If you know you will be traveling and there will be no one in your home, there are some steps you can take to keep your house and your belongings safe. By following these steps you can have fun and be carefree on your vacation, or be focused on your business trip knowing that your belongings are safe.
Steps:
- Alert a trusted neighbor or family member that you will be out of town. Have them pick up mail and newspapers; mail build-up tells others that you are out of town.
- Check the locks on all of your doors. Replace any that need replacing.
- Replace the bulbs on all of your porch lights or your motion sensor lights, if you have them. Make sure the lights are working before you leave.
- Buy a varying interval timer for indoor lights to simulate someone being home. (A standard timer will work as well for short trips.)
- Alert your local police department of your absence (some departments will do drive-byes to check up on your houses.)
- Clean up the yard and close the curtains in your house. A dirty or unkept yard will alert potential burglars that you may not be home, and leaving the curtains open lets them see in your house to know where your valuables are.
- If possible, have someone come by your house once a day to “house sit” and give the impression that someone is still there during the day.
For more information on keeping your home safe, visit our page on home burglary prevention.
–Dalton Davidson, Safety and Security Intern
