Winter break is fast approaching and that means a solid three to four weeks off for a lot of college students, which is amazing. It’s a well-deserved break from all the cramming for finals and allows for a good amount of time back home with family and friends. But if you are currently living in an off-campus apartment, there are a few things you’ll want to do before you leave your apartment empty for that long. It will help you save money and keep your apartment safe while you’re gone.
If you have a longer winter break than most, you may want to consider getting your mail forwarded to your parents’ house. You definitely don’t want to fall behind on any bills or important school info that might get mailed to you. It’s simple enough to do online and may save you from paying late fees, or even getting your credit score damaged.
If your refrigerator is full, invite friends over and empty it. Eat as much as you can…you can do it! Seriously, though, your refrigerator will run harder when it is full to keep food cold, which uses more electricity. This, of course, will cause a bigger electric bill. Additionally, all that food is going to go bad and when you return to school, you’ll have to deal with a stinky mess. Nobody needs to start the new semester that way.
Turn your heat down! Yes, it will be chilly when you come back to school, however, you will be throwing money out of the window by keeping your place heated while you are gone. If nobody is living there, then there is no need to run the heat at its normal temperature. Keeping it around 50-55 degrees is enough to save you money, but also get it back up to a normal temperature quickly upon your return.
This is a no-brainer but you’d be surprised by how often we forget to do it…turn off all lights and unplug them. This is particularly crucial for winter break because that’s when we decorate with lights the most. These lights often touch other surfaces like trees, curtains, etc. To avoid a possible fire, this should be at the top of your list of things to do and also the last thing you check for. So, once you’re done packing, do one last walk-through before exiting.
Lastly, if you live in a place with brutal winters, you will want to turn the water off to your apartment. If water stays in the pipes and freezes while you are gone, you will return to an awful surprise. Pipes can explode, or simply stop functioning. You’ll have to call maintenance, and possibly pay for it to be fixed under certain circumstances. You don’t need that in your life. It’s a simple fix before you leave. If you aren’t sure how to do it, check with your property manager first to see what they recommend. Some properties recommend letting the faucets drip and opening up the cabinet doors instead. They will appreciate your asking – it shows your responsibility!
Hopefully, some of these will be common sense. However, since this is most likely your first apartment, then there may be some things on this list you would have never considered. Nobody wants to come back to school to a broken or messy apartment. Take a few moments to make sure everything is squared away before you leave. You will thank yourself upon your return. Good luck and enjoy your time off!