Vacations can be exciting and offer well deserved time away from work. However, it is important to not let the anticipation of a well deserved vacation blind you to the risks of leaving your home under protected. A little extra vigilance can help keep your belongings and property safe while you are away. Here are some tips:
Hire a house sitter or pet sitter. The best way to ensure the safety of your home while you are away is to have someone you trust living in it. If you are lucky you may have a relative who will feed the pets and water the plants while you are away. If not there are services you can use for house sitting. This can be pricey, but it is a solution that touches all bases.
- Holding your mail. When you are leaving for more than a few days, you might consider calling your local post office to stop mail delivery until you return.
- Keep a watchful eye on your property. Even if the newspaper delivery service is terminated while you are away, there are still items that need to be addressed that can make it obvious you are not around. Fliers, yellow book deliveries by the front door are tell tale signs you are not around. Have someone like a relative or neighbor periodically check your house.
- The appearance that your home is being lived in. An occupied home looks lived in. When you are gone, everything stops. To help create the illusion that your residence is still occupied, invest it light timers that go off every few hours in the evening.
- Landscape maintenance. If you tend to keep up with lawn maintenance every week and things begin to look neglected it is easy to come to the conclusion you are not home. If you plan on being away for any extended period of time, hire someone to take care of the landscaping chores.
- Lock up. This is an obvious tip but can be easy to forget. If you keep a window or dog door unlocked, now is the time to lock up.
- Don’t share the news about your vacation on the internet. It is important to proceed with caution when letting people know you are away. Wait until after your trip to post pictures online.
- Turn off electronics. Disconnecting electronics will not only save you money, but will provide you with peace of mind so you no longer have to worry that they are left on by mistake.
- Install added security systems. Installing a home security system or surveillance system an ramp us security and make your residence safer all around whether you are at home or away on vacation.
- If you can’t find anyone to watch your pets, consider boarding them at the local animal clinic. Many local animal clinics offer boarding services for pets. This is very common and a good way to ensure your pet is in good hands.
Hire a house sitter or pet sitter. The best way to ensure the safety of your home while you are away is to have someone you trust living in it. If you are lucky you may have a relative who will feed the pets and water the plants while you are away. If not there are services you can use for house sitting. This can be pricey, but it is a solution that touches all bases.
