There’s a specific kind of anxiety that kicks in about twenty minutes into a long drive. Did I lock the door? When did I last check the smoke alarm?
Most of it is nothing. But occasionally it’s something – and the problem with home safety is that the things most likely to go wrong are also the easiest to forget about entirely until you’re two hours down the motorway with no real option to turn back.
A quick check before you leave doesn’t need to be a full inspection. It takes ten minutes and saves considerably more than that in worry – and, in the most extreme cases, a lot worse than worry.
Here’s what’s actually worth doing.
Contents
The Obvious Stuff (That Still Gets Missed)
Unplug appliances you don’t need running – toaster, kettle, phone chargers, the TV if nobody’s home. They’re not likely to cause a problem, but there’s no reason to leave them on and some small reason not to.
Washing machines and dishwashers are special cases, as they’re a common cause of home floods, and a flooded kitchen is a miserable thing to come back to.
Check the hob. Check it again. Lock the back door, the front door, any ground floor windows you might have left open. These sound obvious because they are, but they’re also the things we consistently forget in the rush to actually leave.
The Checks That Actually Matter
Beyond the basics, there are a handful of things worth making a deliberate habit of before any time away from home – even just a night or two.
Smoke and heat alarms. Do you know where yours are? Do you know when the batteries were last changed? A working smoke alarm is the single most effective thing in a home for early fire detection – but only if it’s actually working. Test it before you leave. If it’s been more than a year since the battery was changed, change it now rather than adding it to the mental list.
For anyone who hasn’t thought about upgrading, wireless fire alarms are a strong choice. They interconnect without cabling, so if one triggers, they all trigger – useful in larger homes where a kitchen alarm might not be audible from an upstairs bedroom, and increasingly the standard for new builds for exactly that reason.
Your fire extinguisher. If you have one (and more households should) check the pressure gauge is in the green before you leave. A fire extinguisher that’s lost pressure is about as useful as not having one at all. If you don’t have one and you’ve been meaning to get one, a small kitchen extinguisher is genuinely worth the investment. Most home fires start in the kitchen, and the first two minutes matter more than anything that happens after.
A Few Things People Forget Entirely
- The fridge and freezer. If you’re going away for more than a few days, clear out anything that will turn while you’re gone. Coming home to a fridge full of spoiled food is a minor disaster, but it’s an avoidable one.
- Lights and timers. A house that’s visibly empty for days is more attractive to opportunists than one that shows signs of life. A plug-in timer on a lamp costs almost nothing and does a reasonable job of making the place look occupied.
- Tell someone. A neighbour, a friend, a family member – someone who knows you’re away and can keep a loose eye on the place. Not a formal arrangement, just a heads up. It costs nothing and is worth more than most of the other things on this list.
Your Checklist
Run through this before you leave — it takes under ten minutes.
Appliances & utilities
- Unplug toaster, kettle, phone chargers
- Switch off the TV and any other standby devices
- Don’t leave the washing machine or dishwasher running
Security
- Front door locked
- Back door locked
- Ground floor windows closed and latched
- Timer set on at least one lamp
Fire safety
- Test smoke/heat alarms
- Check fire extinguisher pressure gauge is in the green
Before a longer trip (2+ days)
- Clear the fridge of anything that won’t keep
- Let a neighbour or friend know you’re away
Safe & Sound
Your weekend away should be all about taking a break from everything, not worrying about your house. So, run through the list once, cover all the bases, and actually enjoy yourself without that nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something important. Because most of the time you haven’t. Ten minutes before you leave is all you need for peace of mind.