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Wales Online
Wales Online
Entertainment
Courtney Pochin & Megan Nisbet

Experts say you should always take photos of your appliances before leaving the house - here's why

There's nothing worse than leaving the house only to be stopped in your tracks over your hair straighteners or the oven.

Did you unplug them and turn the hob off? You're sure you did but you still find yourself turning around and heading back to double check.

If you get pretty anxious about turning things off, there a little known hack experts recommend you try, reports The Mirror.

Experts over at lifehacker.com have suggested a simple solution to stop you worrying about leaving things on.

They recommend taking a photo of your appliances before you go out.

In a post on their website, writer Nicole Dieker explained: "Before leaving the house, take a photo of your stove and oven dials—or your thermostat, or your iron, or anything else you worry about accidentally leaving on. If your brain starts to play the 'Did I really turn it off' game, you can simply tap your photo app and see for yourself."

Adding: "I started taking pre-vacation photos after my landlord upgraded the heating system in my apartment building and gave us all new thermostats.

"This was in winter, right before I left on my holiday travels, and since the thermostats were so new that I hadn’t yet become accustomed to them I spent the whole first day of the trip worrying that I had forgotten to turn the thermostat down."

She added that she now takes photos showing her oven dials are all in the right place and her thermostat is off before she goes on a long trip - but claims she never actually looks at the photos.

Nicole believes this is because taking the photo and having the physical proof, "turns off" the part of her brain that later gets anxious about leaving something on.

And she's not the only one who recommends doing this.

Travel expert Sunil Metcalfe spoke about the life hack with Reader's Digest.

He said: "Similar to forwarding your emails to your colleague or leaving your pet in the care of someone you trust, taking a picture of the locked back door, the closed garage door or unplugged appliance, allows you peace of mind to let go and be fully present.

"We've all had that gut-wrenching moment en route to the airport where you think you’ve made a critical error in preparing for your trip. Having a picture eliminates this moment of panic."

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