Keep Your Home Safe While You Enjoy Your Summer Getaway

Tis the season for vacations. There’s a ton of planning and saving that goes into your vacation each year, so you can get away, relax, and enjoy time with friends and family. 

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Of course, your vacation means you’re leaving your home behind, likely unoccupied. The last thing you want to have happen is your home to be broken into or worse while you’re away.  

It is impossible to make any home 100% safe while you’re gone, but there are a number of things you can do to reduce the chance that when you return home you walk into a big headache. 

The website How Stuff Works offers a checklist of things that can reduce worry while you’re away. 

• Install security measures like alarms, cameras, etc. 

• Unplug electronics. It will save you money while you’re gone and there’s no worry that you will accidentally leave something on. 

• Turn off your garage door, that way thieves can’t access entry to your house that way with a universal remote 

• If you park in a long-term parking lot, turn off a portable GPS unit which will let thieves know you’re not home 

• Be careful to not tell too many people you are going to be away, this goes for your kids as well 

• Make sure everything that needs to be locked is locked. This is so simple it gets overlooked quite often 

• If you mow your lawn regularly, hire someone to mow for you while you’re gone that way an un-mowed lawn doesn’t tip off prospective burglars that you are gone 

• Make your home look lived in. Have someone turn the lights on and off so the same lights aren’t on the entire time you’re gone. If you can leave a car in the driveway and have someone move it around so it’s in a different spot each day.

• Stop your mail and paper service so obvious signs aren’t out in the open for everyone to see 

• Consider hiring a house sitter and/or pet sitter. Having a presence around the house will show signs of life.  

Hopefully these tips can help you at least make it very difficult for someone to ruin your return home from your vacation. Here’s to having a safe vacation and a happy homecoming.