6 Things To Do Before You Take That Vacation

Summer is coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean that vacation time is over. Did you know that August is the second most popular month of the year to travel? With 36% of respondents vacationing this month, it’s a good idea to prepare your home to be unoccupied for days or weeks at a time.

There are many precautions you can take to ensure your home stays safe while you’re away. Here are a few tips to help reduce the risks:

• Only 17% of homes in America have a home security system, and homes without one are three times as likely to be burglarized. While these systems are not cheap, they are a wise investment and can save you a headache and a lot of money later down the road.​​​​
• Putting a hold on your mail and newspaper for the duration of your time away will make it look as though you are home, or at the very least, that someone is stopping by your house regularly to collect the mail.​​
• This may seem like an obvious one, but is easy to overlook while packing and running last minute errands before you leave town. Lock all windows and doors and once you’ve locked them, double-check just to be sure.​​
• We’ve all been told at one point or another to put our lights on a timer while on vacation, but smart bulbs like these can be programmed through your smartphone and controlled from wherever you are. It may also be a good idea to switch up the times that you activate the lights every day to further create the illusion that someone is home.​​
• It may seem silly to water the plants, clean up the yard and mow the grass before leaving on vacation, but think about it– a home with a tidy yard implies that the home is occupied, and is more likely to deter a burglar.​
• You never know when a power surge will happen, so why take the risk while you’re away? Disconnect any electronics that don’t need to stay plugged in, such as the TV, your laptop, a hair dryer, etc.

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about security measures to take the next time you leave for vacation and leave your empty house behind– after all, a vacation is intended to be relaxing, so don’t stress out!