The end of semester is undoubtedly one of the most stressful times of the school year. Between take-homes and final exams, it feels like there’s a never-ending list of tasks to complete. For many students, the end of the semester also means leaving Montreal, which means closing up your apartment. Whether you’re headed back to your hometown or taking a trip over the break, you’ll want to make sure your place is ready to sit empty for a few weeks. Here are five things you should make sure you do to your apartment before heading out of the city.
-
Clean out your fridge
The last thing anyone wants is to come home to a house that smells like rotting food. Before leaving for the holidays, eat up your perishables and take the time to go through your fridge and get rid of old food. While you’re at it, make sure you take out the garbage before leaving too.
-
Do your dishes
To carry on with the cleaning theme, double check your house for used dishes. If you’ve been eating in your room or anywhere outside of the kitchen, you might find there are still dirty dishes hanging around. Round them up before you leave so that way they don’t smell by the time you come home.
-
Unplug your appliances
“Phantom electricity” is when appliances are turned off but still using electricity. So, even though you’re not using your toaster or coffee maker, if they’re still plugged into the wall, they will still be using a small amount of energy. To save money on your energy bill and do your bit for the environment, make sure to unplug all your appliances before heading out.
-
Take down your tree
If your house is looking festive, it might seem unfit to take your decorations down before the holidays happen. However, it’s something you should definitely consider doing before heading home, especially if you and your roomies picked up a real Christmas tree. According to the Dural Christmas Tree Farm, a tree will dry out in four weeks. Once your tree dries out, it becomes a fire hazard. So if you’re going to be gone for a few weeks, make sure you get rid of it before taking off.
-
Do your laundry
If you have a bit of extra time before leaving, try to do all your laundry, including your sheets and towels. Coming back in January means being thrown back into school. Things like laundry are easy to put on the back burner when you’re trying to settle into a new semester. So even though it might feel like a pain to do it before leaving, you’ll be glad you did when you come back to a clean bed to sleep in.