How to Keep Your Home Safe While You’re on Vacation

Keep your home safe while you are on vacation or just away for an evening. While you’re away playing, make it appear that it’s business as usual at home. Keep lights on and activity going. With a few precautions you can reduce the chance of your home becoming a burglary statistic.

1. Have your newspaper stopped while you are gone. Nothing says “I’m on vacation” like a pile of newspapers on your front porch or paper box. When you call in rather than request a vacation hold, tell them you’re going to be too busy working on the house for the next week to read the paper.

2. Have your mail held. Fill out a form at the post office or complete the request online. An overflowing mailbox is a clear sign someone is away. If you use a mail slot on your door, it’s not wise to let mail buildup. All someone has to do is lift the flap and look inside to see a pile of mail on the floor. Secure door mail slots before leaving town.

3.Keep travel plans to yourself. Don’t share your plans on Facebook and don’t use an email vacation response. Make sure your children understand they shouldn’t post anything about being out of town.

4.Use timers on lights at different points in the house. Set the timers to come on at staggered times as if someone is moving through the home. Hook a timer up to an electric radio and set it to come on at different times during the day and evening.
5.Lock all windows and doors before you leave. Use a track lock as a backup on sliding doors to prevent someone from lifting the door out of the tracks to gain entry. Take a walk around the outside of your house to make sure all screens are in place and ladders are put away.

6.Ask a neighbor you trust to watch the house while you are gone. Provide emergency phone numbers of relatives in town along with a key and your cell phone numbers. Hire someone to mow the lawn if you will be gone for an extended period.

7.Lock up valuable jewelry in a floor mounted home safe or in a safe deposit box at the bank. Never leave valuables, blank checks or banking information lying around.

8.Leave your voice mail message the same. Never change the message to say that you are out of town or on vacation.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5908863_keep-home-safe-you_re-vacation.html#ixzz2YfiibjC9