Vacation. Here's where Mac fails. I went on vacation and left my Mac unplugged. Dead battery...forever. It doesn't just drain it, it kills it. In rare instances you can get it back up but most just become landfill.

I left water in my iron and I came home to find a trail of ants leading to the water source!

I always turn down the tempature on my water heater. Some models even have a vacation mode.

-Do all laundry - you will have laundry when you come home, so you'll be glad it's all you have.
-Instead of leaving a meal in the freezer, just stick a twenty under the plates or in a pot so you have money for takeout.
-Instead of stopping the mail, I tend to just give my mom the mail key and let her check it while I'm gone.
-Do all the cleaning you can think of before you go - bathroom, kitchen, etc - that way all is right in the world when you return.

Thank you for this list! Boyfriend never believes there's anything to do before going away except pack his suitcase. I've often looked after neighbours' homes when they're away, and although I'm usually only asked to move the post or feed the goldfish I tend to check round the house for anything they might have forgotten. One neighbour nearly always leaves milk in the fridge, and once they'd actually left an open milk bottle in the bedroom - if I hadn't discovered it, they would have had one stinky room when they got back a month later! Another neighbour has a weirdly immaculate house and I knew she wouldn't have left anything out, but it was a good excuse to poke my nose into every room and marvel at the minimalism. She'd even left her teatowels neatly folded with the stripes all on the same side.

Always turn of the water from it's main line. I know many people who have come home to floods because of burst pipes, especially in winter when they can freeze. Also things like ice makers which are automatic could stop working but the water keeps on coming.

I love the flower^^

Empty the grounds from the coffee maker/espresso machine. I can't remember how many times I've forgotten this, only to come back to fungi in glorious bloom.

Even if you remember to do the dishes...don't forget to clean out the sink trap. I forgot to do so one time and the entire apartment and BUILDING stunk from rotting food bits in the drain trap.

Don't just unplug the coffee maker. Clean it out.

It is totally gross to come home after a couple of weeks away and find old coffee grounds in the machine. You start making coffee the next morning (when you are undoubtedly tired and/or jetlagged) and find the old grounds are moldy. Gross. Gross. Gross.

My list:
1) check that the stove is turned off
2) check that the taps are turned off
3) check that the garage door is locked
... can you tell I've had bad experiences with these things? :)

For #1, it's actually best to get a family member or trusted neighbor to pick up your mail and newspapers.

This especially important with the newspapers. A lot of newspapers are outsourcing their work to different delivery companies. The delivery people in some areas often have friends take care of parts of their routes and you may not want this person to know you won't be home. The employer wouldn't have any information on them or know if they are trustworthy (You don't want convicted felons knowing you're not home!)

I worked for the NYT for a while and was annoyed when the delivery guys didn't bother to stop delivering when a customer made a request for them to stop during vacation. The drivers would continue to deliver even though there was a mountain of papers sitting on the driveway! This just screams "We're not home!" to any thieves that pass by!

I once went away for a weekend after having chicken for dinner the night before. The stench of the wastebasket where I'd deposited the chicken bones was horrible. Take out the trash.

My MIL flushes the toilets and puts a slug of bleach in each one.

-Check to make sure your work voicemail and e-mail are set for vacation responses. I can access these from home, and I always check them before I leave -- and one time out of three, I'd forgotten to do that before I left the office.

-Tell your landlord that you'll be gone. At my apartment building, management likes to know if you'll be away for a while. If you'll be out, then they know that they won't be in your way if they want to make any major repairs or improvements. The last time I was out, the maintenance folks came in to do work on the shower above mine. As it required cutting into the ceiling and wall, doing the repairs, then fixing and painting the wall, my vacation was the easiest time for them to get in there. My sister told her landlord once that she was going on a trip for a week, and she came home to brand new granite countertops! Nice surprise! :-)

-If you live in an apartment or condo, turn off your alarm clock. I once left for Thanksgiving weekend and forgot this. My alarm clock was old and didn't shut itself off after an hour like most new clocks do. It went off the ENTIRE weekend. :-O The neighbor, needless to say, was not amused.

