Tips for Keeping Your Home Safe While You Take Your Summer Vacation

Safeguards for Your Home

There are a few common sense measures that every homeowner should take before they go on vacation. You might have a week-long vacation planned, or you could have a three-month-long summer trip across Europe on the horizon. Either way, putting these measures in ahead of time will help protect your home from looking like a target to criminals.

• Keep valuable items in a safe deposit box at the bank, rather than inside your home. This helps to prevent criminals from removing your most important valuables from the home and adds an extra level of security for your most precious possessions.
• Stop your mail for the duration of your trip at https://holdmail.usps.com. This will prevent it from collecting in your mailbox or piling up on your driveway, which can be a sign to thieves that you aren't home.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to take care of your home while you are away. If you are especially vigilant you might ask them to rearrange your vehicles occasionally, mow the lawn (if you're gone that long) and collect any flyers delivered to your door. Making your home look lived in will go a long way to deter would-be thieves.
• Check (or have a professional check) that your home security system is fully functional. If you're interested in adding a home security system, http://www.securitycompanies.com compares several services to help you choose the right system for you.

Be Cautious With Social Networking Sites

Of course, you want to share the excitement of your vacation with friends and family. Unfortunately, in doing so, you're also announcing to the internet that your home will be unoccupied for an extended period of time. Use common sense when posting about vacation or during vacation. This is an excellent time to double check your security settings on your social media profiles. 

In terms of your home security, the best practice is to wait until you've returned home to post photos of your vacation. If you can't wait that long, consider emailing them to those parties you want to share with immediately. If you must post on social media, be sure you've made the posts private to your friends, rather than public and available to the entirety of the internet. 

While these realities of your ever-connected world might make you nervous, don't be afraid to enjoy your vacation. A few simple precautions at home will let you make the most of your time away.