Home Security When You are on Vacation

At some point during the year, we need to get away from home alone or with our family to spend some downtime from stressful situations. We want to relax and enjoy a week or two of doing whatever we please. And when we return home, we want everything to be as it was when we left. That is not always the case.

Returning from vacation should make us feel rejuvenated and happy to get on with our life. But, what if you return and you find the front door unlocked. You open the door and you find your home in a messy state. The drawers have been emptied. Books and magazines are strewn all over the floor. Your clothes have been pulled from your closet. When you check your kitchen, the refrigerator door is open; dishes are all over the table and the sink.

Your heart sinks. What should be a happy moment has turned into a stressful and disappointing event.

Before you go on vacation there are some things you can do to minimize your risks.

Hire a house sitter. You do not have to hire someone to stay in your home while you are away. You can hire a house sitter to visit your house a couple of times during the day and to go back in the evenings to turn on a light. If you have pets, you may want the house sitter to care for them as well. There are house sitting services available in some communities. Check the Internet to find one in your area. If you cannot find someone to hire from a service, ask a neighbor or friend in return for providing the same service for them.

Put your lights on a timer. People who work and who have kids in school have certain weekday patterns, especially when the lights first go in the house and when they go off. You can put the lights in certain rooms on a timer to automatically turn on and off at the specified times. You can also put your radio or television on a timer.

Continue your lawn service. If you use a lawn service, you are usually billed for the service provided. Do not tell them you are going on vacation. Let them continue their routine. Burglars watch for homes that usually have manicured lawns and the grass has started to grow taller.

Have the post office hold your mail. If you are going to be away from home for a week or two, the post office will hold your mail. You have to fill out a form at your local post office. Having mail overflow in your mailbox is another signal to burglars that no one is home.

Stop your daily newspaper delivery. Just as you do not want your mail piling up at your front door, you do not want your newspapers piling up. This is another sign that no one is home.

If you can not find a house sitting service in your local area, make sure that the individual who does check your home goes inside to make sure that the timers are working properly and to see if anything looks out of place. If something appears to be wrong, that person should contact the police. You should leave a contact number with the house sitter and your neighbor.

All work and no play do not make a full life. If you have children, you will want to spend some time with them having new adventures and participating in family activities. Vacations are a fun way for the entire family to get away and spend time bonding with each other. Take a few precautions and when you get home, the only bad thing may be the meal you had in a restaurant while you were away.