Properly lock or lock doors and windows

Before leaving the apartment, all windows should be properly closed. In addition, all front doors and side entrance doors should be locked twice.

Make the apartment look occupied

For passers-by, there should be no indication of a longer absence of the residents in the house or apartment. So the shutters should neither be down all the time nor be up all the time. Here, for example, a friendly neighbor can ensure "movement" or a realistic day and night change can be created by connecting to the power grid using a timer or as part of a smart home. In addition to the roller shutters, it is recommended that those who cannot or do not want to spend any additional money can also think about subletting or vacation rentals and thus even earn a few euros themselves. However, if you live in a rented apartment, you must first obtain permission to sublet from your landlord.

Keep mailboxes from overflowing

If the mail accumulates in the mailbox for days or weeks, this is of course also a clear indication for potential burglars that the residents are absent. For this reason, a person of trust should be commissioned with the regular emptying of the mailbox. Alternatively, you can have the mail stored for a fee until you return. The collected mail will then be delivered on the desired date. In order to have the mail stored during the holiday, you must issue a corresponding order at least five days before the start of the holiday.

If you have subscribed to a daily newspaper, you should also ensure that the newspapers do not accumulate unnecessarily. As a rule, you can suspend the subscription free of charge during the holiday or have the newspaper delivered to another loved one while you are on holiday. In addition, it is sometimes possible to have the newspaper forwarded to your holiday destination for a fee. Here you should inquire directly with the newspaper in individual cases what works and what doesn't work.

Social media – be careful with status reports and the like.

If you are on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat, you should make sure that you do not announce your absence from vacation in a way that is obvious to everyone. Such posts and status updates should really only be published in such a way that they can only be seen by relatives and friends.

What to consider in the kitchen

So that you don't leave the apartment backwards after your vacation due to a variety of bad smells, you should take care of a few things in the kitchen before you start your journey:

Sort out perishable foods

All perishable food from the fridge should be used, given away or disposed of before the holiday. If possible, the groceries can of course also be taken on holiday and consumed there.

This applies in particular to opened packages of sausage or cheese, fruit, vegetables and salad. In addition to the refrigerator, other storage locations for perishable food, such as the bread bin or potato box in the kitchen, should also be checked and emptied accordingly so that nothing can rot in there.

Empty trash can

In addition, all rubbish bins in the kitchen and in other rooms in the apartment, such as the bathroom, should be emptied before you go on holiday.

Open the dishwasher

If the dishwasher is not used for a long time, the residual moisture there can lead to mold growth. For this reason, it is advisable to leave the dishwasher door open for the duration of the journey so that the moisture can escape. It is also advisable to thoroughly clean the machine before going on holiday.

Take care of plants

If you share your home with indoor plants, you naturally want to find your green "roommates" healthy and happy after the holiday. You can either provide a trusted person with a second key and watering order or take other precautions for automatic watering.

If a third person is to take care of the plants during the holiday, it is advisable, especially in the case of more sensitive plants, to attach small labels to the pots with the most important information on the respective care.

It is also advisable to keep the indoor plants in one room for the duration of the holiday. So you can be relatively sure that no plant will be forgotten.

Electronical devices

It is advisable to disconnect all electrical devices that do not need to be in operation from the power supply before you leave for the time of your absence. This not only saves electricity, but also protects against lightning strikes. Furthermore, the risk of fire is reduced because each device that is disconnected from the mains cannot overheat.

If you are going away for a longer period of time, you can also consider emptying the fridge and freezer completely. – If necessary, defrost and switch off both devices to save even more electricity. The door or doors should be left open.

If no electricity is required in the apartment at all, you can turn off the main fuse or flip the FI switch before you leave. Alternatively, you can also remove the fuses for individual rooms if electricity is only needed in certain rooms.

Heating

The heating should not be turned off when on holiday in winter. Otherwise, the heating pipes may freeze and burst. In addition, the walls or rooms cool down very quickly in winter, which is why it takes a lot of time and energy to heat up later when you return.

A room temperature of 17°C is ideal when you are away. At 17°C, the rooms can usually be comfortably warmed up again with relatively little effort.

Close the main water tap

To avoid water damage occurring while you are away, you should leave the cold and hot water taps closed.