Turn your air conditioner up in summer. You
want to reduce your bills, but you may have to keep the house from
getting too hot to protect your pets and electronics.
Turn your heat down or off in spring or fall.
Be sure to leave the house warm enough in the winter. You may want
to reduce your bills, but you may need to keep the house from getting
too cold to protect your pets and water pipes.
Leave shades or drapes as you normally do.
Plug a cheap radio into a timer so you can have
some noise in the house during part of the day.
Lock all doors and windows including basement
& garage.
Unplug electronic items, such as, your computer
to protect them if you have a storm while you’re gone. Remember
to unhook your phone line from the modem. Unfortunately, you may
have to leave it all hooked up if your computer is your only answering
machine. Make sure your surge protectors are properly installed.
Pack the car inside the garage, with the door
down, so people driving by won't find out you’re leaving.
Disconnect the garage door. Unplug it if you
can, don't pull the fuse for the garage door until you verify the
fuse isn't hooked up to something that needs to stay on, such as,
your refrigerator or maybe a freezer in the garage.
