travel

"Why I always take a photo of my stove before I travel."

Every morning I leave my apartment safe in the knowledge that if it burns down, it won’t be my fault.

I know that my hair straightener is unplugged and safe in it’s little heat-proof bag, that the knobs on my stove are all turned to ‘off’, and that my heater has definitely been switched off at the wall.

I know this because I have the photos to prove it.

After years of second-guessing whether I’ve left my hair straightener on, and panicking that I’ve accidentally bumped the stove with my hip and inadvertently turned on a burner – I’ve started taking photos of these things switched off just before I leave the house.

I take the photos, head to the train station, and don't give them a second thought.

I don't need to look at them during the day, I just feel secure knowing that they're available if a sudden wave of panic comes over me.

That's why I was so excited when I saw that Life Hacker had suggested taking a photo of your stove before you travel.

It just makes sense - when you're about to jet off and leave behind most of your belongings for a few weeks, your anxiety is likely to be heightened.

Life Hacker suggests taking a photo of your stove, your iron, your thermostat and anything else that you worry about leaving on, right before you head to the airport.

A few quick photos will eliminate that nagging fear we all have that our house is going to burn down in our absence and that it's going to be all our fault.

Meet the couple who retired in their 30s and traveled the world. Post continues...

You won't waste hours of your holiday silently panicking and running through everything you did before you left the house. You can just whip out your phone, have a quick look at the photos, and then get back to relaxing and have a bloody good time.

And honestly, you'll probably find that you'll never even look at the photos.

Do you have any other travel hacks? Share them in the comments below. 

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Top Comments

Ayr 7 years ago

This is precisely why my parents, one of our neighbors, and a good friend has a key to our house; I don't feel like wasting time on my vacation worrying about the stove being left on. When we leave for vacation we ask on of these three to check on our house for us, if anything is a miss they will catch it. The rest of the time, I just check everything before I leave and if something happens, it's just stuff and that is what homeowner's insurance is for.


Guest 7 years ago

Doesn't that just replace one compulsion with another? You're screwed if you forget to take the photographs before you leave!