My worry free bachelor nomad existence seems so alien to the common experience as read on AT.

In depth analysis of shoe removal, how to clean everything ad infinitum, now a list of things to worry about before they actually happen.

I really love the glimpses into the AT community's life. the overall impression is that you're the sweetest and most responsible folks you would ever want to meet. It's really interesting to see how the other side lives, and to realize that one person's comfort is another's anxiety.

Re: Moldy coffee grounds -- I thought I was the only one who did this!

We do everything on this list except stop the newspaper. Don't people read newspapers online nowadays?

Nothing annoys me more than when I stop the mail, and it still gets delivered. In NYC it seems to be a 50/50 chance if they'll actually stop it.

Turn off the hot and cold water to washer. I do this even though I have the super-duper steel hoses. Make sure someone mows the yard if gone for over two weeks in the summer. Overgrown lawn equals unoccupied. Radio and lights on timers. Alert neighbors and, as I live in a very small town, my local police department. Stop mail and paper. Give pet boarder all contact info including contacts for a trusted person to act in your behalf in case you're out of cell phone range (me in Yellowstone this year). Have good insurance.

@I Love Upstate (I love upstate, too!): The same thing happened to me! I left my previous Mac unplugged for three months while I was living abroad in computer-hostile territory. I thought that was more prudent than leaving it plugged in, but gosh was I wrong. It was never the same again. :\

Oh, AT, you are always right on time... I'm leaving for vacation this Thursday!

Definitely tell the landlord. I tell mine every time I take a longer vacation. Sometimes, they do big maintenance while I'm away. I'd give the manager checks for the rent if I'd be gone during rent time, and when I was in a doorman building, I donated my newspaper to the desk staff.

I've since signed up for online banking and automated or at least gotten online accounts for all my bills. This at least means that A) bills get paid problem free, and b) if I realize I'm about to miss a payment, I can correct it early on.

Because my early vacations were long (my first few years, I was gone for a month at a time- the boss made me take all my time off at once), I'd clean the fridge of ALL perishables (dairy, eggs, veggies). I like having a road cooler of munchies made from my "need to use" stuff. I spare myself road dining for a few days, and am budget sensitive.

Funny part of my perhaps obsessive clean-before-I-go habit: the first time I ever came home to my own place after a vacation. I had cleaned throughly before leaving. I spent some time with my parents, who are clutterbugs. I walked into my house and screamed, "Oh, my God, I've been robbed!" It took me about 10 minutes to realize my house was just clean. I took a nap on the clean couch and treated myself to Thai to get over the shock.

Question for the Mac folks, @crunchies and ILoveUpstate - did you shut your Mac down completely, or did you just let it go to sleep before these long vacays? I have a MacBook & want to make sure this doesn't happen to me. Thanks for the tip!

@Kris0218, I'd be interested in hearing more about the Sudden Mac Death Syndrome, too. I tend to take my laptop everywhere because it's my de-facto brain, but there's bound to be a first time, and if I came home to find it dead... well, I'd lose my mind. Literally.

@Bee T.: "I walked into my house and screamed, "Oh, my God, I've been robbed!" It took me about 10 minutes to realize my house was just clean." I will never stop laughing at this. Never. Mwah!

Baking soda in the drains - keeps funky smells at bay.

Throw out fresh flowers! We left a beautiful bouquet out and came home to a stinky, moldy, wilty mess.

Don't make any online purchases, that way there's less potential that a box full of brand new merchandise will be stolen from your porch.

Make sure the water in the bottom of the dishwasher is COMPLETELY drained and the foodtrap is empty--otherwise, there will be a horrible stench.

I live in a highrise with an on-site manager - so no need to stop the mail, etc as they collect and deliver to my apartment while I'm gone, all I need to do is let them know as I'm heading out the door.

I'm also set up for online billpay - so if I haven't set up a bill payment before leaving, I can always log in via the iPhone and do it wherever I get a signal (generally the airport, in a hotel or even aboard ship or aircraft with WiFi)

Taking the last trash to the garbage room is done between calling the taxi and it's arrival - and I always switch the dishwasher on before locking the door and heading out.

