The following tips can help ensure that an extended holiday or sabbatical will be free from stress on the home front. Mail forwarding, bill payment, yard care, pet sitting, and finding a trusted house sitter or house watcher are some of the essential keys to peace of mind while away on an extended vacation.
Mail Forwarding
If no important documents are expected, one option is to have the post office simply hold the mail. Another option involves having the house watcher or sitter collect the mail. The vacationer can then review it with that person by phone or email. Any important documents can be forwarded to the vacation address.
The United States Postal Service offers a vacation forwarding service, best used for vacations longer than six weeks. Called a “Temporary Change of Address,” this service allows customers to supply a vacation forwarding address for a specified period of time. Start this service by filling out an online form or a paper form at the post office.
Bill Payment
To ensure that bills are paid on time, one can prepay all utility bills (electric, phone, cable, water, etc.) to cover the length of the vacation prior to departure. Setting up regular online bill payments for all such services also takes care of this. The majority of service providers offer this service.
Some service providers will allow customers to put an account on hold while on extended vacation. This is only feasible if the service will not be used at all while a person is away. Often, though, the service fees required to stop and restart the service make this option not worthwhile.
Yard Care
For the person who is a stickler for landscaping, or who lives in a neighborhood requiring certain yard standards, finding a yard care professional to care for the outside area while away is a necessity. This is especially true in the growing season, when a lawn can go from perfect to a perfect jungle in a week or less.
However, for others, finding a yard care professional might not be necessary. This depends on where a person lives and the time of year. Particularly during the colder times, it’s often surprising how little maintenance a yard requires, and how little it takes to get it back in shape upon returning.
Pet Sitters
If the pets aren’t coming on vacation, find a place that will make both them and the owner comfortable. Dogs are often easier to place with a person or people who already have a dog, since the “dog lifestyle” is familiar. Cats tend to not get along well with other unfamiliar cats, but are usually much more low maintenance than dogs.
Telling as many potentially trustworthy pet sitters about vacation plans as far in advance as possible expands the chances of having one volunteer to watch Fido. Offering to pay a fee for this service is a polite incentive. Having a backup plan — another person, a professional pet sitter, or a kennel — is helpful should plans go amiss.
House Sitter or House Watcher
A house sitter lives at the house while its owners are away. The trustworthy house sitter can pick up mail, water plants, care for pets, and resolve any emergencies. Some house sitters will require a payment for this service. Many house sitter services can be found online, such as HouseCarers.
A house watcher is a trusted acquaintance who checks on the house regularly while the owners are away. The house watcher can provide many of the same services as the house sitter, but may not respond as quickly to emergencies.
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