20 crucial steps for you to use to secure your home while you travel.
People forget to secure their home. When they go on a vacation, they typically spend a great deal of time planning for the vacation. They spend time researching their destination, then booking plane flights, hotels, rental cars, entertainment, etc.
Before they depart on any business or leisure journey, they need to plan to secure our homes and follow them. When my next-door neighbor left for a week, he forgot to close and lock his front door, and he didn’t remember to stop his newspapers. They piled up. I closed his door and picked up his papers until he returned. Otherwise, someone would have likely burglarized his home.
I’ve got 20 crucial steps for you to secure your home, so that when you return from your journey, your home and your belongings will be safe and sound.
Home security/fire/smoke systems, outdoor security lights, and security cameras, plus home safes can keep your home safe and secure while you travel.
• Home security/fire/smoke system that alerts monitoring station:
Seriously consider installing a home security/fire/smoke system which directly alerts a monitoring station in case of a break-in or fire. These systems won’t give adequate protection unless they include a connection to a monitoring station that quickly alerts the police and/or fire department. Don’t forget to arm the system before you leave.
• Outdoor security lights and security cameras:
Consider adding outdoor security lights, particularly the ones on motion sensors, to your security system. It makes it harder for burglars to approach your home after dark. You might also want to install security cameras for your home security system, if they’ll be monitored.
• Home safe:
Consider installing a small fireproof home safe for safekeeping your valuables while you travel.
Make sure that your home looks occupied.
• Your home should look occupied:
Make your home look occupied while traveling. Well before leaving on vacation, purchase timers for lights or use smart lights or smart plugs that offer scheduling to turn your lights on and off to make it look as if you’re home. We use them to turn on our lights at different times in different locations of our home prior to dusk arriving, as close to our normal light use as possible, then turn them off at the time we normally go to bed.
• Follow your normal routine for curtains and shades:
While you want to keep prying eyes away from the interior of your home, it’s best to follow the normal routine for curtains and shades. If you normally leave them up during the day, keep them up while you’re away. Otherwise a burglar who is familiar with your neighborhood might be tipped off.
Do not reveal that you’re traveling via social media. Ensure that your friends and family are equally diligent.
• Be diligent on social media:
Many people seem to want to tell the world that they’re on vacation and having a great time via regular social media posts and photos. I never post about my journeys until I return home. Don’t reveal anything about being away from home to prevent thieves who are reviewing social media to make you an easy target. It’s not even enough to adjust your privacy settings so your posts only go to close friends. You don’t know what their privacy settings are when they respond. Wait until you get home to post your incredible photos and talk about your fabulous vacation.
• Be sure your children, friends and relatives are careful with social media:
Make sure your children are also silent on social media about your vacation. Once home, there will be time enough to show their friends what a great time they had. In addition, don’t forget to ask your friends and relatives, who know you’re away, to not post any questions about your vacation on social media.
Ask friends, family and neighbors to help you keep your home secure. Make it as easy as possible for them by stopping mail and newspapers. Prepare the home properly to prevent problems.
• Ask friends, family, and neighbors to help you keep your home secure:
If newspapers or mail are delivered despite a hold, they can pick them up and hold them for you. Ask them to watch for suspicious activity. If you have a driveway, ask them to park their car on it every once in a while to make it seem as if you’re home. Give them a key so they can periodically enter your home to make it look like someone’s there.
• Mail:
The post office should hold your mail while you’re away.
• Newspapers:
Have your newspaper hold its deliveries while you’re away.
• Unplug appliances:
Don’t just turn off unused appliances in the kitchen and elsewhere. Unplug them to avoid electrical fires. Unplug computers, televisions and other electronics too.
• Water heater:
Before leaving, put your water heater in vacation mode to avoid overheating.
• Thermostat:
In winter, lower your thermostat to 60°F to save money and prevent the water in your pipes from freezing causing bursting pipes when they thaw. In summer heat, raise your thermostat to 80°F to save money, but keep your plants alive.
Don’t leave spare keys outside. Thieves can use these to break into your home.
• Remove hidden spare keys:
Many homeowners actually hide spare keys under doormats and in fake garden rocks. In my opinion, hiding spare keys outside your home at any time should be avoided. If you do hide keys, while on vacation, remove them. Don’t give burglars an easy way into your home. For times that you might lock yourself out of your home, don’t hide keys. Instead, gives spare keys to trusted neighbors and family.
• Keep your outdoor area neat and cut, as if you were home:
While on vacation for more than a few days, in summer arrange for your lawn to be mowed and in winter arrange for your driveway, paths and sidewalks to be cleared of snow.
• If you leave your trash out:
If you leave your trash out for collection just before departing, make sure you have someone put your empty cans away after collection.
• Windows, doors and other entry points:
Before you depart, make sure that you close and lock all windows, doors and any other entry points to your home, such as an exterior basement stairwell.
Don’t forget to stop online ordering so packages won’t be delivered while you’re away, piling up at your front door telling everyone that you’re on vacation including thieves.
• Online ordering:
If you’re like most people you periodically order goods online for delivery to your home. As you approach the date of your departure, stop online ordering so no deliveries will be left at your home, sitting for days, indicating you’re on vacation. Also, don’t order anything while traveling that might be delivered before you get home.
• Garage door:
If you have a garage, make sure you lock its door. If it’s an electric garage door, turn off its circuit breaker to ensure it can’t accidentally open while you’re away.
House-sitters can protect your home well while you vacation.
• House-sitter:
One of the best ways to ensure your home is secure while you travel is to use a house-sitter. Having your house occupied while you’re on vacation may be the best security possible for your home.
While some travelers may return to find that their home was burglarized or damaged, using the above twenty commonsense steps will greatly increase the odds that your home and belongings will remain safe and secure.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
