddy water or salt residue. Wipe clean the surrounding floor, baseboards, and walls.

Day 24: Show your shoes some love

Clean your shoe rack. Whether that’s a tray, a box, or whatever else you may use to catch the dirt under your shoes, time to give it a proper cleaning. (You may even decide to replace it altogether.)

Day 25: So long, winter!

Say see you later to winter! Pack away all your cold weather gear. Boots, hats, scarves, gloves, winter coats, and the like can go into storage until next year. Time to break out the light jackets, sandals, and sun hats!

Outdoor

Day 26: Spruce it up

Pull weeds. Prune dead leaves. Plant new flowers. Decorate your outdoor space with some potted plants and decorative side tables. Make your outdoor space come alive! If you have kids, this can be a fun day to spend with them outside getting your hands dirty and breathing in some fresh air.

Day 27: I’ve got the power

Power wash your driveway, sidewalk, and walkway. You’ll be surprised how much dirt and grime you lift up. While you’re at it, you may want to power wash the sides of your house too. And for those pesky oil stains on the driveway, pour on some cola, scrub, and rinse—this trick works wonders!

Day 28: Gutters and shutters

Inspect your gutters, shutters, and other outdoor things that are easy to forget. Even if you cleaned your gutters in the fall, they might have caught some branches and other debris brought down by winter’s storms.

Day 29: The grass is greener where you water it

Mow the lawn and weed whack along the fence line just to tidy up the yard. Edging the driveway, walkway, and sidewalk is an extra step that makes your grass look clean and orderly too. And if you’re really in the spring cleaning spirit, water your lawn for a few minutes to make it extra green.

Day 30: Trim those trees

Now that it’s spring, you can clearly see which tree branches didn’t make it through winter. Trim any dead tree branches that didn’t bud to keep them growing healthy and strong (this goes for shrubs and bushes too). You’re going to have the handsomest home on the block!

Ready to take on Cardinal Financial’s 30-Day Cleaning Challenge? Share photos of your progress with us on social media!

The post Cardinal Financial’s 30-Day Spring Cleaning Challenge appeared first on Cardinal Financial.

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