Vacations are meant to be a break from the worries and stress of everyday life. No one wants to worry about leaving their home when they are supposed to be vacationing. While it is true that an empty home is more vulnerable for burglary, there are steps you can take to protect your home when you are on vacation.

If you are going to be away for an extended period of time make certain to have your newspaper and mail stopped, or at the very least picked up by a neighbor or friend on a regular basis. Lock all your doors and windows before you leave for your trip. Double check all upstairs windows or ones you don’t often think of checking.

You can ask a friend to house sit for you. If you don’t want someone to house sit you could ask a neighbor to keep an eye out on your home. Make certain whoever is watching your home has an extra key to your home and knows where the main water line shut-off switches are located in case a pipe breaks.

Let your alarm company know that you are going on vacation. If you don’t already have an alarm system installed in your home, this would be a good time to look in to it. Security systems are an added preventative and protective measure for when you are gone for several days at a time.

If you have valuables you are nervous about, you may protect them best by finding them a new, temporary home while you are away. As an added precaution you can place all your valuable papers, jewelry and other important items in a safe deposit box for safe keeping. Or if you have a trusted family member or friend, have them store them at their home for a few days while you are away.

If you will be vacationing during the winter months there are some good things to remember before you leave. Make certain you don’t allow your home to get lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Opening your cabinet doors will help uninsulated pipes under sinks receive more heat from your home and prevent plumbing leaks due to frozen pipes.

The key to keeping burglars at bay is to make your home look occupied. Leave a car in the driveway or ask a neighbor to park their car in front of your home. Keep some lights turned on in your home. If you have lights that have timers, set them to go off at random times during the night to deter burglars.

Don’t close all of your blinds to your windows when you leave. Blinds that are closed all the time, even during normal daytime hours, are dead giveaways that you aren’t at home. You should also ask someone to come and mow your lawn while you are gone.

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This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 8:30 am and is filed under Home Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.