Tips For Amping Up Your Home Security While On Vacation

We all look forward to vacations for months, and it’s maybe the only opportunity to enjoy a few consecutive stress-free days away from the typical day-to-day pressures of work and life. You’ll want to make sure that while you’re away, your home is safe and secure.

The most obvious option is to invest in some high-end home security devices; however, those can be very pricy, and wouldn’t you rather put that money toward your getaway instead? If so, we’ve got you covered with five tips that you can use to increase the security of your home while you’re on your next vacation.

1. Set Your Lights on a Timer

Having lights on in your home is one of the most obvious indicators that the home is not empty. However, if you’re planning to go away for several days, or several weeks at a time, keeping the lights on for the entire duration of your trip is not only going to drive your electric bill through the roof, but it’s also dangerous as it poses a risk for fires.

Light timers are a great and cost-effective way to increase the security of your home while you’re away. You can set the timers to automatically turn your lights on and off at the same times that they typically would be if you were home. You can set up a few throughout the different floors of your home so it appears that people are around and occupying both the upstairs and downstairs.

2. Have a Friend Check in on Your Home

If you’re going to be away for more than a day or so, a smart idea is to have a trusted friend or neighbor come by to check up on your home a couple of times. Not only will this help to ensure that everything is right within your home, but it will also bring some motion and human presence to your house.

3. Keep a Car in the Driveway

Unless you have to use your car to get to your vacation destination, leaving it parked in the driveway can be a a great option for increasing your home’s security while you’re not there. It’s all about creating the illusion that someone is home, even when that’s not the case. Although you might be planning to use your car to drive to where you’re going. If that’s the case, a good alternative is to ask a nearby friend or neighbor if they would be willing to park their car in your driveway while you’re away. To sweeten the deal, offer to pay for their next carwash when you get back.

4. Be Mindful of Your Curtains and Blinds

If you typically keep your blinds closed throughout the day, keep them closed while you’re away. However, if it’s more common for you to leave them open for the majority of the day, mimic this while you’re gone, and make the choice to keep them open. The recurring theme here is doing little things in order to generate the impression that you’re still home, so consider leaving your curtains and blinds in a position that is more like how they are on a normal daily basis.

5. Create a Decoy Security System

By putting up decoy security signs, stickers and even imitation cameras in plain sight, you’re increasing your chances of deterring trespassers from trying to enter your home or approach your property. If it looks like a security system is installed, and it’s not hidden, it’s unlikely that someone would try to break in if they saw it.

While we don’t recommend this as your only means of protecting your home but by putting up decoy security signs, stickers and even imitation cameras in plain sight, you’re increasing your chances of deterring trespassers. If it looks like a security system is installed, and it’s not hidden, it’s unlikely that someone would try to break in if they saw it. This should help to give you the peace of mind that you need in order to enjoy your vacation and know that your home will be adequately safe and secure until you return back.

blog post by Chasity Rodriguez

Social Media Director