Things to Do Before Vacation: A House Checklist

The most useful list of things to do before vacation is not the one for your suitcase. It is the one for your home. Packing is easy to remember because the bag is right in front of you. The things that actually go wrong on a trip are the quiet ones nobody was assigned: the mail piling up, the plant nobody watered, the cat with an empty bowl, the heating left running for two weeks.

This is the real house checklist before vacation, organised as a countdown to departure day. Work through it once and your home is calm, secure, and ready while you are away. If you want the suitcase side of things, grab our holiday packing list tool separately and keep the two jobs apart.

What should be on a things to do before vacation checklist?

A good vacation checklist covers four jobs: people and pets are cared for, the house is secure, deliveries and services are paused, and someone knows how to reach you. The trick is timing. Some tasks need weeks of notice (booking a house sitter, holding mail), while others only work if you do them on the morning you leave (taking out the trash, setting the alarm). Below the list is grouped by how far out it needs to happen.

Two to three weeks before you leave

This is the planning window. The tasks here involve other people, so they fall apart if you leave them late.

Arrange pet care: book a sitter, kennel, or a friend, and confirm feeding and walking times in writing.
Sort plant watering: line up a neighbour or set up self-watering for anything that will not survive two dry weeks.
Book a house sitter or ask someone to check in if the trip is a long one.
Put a hold on your mail and any newspaper deliveries so nothing signals an empty house.
Pause subscription deliveries (meal kits, grocery boxes, anything perishable that lands on the doorstep).
Check passports are valid (many countries require six months beyond your return date) and start any visa applications.

The week before vacation

Now you confirm documents, money, and the people who matter if something goes wrong.

Check passports, IDs, and travel documents are printed or saved offline.
Buy or confirm travel insurance and save the policy number somewhere you can reach it.
Share your itinerary and an emergency contact with someone staying home.
Tell your bank you are travelling so cards are not frozen abroad.
Refill any prescriptions you will need while away.
Confirm bookings: flights, transfers, accommodation, and that pet sitter one more time.

A few days before you go

The house-prep tasks start here. These make an empty home look lived-in and stop small problems from growing.

Set light timers or smart plugs so the house looks occupied in the evenings.
Adjust the thermostat to an away setting (lower in winter to avoid frozen pipes, higher in summer to save energy).
Turn the water heater to a low or vacation mode.
Do the laundry now so you come home to clean clothes, not a chore.
Charge power banks and sort out adapters and travel chargers.

The day before departure

This is about food, waste, and the last secure-the-house jobs.

Empty the fridge of anything that will spoil, and eat or give away leftovers.
Take out all the trash and recycling so nothing rots while you are gone.
Run the dishwasher and empty it.
Pack, using your holiday packing list so the suitcase job stays separate from the house job.
Set out everything you leave with: keys, wallet, passport, chargers, in one place by the door.

On departure day

The final pass. Walk the house once, top to bottom, and do these last.

Unplug non-essential electronics (TVs, computers, kitchen appliances) to save power and reduce risk.
Check every window and door is locked, including the back and garage.
Take out the last of the trash.
Set the security alarm and confirm anyone checking in has the code.
Lock up, and leave the spare key with your sitter or trusted neighbour, not under the mat.

How do I make sure nobody forgets their job?

This is where a paper list quietly fails. You write "feed the cat" and "hold the mail", then you are the only person who has seen the list, and every reminder lives in your head. On a shared trip, the planning load lands on one person, which is exactly the stress a vacation is meant to remove.

OneHaus is built as a shared brain for the whole household, so the checklist stops being yours alone. Our Holiday Prep Task Pack is one of our ready-made Task Packs: a checklist you turn into real shared tasks, recurring chores, and calendar events in seconds. The difference for a trip is the timing. The Holiday Prep pack works back from your departure date, so "book the sitter" lands three weeks out and "take out the trash" lands the morning you leave. Each item can be assigned to a specific person, so feeding the cat is your partner's job with their own reminder, not a line you have to chase.

Because it is shared, everyone sees the same plan, ticks off their own items, and gets nudged at the right time. No group chat, no whiteboard, no one person holding the whole trip in their head. If you want to see how packs slot into a wider routine, our guide to planning a task walks through the building blocks, and the shared task list app overview shows how assignment and reminders work day to day.

You can start with the Holiday Prep pack on a free trial and adjust any item to fit your home. Set the departure date once and the whole countdown falls into place.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important thing to do before going on vacation?

Securing care for anything living comes first: pets, plants, and any dependents. After that, locking up and stopping mail or deliveries that signal an empty house are the highest-value tasks, because they prevent both spoilage and break-ins.

How far in advance should I start a vacation checklist?

Start two to three weeks out for anything involving other people, such as a pet sitter, held mail, or passport renewals. House-prep tasks like thermostat settings and emptying the fridge belong to the final few days and departure morning.

Should I turn off the water before going on vacation?

For longer trips it is worth shutting off the main water supply to prevent leaks or burst pipes while you are away. For a short trip, setting the water heater to vacation mode and checking for drips is usually enough.

What should I do with the fridge before a long trip?

Empty anything perishable the day before you leave. For trips longer than two weeks, consider emptying the fridge fully, cleaning it, and leaving the door propped open to prevent mould and odours.

Can OneHaus schedule the checklist around my departure date?

Yes. The Holiday Prep Task Pack works back from your departure date, so each task lands on the right day and can be assigned to a specific household member with their own reminder.