Making the decision to seek treatment for an addiction is the first and most significant step on your path to recovery. Before leaving to travel to the rehab center, it’s important to prepare your house for your absence.
Most of these preparations help you to feel at ease about what you leave behind while in treatment. This allows you to fully focus on your recovery from addiction. Not surprisingly, distractions and questions about what’s happening at home can hinder your progress. Consider a few tips on how you can prepare your house before you leave for a stay in rehab.
Make Arrangements for Your Children and Pets
It’s important to know your children are safe and cared for while you’re in addiction treatment. So, contact a family member or trusted friend to explain your plans and ask if they will care for your kids while you’re gone. It would be ideal if the person could stay in your home with your children. However, if that’s not possible, be sure to pack suitcases with the basics for your kids.
Arranging for the care of your pets is another item to take care of before leaving. It may be a matter of your friend stopping at your home to feed and visit with your dog or cat each day. Of course, a dog needs to go outside a couple times per day as well. Make a quick list of what to feed your pets and how much to give them so you know they’ll receive the right care.
Ask Someone to Watch Your Residence
It’s a good idea to ask a neighbor or friend to look in on your residence every few days while you’re in treatment. This is just to make sure doors and windows are secure, the furnace or air conditioner is operating properly, etc. Having someone check in on your house can also keep your home secure.
Your friend can open and close the curtains and adjust the lighting as well. These small changes can make it look like someone is there and deter intruders from approaching a home.
Knowing someone is checking on your home and possessions is going to contribute to your peace of mind. Leave your house key in a place where your friend can find it or deliver it in-person.
Arrange for Automatic Bill Payments
Set up automatic payments for your utilities, phone, rent, and other regular expenses. Taking a bit of time to call your water company, electric company, garbage collector, etc. to set up automatic payments lets you know bills won’t go unpaid while you’re recovering. In fact, this is such a common way to pay bills you may already have this arrangement with many companies.
Get Rid of Drug-Related Items
Getting rid of any items related to your addiction is a very important task to take care of before leaving for treatment. This changes your environment so when you return home you don’t have old temptations waiting for you. Think of it as laying solid groundwork on your path to recovery.
Some examples of items to get rid of include:
- Alcohol
- Pills
- Cigarettes
- Drug paraphernalia such as syringes, needles, and pipes
Let Your Family Know Where You’re Going
Letting your family know you’re going into treatment is another way to prepare. Keeping your family in the loop serves a few purposes.
Telling your family gives them to chance to lend their support to you. This may include personal visits later on in your treatment or supporting you from afar with a phone call.
On a practical note, telling your family where you’re going means if you need anything from your home, you have someone to bring it to you. For instance, if you forget a piece of identification or a document, a family member can lend a hand and deliver it to you at the rehab center.
Finally, making these preparations before going to rehab can help reduce your stress upon your return home. Our supportive counselors are ready to help you on your journey. Call us today at 833.970.2054.