I disagree with the comment above that one should turn off the water at the main line. In the winter some boiler systems require that the water be running in order to function. Thus, at least when it's liable to be below freezing, leaving the water on is a must for some of us. However, even in this situation one could turn it off at the toilet to prevent overflow.

Living in Southern California, I always do an "earthquake check" before I leave on a long vacation. Make sure nothing is precariously tipping or close to an edge.

I like to leave the house really clean so that when I come back I'm happy to be home instead of dreading that I'll have to change the sheets and put out clean towels before I can fall into bed or shower.

Have a cleaning person come the day before you come home.

Close the garage door. We somehow forgot this very important task on our 3 day trip. Luckily no one drove by with an itch to steal.

Thanks a bunch! I'll have to write these down in my travel book so I always have it on hand.

I pour some bicarb soda down all the drains before I go on vacation. Otherwize my old pipes smell a bit if they're not regularly used.

I agree with giving the house a good clean so you come home to clean sheets, squeaky clean bathrooms & no extra laundry.

I also like to cook a couple of meals & stash them in the freezer along with buying a bottle of long life milk for the pantry so I can have a cup of tea when I come home without having to run to the store.

Clean everything, and wash your bedding. Don't put on the quilt or coverlet, let the mattress air out. Oh, and empty the fridge.

a major thing is is easy to miss, like Trish1980 mentioned above, is the alarm clock. i've forgotten before, and even more annoying than mine was a roommate's alarm clock AND her cell phone always going off and ringing.

arrange for a neighbor or a plow service to shovel your front porch, walk and driveway. if you don't want to pay for it, at least ask a friend to drive over to your house and walk around in your snowy driveway and up to the house so it looks like people are coming and going from the house. nothing calls out to a burglar more than untouched snow...three days after a snow storm. plus in some cities you can get a fine (or get charged on your property taxes) if you don't shovel your sidewalk within 24 hours of the snowfall.

@ anitalusi, DO NOT turn off your water main if you have a hot water heater that you cannot turn off. Have you ever burned a pot (i.e. boiled water until it all evaporated and then forgot to turn the stove off so the pot burns?). Imagine a really really big pot, sitting somewhere in the middle of your house, and no one around to remember to turn the heat down. I'd much rather have some soggy belongings and busted-up walls from a burst pipe than a burned-down home.

we went away one summer and came back to a dead fridge. There was a thunderstorm which caused a power outtage. When the power came back on, it was too hard for the fridge to start back up because of the heat and it killed it.

Any suggestions to prevent this from happening? Even if I had someone check on my house could they have prevented the fridge from dying?

For iPhone users, there is an app for that. It's called Packing Pro. Its pretty extensive. Hard to leave anything out. Just gotta check off what you've already done and concentrate on what's left to be done.

And for Mac users, the Apple site has tips on caring for your Lithium batteries while on vacation. I think they say to charge it to about 80 percent and leave in a cool place... something like that...

I'll second...or third...the coffee grounds suggestion! Once we "broke into" a friends' home to "decorate" while they were on their honeymoon. I made a mental list of things always to remember to do when going on a trip, just by looking at the stuff they hadn't done! :) Clean coffee pot was on the list!

I also put some vodka in the toilets (I use it instead of bleach for cleaning...don't worry, it's the cheapy nasty stuff). Close the blinds to keep the heat out (during summer). Turn off the air conditioning/heating. MAKE THE BED! I hate coming home to a messy bed. Run the sink disposal. Put all perishables in the freezer (if possible). Empty the trash.

Move the potted plants towards the wall on my balcony so they aren't ruined if a storm comes along. Put pitchers/bowls out to collect rainwater.

Related to your comment, roygbiv, if you don't have an automated icemaker it can be hard to tell if a power outage defrosted your freezer (if it refroze successfully when power was restored).

