Years ago a friend of ours recounted the story of her neighbors who had gone away on vacation. She was on the phone list for the neighbor’s alarm system to be called if anything was wrong. On night, she was awoken by a call from the police saying that the alarm had sounded and they were called out to investigate. They wanted her to come over to the home and indicate if there was anything amiss.

My friend dutifully complied. She entered the living room and noticed drawers opened, piles of clothing, and sporting equipment dumped in the entryway, lamps askew, and clutter strewn throughout the house. Total chaos. My friend looked at the officer and said, “Nope. Nothing’s amiss. This is how their house looks all the time.”

My grandmother as she aged was always worried that upon her death those entering would shake their heads and say, “What a shame. She always kept such a clean, neat house but she deteriorated so much that she just couldn’t keep up her house.”

I am starting to have the same fear. Or at least when I get ready for vacation, that is in the back of my mind. What if something happened to me? What would people say who entered my house?

In preparation for vacation there is always an extra push to get the house in order so that 1) I will not have my neighbors’ respond, “Oh. It was always in disarray.” and 2) I can continue the vacation feeling when I return home because the house is all in order.

It is the old “be prepared” Girl Scout motto.

There is something satisfying to have things neatly wrapped up: laundry done, folded and put away, email correspondences sent, projects completed, upcoming responsibilities sorted out, the to-do list checked, the house clean and neat. Having a specific date for leaving and returning helps me set goals and actually accomplish them. Similar to the idea that nothing gets a room painted faster than having someone come for a holiday visit. Having finished what I have started also helps build confidence in the next venture. That satisfying feeling starts to override any inertia I may initially have.

This year, my broken wrist/surgeries and the COVID quarantine has reinforced my motto- “never put off tomorrow what you can do today”. For if I find I have some time to do something, I need to do it because that time will not come back again. Or the time that was to be set aside in the future is no longer available.

Of course, there is only so much, if any, preparation an individual can do with a global pandemic or an accident but having most things in order or trying to keep thing organized does help when unforeseen chaos happens. One can handle the disruption knowing that the basics are in good shape.

What about you? How are you in vacation prep? ( Do you remember what vacation is?) This year has been quite an unusual one, so many of you may not have had any chance to go on a vacation. But when/if you did- what do you do for the preparation?

How are the basics in your life? Home. Finances. Health. Do they need organization? A plan? How can you get things in order so that you are prepared for whatever might come down your path?

Is there any difference in your home whether you live there or thieves have disrupted the environment?

Do you leave your home nice and organized for the burglars?