Safety For Your Home While Traveling

It’s so exciting to go on a vacation, isn't it?  To go on a trip to a new, exotic place.  It’s hard not to be excited, right?  There are so many things to do before you go – pack your bags, check with the airline, make sure the camera is charged….did you pack the sunscreen?  One of the most important steps in preparing for a trip is to make sure that your home is secure while you are away.  There are several easy steps you can take to make sure your home and property are safe in your absence.

First and foremost, make your home look like it’s still occupied!  There are several ways to do this.  This is an easy one especially if you have an animal at home that will need tending while you are gone.  Have a trusted friend or neighbor come by daily (at varying times) to take care of your pets.  If you don’t have a pet at home, have someone come by and bring in your mail.  Having your mail service stopped is a sure sign to a burglar that no one is home.  If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, have someone come by and shovel your walk or mow your grass, water the garden or take out your trash on garbage day.

Most people will use a timer on their interior lights to make it look like they are home.  While this is a good idea, if you set an interior timer to go off at the same time every day, if a would-be burglar is watching your house this will indicate that you are not home.  The trick is to purchase a timer that can be set for varying times of day or if you have the ability, control the lights at home from your cell phone while you are gone – at different times during the day and night.  You also might want to consider installing a motion sensor light inside that way if someone does get into your home they may be fooled into thinking that someone is there after all and change their mind about what they’re doing.

 In addition, DON’T advertise on-line that you are going to be away and for how long!  This is very hard for people to resist.  It’s so tempting to want to tell all of your 300 closest social media friends that you are going on a fabulous trip.  Try to resist uploading vacation photos while you are still away.  I know you think everyone else wants to see the play by play of your vacation but they can wait until you have returned.
Other good rules of thumb are to make sure to have your electronics plugged into a surge protector so that in the event of a power outage your computer and television are not damaged.  Keep your thermostat set between 55 and 80 degrees and have someone run the water for a bit when they come by to check on the house.  This will ward off damage from frozen pipes.   Be sure to take your insurance agents phone number and your insurance policy number with you on your trip.  This way in the event that something does go wrong while you’re away, you will know just who to call.  Bon voyage!