Three Days Before...

Suspend mail and newspaper delivery. Contact the post office www.usps.com to hold your mail; you no longer have to do this in person. Do the same for your newspaper delivery. Or have a trusted neighbor collect mail, packages, and newspapers while you're away so they don't accumulate in front of the door, a sure sign you're not home.

One Day Before...

Set timers. To keep your house from sitting dark all evening, install plug-in timers ($4 to $10 each, Home Depot or Lowe's) on lamps in several rooms. Set them to turn on and off at different times. Consider putting a radio and a television on timers, too (use the same plug-in timer models).

Discard perishables. Don't return to a smelly refrigerator. Toss dairy products, cold cuts, and produce, or donate the food to a local shelter.

Adjust the refrigerator temperature. Make sure the thermostat isn't on the supercool setting. This will keep the refrigerator from blowing a circuit while you're away. A closed-up house can raise the kitchen temperature, thereby increasing a refrigerator's energy use by up to 50 percent in summer.