We all know that the last few days before a trip or vacation can be hectic. Your to-do list may include deciding where to go, organizing your budget, making travel arrangements, booking tickets, and so on. Not to mention packing your suitcase, watering of plants, calling of cat-sitters, and other things around the home. Being slightly overly enthusiastic about your trip can make you forget about the most important thing to do before you leave your home – to take adequate security measures for keeping your empty home safe.
Here are five tips to safeguard your home before you travel.
1 - Get a Wi-Fi Security Camera You Can Monitor from Your Phone or Laptop
Installing a Wi-Fi camera that allows remote video surveillance will let you keep an eye on your home while traveling. Some security cameras and systems can help you see what’s happening in your home in real-time from your phone or laptop. This is a small investment that’s definitely worth your peace of mind.
There are some great ultraportable laptops on the market, that are perfect to travel with, and use to monitor your security system at home while you’re away.
2 - Avoid Posting on Social Media
Here’s a piece of advice you may not have thought of before – don’t post your location on social networks like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter while you’re on your trip.
If you think that only your family and close friends follow your profile, you’re wrong. You can never know if someone out there who comes across your travel pictures can figure out who you are and where you live. That person can realize you’re not in your house at that very moment and pay your home an unwanted visit. By posting your location on social networks, you’re telling possible intruders that your house is empty, and you surely don’t want that. So, be careful and avoid posting on social media while traveling.
3 - Ask Someone to Watch Your House
You can ask a family member or a trusted friend or neighbor to stop by at your house every day or two. If your trusted neighbor has a key to your house, they can quickly react in case of an emergency. Also, no one will notice that your home is empty if there’s an occasional presence of people in it. This won’t let possible intruders think the house has been left alone, thus deterring them from their plan to break in.
However, you should be very careful when sharing keys. You don’t want your key ending up in the hands of your kid’s teenage friend who stole a stereo last month, or a neighbor you don’t know too well.
4 - Remove Spare Keys
Although spare keys can be convenient when forgetting or misplacing your house keys, they can also provide thieves access to your home. Thieves know all these “secret” places for spare keys, so if you think hiding yours under the mat or the flower pot is a good idea, think again. Therefore, make sure you remove your spare keys before leaving your home, or even better, give them to a trusted person who can periodically check in your home for you.
5 - Unplug Your Appliances
You don’t want any unnecessary plugged-in device in your home while away, as you can never know when a thunderstorm will roll in and cause a fire. That night light you left plugged in unnecessarily can spark up if lightning strikes the wrong spot. So make sure you check or double-check all of your appliances before you leave, and don’t leave any of them plugged in for no reason. As you go around the house, you’ll probably notice at least a few things that really don’t need to be plugged in while you’re away.
Also, you can ask your trusted neighbor or friend you’ve given access to your house to check in your home after a storm and ensure your fish tank doesn’t lose power, or your freezer didn’t turn off. If you’ve chosen the right person, they will do this for you without even asking them.
To Sum Up
We know that planning a trip can be fun, stressful, and enthusiastic at the same time, but please don’t forget to take these measures before traveling to prevent possible intrusions in your empty home and keep your house safe from disasters while you’re away.
