20 Tips for Protecting Your Home While on Vacation
We go on vacation because we deserve a break from all our obligations and it’s a perfect time for us to relax and relieve the intensity we usually feel because of various duties. But, if we don’t protect our home properly, we can come back and find a disaster, which can leave us completely distressed. Avoid this terrible feeling by learning about 20 ways to protect your home so that you can enjoy your vacation and be carefree.
1. Lock all the doors
Sometimes we forget to do this important thing. You’re going to be away for some time, so check several times if you have done it or not. Don’t go anywhere until you’re completely sure all your doors are locked. As a precautionary measure, always check your door for any signs of tampering, including the following:
- Broken or damaged locks,
- Noticeable bending or warping of your locks and door components
- New scratches and nicks around the keyhole
If you see any of these signs, change your door locks immediately. Make sure your new locks fare better against various lock picking tools and forced entry. Also, consider reinforcing your door security by switching to stronger hinges, lock jamb, and other crucial security hardware.
Source: Pixabay
2. Double-check if all the windows are closed
If someone is determined to break in, they’ll do all in their power to find a way. Don’t make it easy for them by leaving a window open. Check several times if you forgot to close all the windows.
3. Leave the blinds raised
If you tend to raise your blinds every day, leave them like that even when you are away. This is how you’ll make people believe you’re at home even when you’re not.
4. Check if all the taps are turned off
It would be a disaster if you realized at one point during your trip that you left a tap turned on! That can cause a lot of damage, so you need to be sure you turned off all of them before you left the house.
5. Install motion sensing lights
If you add an outdoor motion sensor light to your home, it will help you feel safer since your outdoor space will light up whenever someone approaches your house. It can scare off someone who’s trying to enter your property illegally.
6. Fake security cameras
If you don’t have enough money to invest in genuine ones, fake security cameras will do the work. Dummy cameras can fool the intruders. You just need to place them in a noticeable spot.
7. High-resolution night vision security cameras
Invest in them if you can, especially if you live in an unsafe neighborhood. If people have a tendency to intrude and burgle in your area, then these cameras are a must!
8. Install a video doorbell
They are totally affordable! A video doorbell is a combination of a straight forward doorbell and a camera, microphone, and speaker set.
9. Install a smart lock
After you purchase it, all you have to do is remember the code. The best thing is that you can set a temporary one, so you can share it with someone you trust, but later replace it with another one.
10. Empty your mailbox
This can be done by you, or you can ask a neighbor politely. They’ll surely help you and you’ll feel more relaxed. It should be a trustworthy neighbor, though, someone who’s not going to read your mail.
11. Put all that’s valuable in your shed or garage
If you have valuable objects outside of your house, place them in your shed or garage while you’re away. You can also keep small valuable objects in a safe.
12. Ask a friend or relative to watch the house occasionally
Someone you know can help you by checking your house from time to time. It has to be someone who’ll be willing to make time for that.
13. Get a guard dog
There are personal protection dogs for sale you can get that will definitely chase unwanted people away! Yet, it shouldn’t do that with those you want to check your house occasionally.
14. Turn off all electronic devices
If you don’t do this, expect a huge bill! You don’t need the stress from overthinking whether you left something turned on or not. Just don’t forget to do it and check more than once if you have.
15. Use the services of a security company
There are many great ones. For instance, there are incredible security companies in Gold Coast offering services of the best quality, if you’re from this area.
16. Don’t post about your plans on social networks
A follower of yours can also be a secret burglar, so don’t do it if you don’t want to attract some unwanted attention.
17. Ask neighbors to watch your house
This shouldn’t be difficult for them, since they live so near.
18. Protect your car from theft
Never neglect the security of your car, since a vehicle is stolen almost every minute.
19. Don’t stash keys under your doormat
Or put them where they can easily be found! Give your spare keys to someone you trust instead.
20. Unkempt lawn means no one is at home
If you have to, ask someone to take care of your lawn. If your lawn is kept in good condition, no one will suspect you’re not there to mow it.
Bottom Line
If you want to relax on your vacation, don’t hesitate to invest in keeping your home safe and secure. After all, it’s better to give money for that, than later to spend even more of it trying to replace valuable things in your house.
Jack Kewell is writer, science editor, naturalist, entrepreneur. He is focused on writing and illustrating books. Also, he is a regular contributor on Smoothdecorator
Great article, all tips are good and I already imply some of the tips from the article.