What should you check before leaving the house for a holiday?
Short answer: 23 items, from arrange care for pets through to water the plants or arrange someone to. The complete Before You Leave the House (going on holiday) checklist is written out below — and the exact same 23 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The Before You Leave the House (going on holiday) checklist — all 23 items
- Arrange care for pets
- Ask a neighbour to keep an eye on the place
- Charge and pack your phone charger (don't leave it in the wall at home!)
- Check all taps are off
- Check the weather and secure anything loose outside (trampolines, furniture)
- Close curtains or blinds
- Double-check the stove and heater are off, not just turned down
- Empty the fridge of perishables
- Leave a spare key with a trusted neighbour or family member
- Leave your itinerary with someone at home
- Lock all doors and windows
- Pause mail and parcel deliveries
- Put bins out or bring them in, depending on collection day
- Set light timers so the house looks lived-in
- Set the alarm system
- Set the fridge to holiday mode or empty it if going away long-term
- Take photos of valuables for insurance before leaving
- Take rubbish out so it's not rotting for two weeks
- Turn off garden irrigation or sprinkler timers
- Turn off hot water cylinder or put on holiday mode
- Turn off the oven and stove at the wall
- Unplug appliances (toaster, iron, hair straightener)
- Water the plants or arrange someone to
The suitcase gets all the attention; the house gets an afterthought glance from the driveway. Yet the holiday-ruiners are house things — a straightener left on, a fridge full of milk, mail piling up in full view, no one holding a spare key. The first day of any trip is haunted by 'did we...?'
This is the walk-out-the-door sweep: appliances off, water and heating set, perishables dealt with, bins out, mail sorted, neighbour briefed, doors and windows actually locked. Do the lap with the list open and drive away with a quiet head.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "hot water on holiday mode" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What should you check before leaving the house for a holiday?
You need 23 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from arrange care for pets through to water the plants or arrange someone to — and the same 23 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=before%20you%20leave%20the%20house%20%28going%20on%20holiday%29 opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this Before You Leave the House (going on holiday) list (23 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.