Holiday break is on the horizon, and it couldn’t be more obvious. Bleary-eyed students are tired from dozens of hours spent studying. They drag themselves from their off-campus rental homes to their lectures. The slight chill in the air signals a shift in season. Most of Ohio University’s students have only one thing on their minds: Leaving campus and going home for a couple of weeks.
It’s a well-earned reprieve from a grueling fall semester. The last thing students are thinking about is how to prepare their university rental apartments for a brief vacation. But there are steps they’ll want to take if no one’s going to be living in a space for an extended period of time.
Round Up the Electronics
Here’s a little-known fact: Even when powered off, electronic devices still draw power from any outlets they’re plugged into. It’s a concept known as phantom power, and while it might not run up the electric bill, it’s still something to consider.
If you’ve got a spacious rental around the university, take a walk around all the rooms and unplug non-essential electronics. Think toasters, coffee makers, televisions, chargers, and lamps. Before you head out for holiday break, unplug them. This both saves energy when no one’s home, and it also protects the appliances from any potential freak power surges.
Dial Down That Thermostat
To no one’s surprise, one of the biggest appliances that factors into your electric or gas bill is cooling or heating that multi-bedroom student home. If no one’s going to be home for two weeks, there’s no point in keeping the thermostat set to a super-comfortable temperature.
In the wintertime, dial your thermostat down a handful of degrees lower than you normally would. Somewhere between 55-60ºF does fine. Sure, it’s going to feel kind of cold when you get back to your close-to-campus rental, but the heating won’t kick on during the day much at all, and it’ll save you tons of money on the utility bill. Make sure you don’t set it so low that the pipes are at risk of freezing during a cold spell.
Come Home to a Clean, Like-New Rental Home
This one’s more optional than the others, but think of it as an investment—or the ultimate holiday gift—for yourself. Don’t come to a messy apartment that immediately stresses you out. Instead, clean up around your place so that when you come home, you’re able to rest and relax.
Clean the kitchen, and empty the fridge of any vegetables or fruit that are at risk of going bad in the next couple of weeks. Take out the trash in your kitchen and other rooms of that sweet rental home down the road from campus. Thoroughly wash and dry all the dirty dishes in the sink so you don’t come home to mountains of plates and pans waiting for you.
Run a few loads of laundry for your clothes, towels, and bedsheets. Make your bed fresh so you can plop down onto it when you get back to your college rental apartment. Water your houseplants—if you have any—and do a quick vacuum of the floor. There’s really nothing like coming back to a clean home after being gone for a longer period of time.
Once you’ve done all of these, you’ve successfully set your Ohio University rental up for success while you’re away. Don’t forget to lock all the doors and windows for security reasons, and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying winter break without a care in the world.