When you leave for vacation, whether you’re leaving for a quick weekend getaway or you’re going away for a week or over, it’s important that you ensure your home and personal possessions are protected. You can keep your home and belongings safe by taking a little extra precaution. This way, you can enjoy your vacation with a little piece of mind knowing your personal belongings and home are secured. Below are some tips on how to do this.
Don’t Announce Your Trip on the Internet
Websites like Twitter and Facebook make it too easy to announce your personal business and many people do. But, you have to stop and consider who is reading your posts. You might think that you’re sharing information with family and friends, but you may not realize there could be hundreds of total strangers reading your posts.
You wouldn’t announce it to the world that you are taking off on a trip and your home will be unattended for a week. When you post your vacation plans on Facebook, however, you are doing just that and it’s not just your family and friends who are seeing your announcement.
Make it Look Like You’re Home
There are things you can do that will make it appear that you are home. You can set your lights on a timer as well as a radio or television set. This creates flickering lights and noise that sounds like an average night at home. You can leave a hose unrolled outside or some toys to make it look like your home is being lived in. Keep a car in your driveway and don’t clean up outside your home too much before you take off.
Hold Your Mail
If you plan on being away from home for more than a few days, contact the post office and have your mail delivery put on hold until you return. Typically, the post office can hold your mail for you from three to 30 days, or in some cases longer. You can even put in a stop request online by entering the stop and start dates on the United States Postal Service website which is a free feature courtesy.
Install a Security System
You might want to have a security system installed. You can control things like motion sensors, window and door sensors, glass break sensors and more. Most advanced systems will even allow you to monitor and activate features with a mobile device or cell phone.
Sure, you are excited about taking that well-deserved getaway trip, but don’t let it make you forget to protect your home. Take the precautionary steps to ensure your home is safe before you leave, and be sure you have have a solid homeowners insurance policy in the event of a break-in while you’re away.
