Packing your suitcase is only half the preparation. Spending ten minutes walking through your apartment before your summer vacation can save electricity, save food, and avoid minor annoyances upon your return. A fixed order is particularly practical: kitchen, electricity, water, windows, mail, plants.
This checklist is deliberately kept practical for everyday use. It does not replace security technology, but it helps to ensure you don't forget the most common things at the last moment.
1. Check the fridge and supplies
Everything that will expire during your absence should be eaten, frozen, or given away before you leave. Open dairy products, cut fruit, salads, and leftovers are typical candidates. If you are away for a longer period, it is also worth taking a quick look in the vegetable drawer and lunch box.
If you leave the fridge on, you shouldn't let it run empty and unnecessarily cold. If it is almost empty anyway, a quick basic cleaning can be useful. For longer trips and an empty appliance, switching it off is only recommended if the door remains open and the freezer compartment is completely defrosted.
2. Really switch off power guzzlers
Televisions, game consoles, printers, chargers, coffee machines, and workstation equipment usually do not need to remain in standby mode during your vacation. The easiest way to do this is with switchable power strips. Important: Only disconnect the refrigerator, freezer, router, alarm system, aquarium, or smart home technology if it is clear that none of these will be needed.
A quick tour is especially worthwhile for devices that show small lights or keep power supply units warm. This is exactly where unnecessary base consumption often hides.
3. Check water, washing machine, and dishwasher
Do not leave the washing machine and dishwasher half-full and closed while damp. Better: let the machine finish its cycle, check the filters, and leave the door ajar. For longer absences, it may make sense to shut off water supplies, provided this is easily possible with your own appliances.
The kettle, coffee machine, and flower vases should also be emptied. Standing water is not a good idea in summer, especially not on the balcony or terrace.
4. Check windows, balcony, and shading
Windows and balcony doors should be closed. Tilted windows are neither good burglary protection nor sensible during a thunderstorm. External shading, if available, can help keep the apartment from heating up. Movable balcony furniture, parasols, and light decorations should be stowed away securely against the wind.
For very sunny rooms, it may be enough to set curtains or blinds so that no direct midday sun falls on sensitive furniture, plants, or technology.
5. Arrange mail and parcel deliveries
A full mailbox is almost never helpful. For short trips, a trusted person who removes mail and advertising material is often enough. For longer absences, a vacation mailbox or mail forwarding order may be useful. The only important thing is: do it in good time, not on the day of departure.
6. Take care of plants, but don't breed mosquitoes
Water plants well beforehand, take small pots out of direct sunlight, and group thirsty plants together. Test watering aids beforehand, not just immediately before departure. Saucers should not be left full of water permanently, because standing water can attract mosquitoes in summer.
7. Do not make your absence unnecessarily visible
Vacation photos do not need to be posted publicly in real-time. Also, shutters that remain completely closed for days, an overflowing mailbox, or stacks of parcels in front of the door can make your absence visible. A person who occasionally checks that everything is okay is often the simplest solution.
8. Clarify keys and emergency contact
Only leave a spare key with a trustworthy person, not under a mat, flower pot, or in the mailbox. It is also useful to have a quick emergency contact for neighbors in case water damage, a storm problem, or a parcel problem is noticed.
9. Dispose of trash
Organic and residual waste should be taken out before departure. Even packaging with food residues, empty cans, cat food packaging, or damp cleaning cloths can become unpleasant after a few warm days.
10. Make the kitchen odor-proof
Sink, drain, coffee machine, dishwasher, and trash can are the usual sources of odor. A quick check is enough: don't leave anything damp lying around, no food scraps in the strainer, hang dish towels up to dry.
11. Pack documents and medication
Passport, e-card, insurance, booking documents, chargers, and travel first-aid kit should not be searched for on the last morning. If you are traveling with children, it is best to put everything in a fixed place and check off the list together.
12. Final tour: the 60-second list
- Stove and oven off?
- Coffee machine unplugged?
- Windows and balcony door closed?
- Trash taken out?
- Mail arranged?
- Plants taken care of?
- Keys, wallet, mobile phone, documents with you?
After that, no more checking rounds. Check thoroughly once, close the door, start your vacation.
Caution
- Travel checklist: What do you need on vacation?
- Checklist for the Travel First-Aid Kit
- Planning summer holidays 2026
- Saving electricity 2026: secret cost guzzlers
- Power strip for saving electricity
- Storing food correctly in heat
- Clean refrigerator
- Watering flowers while on vacation
- Higher burglary protection for the household
Sources and further information
- oesterreich.gv.at: Preventing burglary
- Federal Ministry of the Interior: Burglary prevention
- klimaaktiv: Identifying secret power guzzlers
- Austrian Post: Vacation mailbox
Article image: AI-generated symbolic image.
