Lauren's List: Helpful Hints Before You Travel
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Summer travel season is here!
Some aviation experts are predicting a record 234.1 million passengers will travel the world on United States-based airlines between June 1 and August 31.
We put so much thought into booking flights and hotels and packing our bags, that we sometimes overlook important things at home before we hit the road.
Today's "Lauren's List" has some helpful hints of what you should be doing any time you leave town for a few days or more.
1. Give Your Bank Notice- No one wants to hear those dreadful words, "I'm sorry. Your card was denied." Especially not while on vacation. If you planned ahead, you should have plenty of cash, but you can avoid that headache all together if you just call your bank ahead of time to let them know you will have some unusual activity from a specific location that isn't your hometown. This is especially important when traveling abroad, but even just across state lines. My card was waived for fraud once because of a $10 bagel and coffee in New York City!
2. Unplug- We usually try to unplug while on vacation by stepping away from our smartphones and tablets. But in this case, I mean you should literally unplug those appliances and electronics that could be sucking up power while you're out of town. Kitchen gadgets, TVs and DVD players don't need to be plugged in when they're not in use.
3. Keep Up Appearances- Make sure to put your mail on hold or have someone set to pick it up. If your grass is due to be cut, make sure the lawn service still shows up as planned. Also, rather than just leaving your porch light on at all hours, set a timer so it goes on and off at the usual times. Another interesting tip, security experts actually suggest leaving some blinds partially open. If all the blinds are closed, it looks like no one is home. Just make sure you can't see any expensive electronics through the blinds you do leave open.
4. Prep Food For Homecoming: This may seem counter-intuitive, but now that I've read up on it, I'm definitely doing this for my next trip. Definitely get rid of anything that will expire while you're gone, but it stinks to get home to an empty fridge after a long travel day. You probably don't want to cook, or spend even more money on take out, but if you have a meal prepped, frozen and ready to just throw in the oven, it will definitely make for a nice homecoming. Even better, have some frozen breakfast ready for the next day too, so you don't have to wake up extra early just to go to the store.
What's on your list of things to do before going on vacation?
Tell me on Facebook or Twitter.
If you have an idea for a future "Lauren's List", send it to: lpastrana@cbs.com
