6 of the 7 Continents For The Budget Traveler: What To Do At/For Home Before A Trip

Well it's almost time to get on a plane again for my 2nd international trip this year, but this one is gonna be a big one, I am going to Italy for 6 weeks with layover trips to Iceland and Denmark. I thought this would be a good time to go over what to do for trips over one week. So, here's a rough check list:

Book all flights/lodging if applicable, this particular trip I've only booked the beginning and end to travel around more freely in the middle.
Obtain all necessary Visa's if applicable, check your passport, make sure you have enough pages, and in general renew that bad boy early, a lot of places may not let you in if the expiration is less than 6 months away.
Medications if applicable
Verify how you will check into your hotel/guest house/Airbnb/etc the last thing you want to do is land in Paraguay at 4am freezing, lose your coat in an Uber while standing outside your apartment with no wifi and no way to contact your Airbnb host on how to check in. Not saying that happened to me... but... yeah..... verify.
Pack your bags, duh
Make travel notifications for you bank cards or credit cards you will use on the trip
Have a little bit of foreign currency before you leave in case you can't find an ATM right away at your destination
House keys, personally I don't like to travel with them, so I make arrangements to keep them with someone at home, it's also a good idea if you live solo to give a copy to a friend just in case.
Get a pool or yard guy to take care of pool/yard while gone.
Unplug car battery for extended trips, anything over 3 weeks I'd unplug the battery.
Verify with work before you leave that all days scheduled to be off have been approved
Leave photocopies of your passport with a friend or family member
Leave an itinerary with a friend or family member
Make arrangements if you are taking classes for the time off
Make sure you know how will you check into your hotel or Airbnb, especially if you are arriving at odd hours! Rough lesson learned in Paraguay!
Verify that your tickets have global entry and/or TSA Pre check if you have it
Secure transportation to the airport, and have a great trip! :)