To make sure your frozen food wasn't compromised, leave a glass of ice cubes in the freezer. If it's solid when you return, your frozen stuff thawed enough to be thrown out for safety on your return.

bepsf: you mentioned switching the dishwasher ON as you walk out door but I could never go on vacation leaving any kind of appliance running. I would worry about it the entire time!

susan54, I think what bepsf means is that he puts all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher when he heads out for a trip, so when he returns he has clean dishes (including the last glass that he drank water from). Once the dishes are clean the cycle is done, the dishwasher is automatically off - at least the modern ones.

@Bee T.

"I took a nap on the clean couch and treated myself to Thai to get over the shock." ROFLMAO! This is even funnier than your mistakenly thinking you'd been robbed!

I always empty my dehumidifier and turn it off right before I walk out the door. I hate the thought of having a large amount of water just sitting in my apartment.

I also clean my apartment top to bottom before leaving. It makes coming home so much better.

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who has had moldy coffee grinds.

Put timers on a few lamps, especially in a bedroom and the living room or kitchen.

Give a trusted neighbor keys or garage door entry code in case of an emergency and ask her to keep an eye out for stray newspapers, mail or flyers left on the front door; a dead-giveaway that no one's home.

Make sure all windows and doors are locked. Allow enough time to do a walk-through your home to check everything on your list before leaving.

Do not allow any appliance to run while you are away. Even modern dishwashers have been known to malfunction in the middle of a cycle. Do the dishes and put them away the night before. Same with the trash. Use a disposable plate and/or coffee cup for coffee and breakfast, if necessary, before leaving and toss it in a proper receptacle on the way out.

If you are driving, don't forget to check tire pressure and oil a day or two before leaving. Fill up tank the day before.

If arranging for a car service to the airport, ALWAYS call the dispatcher the night before to confirm the pick-up address and time of arrival. And, then confirm again the morning of...dispatchers often change shifts.

All of this stuff is pretty-much common sense. The most important thing is to be organized, allow enough to get things done and leave nothing (that is in your control) to chance. Waiting until the last minute is asking for big-time trouble; a hard lesson I have learned.

If you live in a single family home, do not turn off air conditioning or heat before leaving, as someone suggested earlier. (This may not be an issue in a multi-unit dwelling.)

If you live in a hot climate and travel during the summer months, like I do, you will come home to a blast furnace. In a cold climate when you travel during the winter, you could come home to a burst pipe.

And, the furnace will have to work harder and expend more more energy to raise -- or lower -- the temperature to a comfortable level.

That's why a programmable thermostat is important to have in a single family detached home. There is usually a setting for "vacation mode" that will lower the temperature appropriately.

Also, if you are driving to your vacation destination, remember to have a I seperate spare set of keys. My boyfriend drove four hours up north with family, lost his keys. His dad drove him half way to meet me with the spare set. Then they drove back to his car, then had to drive all the way back home seperately. A lot of unneccesary driving if you are unprepared.

I bet it would have cost less to get a locksmith than for all that driving. Hindsight is 20/20...

Sadly enough I do most of what is getting mentioned even before I go on a short vacation. Planning a long weekend trip next month and already freaking on what I need to have done before I go. I never stop mail - had a bad experience with getting it to be delivered again without many complaints. It is much easier to get someone to check it.

If you are having someone check in on pets, make sure you leave the vets number and address, as well as emergency funds (just in case!) and necessary supplies (food, litter, treats).

For those of us that live in older apartments, make sure your dishwasher is not running. Mine constantly gets stuck mid-cycle, and it's really not that old. Same goes for the toilet! I had been away for about 10 days to find out that it had been running since it's last flush - not good and a terrible waste.

make sure no one forgot to flush the toilet

Scan and email yourself copy of passport, plane tickets/confirmation and traveler checks number sequence ... in case of loss or robbery (and delete upon return). If too cautious about emailing, I usually leave copies of these on my desk and tell my key master neighbor about my vacation plans.

If you can't turn off the water at the main (condo or apartment dwellers) then turn off the individual feeds to your toilets and your washing machine. As a remodeler, I can't tell you how many times a burst washing machine line flooded an entire house in a matter of a day. Incidentally, have all your feed lines changed to braided steel. They will last 10X longer and there is very little worry about them bursting.