Hello Ladies! We're starting this new feature on our blog and hope for much participation! We have so many missionary women serving around the world with plenty of wisdom and experiences to share. If you can help answer a question or just have something to share, please feel free to answer in the comments below. Thank You!
What are some "do not forget" tips for closing up your house for short and long term furloughs? Especially for the wet seasons? Do you leave the water in your toilets? Do you take the pictures off the walls? Do you leave the house key with the landlady of a trusted neighbor?
4 comments:
We have not had a furlough yet nor have we left our home for long periods of time. But we are planning a 6 week trip back to the states during our wet season the end of this year. I'll definitely be following this question! Our hope though is to find someone needing a place to stay during that time. Mould is rapid here in the wet season and even with staying on top of it we still find it growing on our walls or furniture. You almost need to run the air condition for a little bit each day, and definitely keep the fans running.
A dog feeder is nice so that someone doesn't have to feed the dogs every day but just put more in every few days. We usually have a house sitter so we don't have to worry about dealing with an empty house.
We are getting ready to go back to the States for our first furlough, so this topic is very timely for me! Thank you for starting this feature. I look forward to hearing the words of advice and wisdom from other missionary ladies!
Shellee in Japan
I leave the water in the toilets and put bleach in the water. I put sheets over everything to keep the dust off the furnisher. We padlock the windows and doors, but the doors and windows were designed to be padlocked. Any throw rugs on the floor, I either roll them up and put them in a closet (if the floors get moist with temperature changes... or, I turn them upside down and leave them where they are (dust on the back of a throw rug or carpet is easier to shake off then leaving it to settle into the pile of the carpet. If you stove uses bottled gas, I would recommend detaching it and moving the gas cylinder somewhere else (ours is already outside). A box of baking soda in the fridge and freeze will help to absorb moisture and odors. Turn the water off (we had an upstairs tank that leaked because the automatic shutoff lever got stuck and water tricked over). Unplug electrical items. It might be nice to have lights on a timer so it makes the house look lived in with lights coming on at night and going off during the day. Turn you hot water heater off. Leave your beds made, to keep the dust off. Have fresh bedding and towels ready to use, when you get back, by storing them in a plastic bag with a bar of dry soap to keep them smelling fresh. The only things I take off the walls are things I worry might fall off. Cover books and/or book shelves, dust really settles on them.
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