Heading Away For The Holidays? How To Keep Your Home Secure
Now that we have less than two weeks to go for the Christmas holiday, you will more than likely be making your plans. Some of you might be hosting the celebrations at home. Some of you might be heading on vacation or to different parts of the country to visit family and friends. If the latter is the case, then you might be thinking about how to keep your home secure. Unfortunately, people know that this is one of the times when a lot of people won’t be at home. So if it looks like you aren’t there, it could put your home at more risk of burglary. So the key thing is making your home look like you are home. Here are some top tips for keeping your home safe and secure when you’re away for the holidays.
Make Your Home Look as Normal as Possible
One of the first things you should do is to make your home look as normal as possible. If it looks too out of the ordinary, then it could arouse suspicion. So if you have the curtains or blinds most of the time, then keep them closed most of the time. If they are normally open, having them completely closed while you are away will make it look unusual. So it might be better to have them half closed rather than completely closed when you are away. If you normally have a car in the drive, then try to have one parked. It could be another car of yours or you could even ask a neighbor to park there with their other car. Just do small things to make it look as normal as possible.
Use Timer Lights
Using timer lights is a great deterrent. If lights come on when it is dark, it will look much more obvious that someone is home. Getting a timer light switch can be quite inexpensive to buy. So it is definitely worth looking into.
Set an Alarm
First of all, if you don’t have an alarm for your home, then you need one. You could look somewhere like Alarm Industries, for example. Then if the worst did happen and someone tried to break in, they will be put off when an alarm sounds. It will alert you and neighbors, so the risk of burglary is much lower. You could also look into something like CCTV if you live in an area that isn’t very busy with neighbors or passers by. If you do have an alarm, though, make sure that it is set before you leave.
Ask a Friend to Help
Not everyone will be going away for the holidays. Many people around you could be staying home. So ask a friend that you trust to come and check on the house from time to time. They could move mail and put the bins out for you. It isn’t going to be a problem here, but if you live in a cold area that could get snow, they could help to walk in the snow by your house. If fresh snow is untouched, it makes it obvious that someone hasn’t been walking in and out of the house. So even a simple thing like that could act as a great deterrent.