Tips when leaving home

[omni550]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn54 Just because you cancel the mail and newspaper doesn't mean you won't get it delivered. Have next door neighbor check for these. My neighbor was gone for 2 weeks and had these delivered multiple times despite having them put on hold.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset We have found the post office will redirect your mail and you can set it up online for $1.00 using a credit card which verifies it's really you. I send ours to a relative's house. This is super convenient. The weird part is, there is a delay in starting the redirect, so they stop delivering mail to your house, and then for up to 10 days nothing shows up at the redirected house. When I get back I just adjust the redirect or cancel it, so our mail shows up at home.

Sometimes the mail forwarding works and sometimes it doesn't. Ya takes your chances. This snowbird season (since November) I've been having very poor results with the USPS forwarding. Their 'informed delivery' is worse than useless, as more than 50% of the mail sent to my Michigan address is shown as having no image ...so I don't even know what was sent to me in MI that hasn't arrived at my Florida location.

I appreciate that so much can be done online these days -- paying bills, getting financial statements, etc.

omni

[VanWinkle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset We have found the post office will redirect your mail and you can set it up online for $1.00 using a credit card which verifies it's really you. I send ours to a relative's house. This is super convenient. The weird part is, there is a delay in starting the redirect, so they stop delivering mail to your house, and then for up to 10 days nothing shows up at the redirected house. When I get back I just adjust the redirect or cancel it, so our mail shows up at home.

Thanks for the tip Sunset, I just did this online for our 2 months in Florida and it appears to have worked great. My sister won't have to come pick up the mail, it is going direct to her house.

[Tom52]

I didn't read all the suggestions above but in case it was not mentioned, be sure to install a fresh battery in your thermostat if it is the type that requires one.

Also check that the battery terminals are clean. We just lost our heat a while back, electric baseboard units would not come on. The battery had been recently changed. After cleaning some corrosion from the terminals heat started working again. Would hate to see that happen when away from home in winter.

[DrRoy]

We have timers that turn lights on and off. Sometimes we have a neighbor leave a car on our driveway.

[ouel]

I leave my home in the Philippines several times a year and sometimes for months at a time. Over the years I have developed a checklist. This checklist is invaluable and ensures I won't forget something. Make your checklist and update.