With finals season upon us, it’s easy to get caught up in studying and forget about everything else. After all of our tests are finally over, we are excited to go home and engage in all our favorite Christmas activities that responsibility is sometimes thrown out the window. Before you leave Athens, make sure you do a few things around the house to make your life easier when you return in January.
1. Clean your room and common areas
Cleaning your room and the common areas of your apartment is extremely important. You don’t want to come back after a month to find some unwanted roommates aka bugs have taken up residence in your apartment. Clean up these areas for a fresh start to the semester. You’ll come back feeling rejuvenated and less stressed if your home is clean.
2. Throw away perishable food items
The worst feeling is coming back to your apartment and being hit with a terrible smell of food gone bad. Clean out your refrigerator of all old food or food that won’t make it until you get back. That being said, the week before break don’t buy a whole bunch of food at the store if you know there’s a chance it’ll go to waste. The last thing you want is to overeat in an attempt to not waste any food. Come January, you’ll have a clean slate to work with.
3. Take out the trash
Trash is another source of potentially terrible smells. Make sure everyone in the house takes their garbage out to the dumpster as well as the garbage in common areas. It’s a simple task that once taken care of, can save you a lot of time and stress when you come back to Athens in January.
4. Turn off all lights and turn the heat down
Leaving lights and heat on is just wasteful. Furthermore, your wallet will be suffering if you leave these things on because they certainly aren’t free. There’s nothing worse than having to pay for a service that you aren’t even using. Save yourself and your roommates a few extra dollars by turning off all lights, fans, and heat while everyone is gone.
5. Turn on the alarm
Thieves are getting smarter and smarter. Especially in college towns like Athens, there is a general knowledge that a lot of people are gone during school breaks. That being said, set your house alarm and don’t leave valuables in view from the outside. Take all the steps necessary to ensure that you will come home to your apartment in order. It will be a seriously rough start to the new semester if your apartment is burglarized and you have nothing.
Make life easier for yourself when you come back in January. In the meantime, enjoy a restful and worry-free break!