[pct-l] No one at home

[Sir Mixalot]

In addition to turning off the water, you could turn off the electrical
breakers that aren't needed.  You might want to keep breakers on for a
fridge, alarm and maybe a porch light.

Can you get your post office to hold your mail?  You don't want a full
mailbox to advertise that you're on a trip, not to mention the risk of
losing mail.

On longer trips you might want to disconnect your car battery, fill up the
gas tank and even put some fuel stabilizer in for good measure.  Parking in
a garage would be best so that it's not obvious by the dust on your car
that you've been gone for a while.

I like your house angel idea.

Hopefully you don't have sewage backup problems.  I used to live in an
apartment where that happened occasionally.  Fortunately it never leaked
onto the floor, but that would have been disastrous.

On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 7:33 PM, <mkwart at gci.net> wrote:

> I find myself once again grappling with the perennial problem of
> planning my next long distance hiking project as a long distance hiker
> who doesn't have a parent or significant other who they live with or a
> cadre of dedicated friends who can take up the home maintenance slack
> (my friends are gone as much as me)--I am interested in the logistics of
> taking care of the home front without breaking the bank while on the
> trail for months at a time. I left for a ten day trip in June and when I
> returned discovered that my toilet had "run" almost the entire time
> resulting in a water bill of $350 for the month. I now turn off the
> water to the toilet when I'm gone for a long time, but what will happen
> next?
>
> Any suggestions from those of you out there who actually don't have
> someone at home to pick up the slack? I can't afford a full time home
> sitter--they charge a lot of money. So far I have used people through
> the local time bank to house sit and have invested in an automatic
> watering system for the yard. I live in a small, single family dwelling
> (956 square feet) with a yard--and I let the lawn dry out in summer.
> Moving is not an option at this time in my life. Maybe we should start a
> website for long distance hikers interested in helping each other take
> care of their homes while they are on the trail.
>
> Although many hikers are young and mobile  and could care less, the
> other major group of hikers are older folks who may own homes. I look
> forward to any tips hikers have to share about maintaining their homes
> while out on the long distance trail.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> --Fireweed
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