Pipes: 

Leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

Insulate exposed pipes and faucets.  Outdoor faucets and pipes and pipes in unheated attics, garages and crawl spaces are most vulnerable to freezing.  To prevent faucets and pipes from freezing, wrap them with rages, newspapers or other insulating materials.  Cover the insulation with plastic and secure with string or wire. 

Drain the backflow preventer to your irrigation system.

Disconnect outdoor hoses, drain and store in a protected area.

Let a faucet closest to the line coming into the house drip very slowly all night.  (City of Houston frowns on this because it may cause a drop in water pressure in your area....be pragmatic.)

Vacant homes may want to drain the ;plumbing system.  Following are steps to do this:

1.  Shut off the main water valve at the water meter.
2.  Starting at the top floor, open all the sink faucets.
3.  Go to the first floor or the lowest level in your home and open the faucet in  your laundry tub and let all the water from the above floors drain out.
4.  Now go back upstairs or to the highest level in the home and open the tub/shower faucets.
5.  Now flush all the toilets.
6.  Leave the faucets in an open position.
7.  There should be no water coming out of any faucets except a possible slight residual drop from the lowest faucet as any remaining water in the pipes dribbles out.

Plants:

Water plants.  Dry plants are more susceptible to cold damage than plants that have been watered since water works as an insulator for the plant. Water also protects the root system.

Plants should be covered with a breathable material like a blanket, sheet or frost cloth sold at nurseries.  Do not use plastic to cover plants. 

Put down extra mulch.

Pools:

Like your water in the house, you should let a faucet drip all night.  For the pool, run the pump all night long.  You should probably run it from 8pm to 10am on freeze nights.

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