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in: Featured, Homeownership, Lifestyle
Jeremy Anderberg • June 14, 2016 • Last updated: June 4, 2021
14 Ways to Protect Your Home
While on Vacation
You’ve just spent a glorious week on vacation with your family. The sun was out the
whole time, the food was good, and the kids behaved. Miraculous! As you pull into
the garage, though, you realize something seems amiss. The door into the house
is ajar, and you’re sure you closed it on the way out. You cautiously open the door,
only to realize that while you were away, burglars made off with your electronics,
jewelry, cash, etc. The glee from your previous week is wiped away, and you’re left
wondering, “Why me?”
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It’s a scenario that plays out thousands of times each year in households across
the country, and world. In the days following, you’re sure to ask yourself, “What
could I have done differently?” This article is here to help you answer that question.
There are of course instances where no amount of preparation would have
prevented a break in. But with a few simple steps, you can lower your home’s risk
of being targeted and infiltrated by burglars.
Note: I don’t mention security systems here, as you either have one or you don’t.
It’s not likely you’d get one installed simply for vacation. (If you’re away a lot,
though, and don’t already have a system, it’s probably worth looking into.) If you do
have a system, just be sure to call your security company and inform them that
you’ll be on vacation, so that any alert gets taken seriously right away.
Tips For Keeping Your Home Safe
While You’re Away
Ask Someone to Keep an Eye on
Things
One of the best ways to protect your home is to be a good neighbor. That is, when
you get to know your neighbors and talk with them regularly, you can mention that
you’ll be going on vacation and that you’d appreciate their looking out for the place
a little.
Don’t necessarily ask them to do a bunch of chores (be respectful of their time and
efforts), but it’s no problem to ask that they be aware of anything that might make
the house look unoccupied — packages on the front step, a sprinkler system gone
awry, etc. They’re the first line of defense while you’re gone, and you can return the
favor when they’re away. You’ll also want to give them your vacation contact
information, just in case of emergency.
If you’re not at a point of being comfortable with your neighbors, you can also ask
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friends and family to check up on the place a couple times a week while you’re
gone. Again, you don’t need to ask them to do all the chores (unless they owe
you!), but just to make sure that things look normal and lived in.
You can also actually call your local PD and let them know you’ll be going on
vacation; they’ll often send an extra patrol or two through your neighborhood just to
establish a presence. While this isn’t a replacement for asking someone trusted to
stop by a few times, it is an additional layer of security.
Install Timers on Your Electronics
A dark house at night for a week straight is a sure sign that someone is on
vacation. By the same token, you don’t want to just flip a light on as you head out
the door and leave it on the entire time (yes, I’ve done that, and I know other
people who have too).
Luckily, there are a huge variety of timers on the market that plug right into an
outlet and turn your lights and other electronics on and off at certain times of day.
Most people only think of using these timers on lamps, but having TVs and/or
radios plugged into them is a good idea too to create noise and the flickering lights
associated with most American homes in the evening.
Be sure to get the variety of timer that works with random intervals. You don’t want
lights that turn on at exactly 7pm and turn off at 10pm every night; if someone is
watching the neighborhood, they’ll notice. Some models even pair with your
smartphone so you can turn certain outlets on and off at will. (Note that many
security systems offer this feature as well.)
Have Someone Mow the Lawn/
Shovel the Driveway
Two of the biggest giveaways that someone is away from home are an unkempt
lawn and a snowy driveway with not the slightest hint of human movement. So in
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the summer, find a neighbor kid, family member, friend, or landscaping company to
mow your lawn (if it’s one of those first three options, paying them in some way is
good form; obviously, you’ll be paying the landscaping company), and in the winter
do the same with clearing your driveway and sidewalks of snow.
Also, asking someone to take care of any other outdoor chores that might arise is a
good idea. For instance, if a storm comes through and knocks some branches
down in everyone’s yard, and you’re the only house that hasn’t picked them up, it’s
clear you aren’t home. Hopefully these incidences are few and far between, but
they do happen. Neighbors are probably your best bet here, as they’ll be the ones
to know if something has happened on your street.
Stop the Mail
An overflowing mailbox and a pile of packages on the front step are clear
indications that someone hasn’t been home for a while. It’s incredibly easy to stop
your USPS delivery for any amount of time (up to 30 days) and for the dates you
specify. They even deliver your mail in a large bundle when you get home.
You can also stop UPS and FedEx service or hold the packages at a pickup
location, although those require registration to do so (some services are free, some
are paid for). If you know you’re going to be away, it’s best to just not order things
that are scheduled to arrive while you’re gone. With carriers other than USPS, it
can be a pain to retrieve those packages.
Also stop newspaper delivery; if it’s a city or neighborhood paper that comes for
free, you can ask a neighbor to grab yours. (Ours comes on Thursdays in a big
blue bag at the end of the driveway, and it’s always obvious through the
neighborhood when someone hasn’t picked theirs up by the weekend — a dead
giveaway of either a vacationer or a very lazy person, both of which make good
targets for burglars!)
Leave the Blinds Open (If You
Normally Do)
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If you’re someone who regularly leaves the blinds open in your home during the
day, don’t go closing them when you leave for vacation. It may seem strange and
you might feel that you don’t want anyone peeping into your home while you’re not
there, but it’s also an obvious giveaway to burglars that something is outside the
normal routine. As already noted, you want things to look normal and lived in — a
house that’s all shuttered up for a week straight does not give that appearance.
It gets tricky when you have electronics on a timer; when they turn on at night, it
could end up being obvious that there’s nobody in the living room watching the
television. So, close the blinds halfway, or close them strategically so that certain
areas or rooms are hidden, while blinds in other areas remain open.
Beware of Social Media
In our Instagram world, every vacation is instantly shared on the internet for the
entire world to behold. It’s indeed tempting to post your photos right as you snap
them and induce FOMO to your entire stream of friends. What that also does,
however, is broadcast to the world that you aren’t home right now, and your stuff is
ripe for the taking. So skip the photo-posting, checking in, and status updates like
“Off to the airport!”
Feel free to share all your awesome pics, just wait until you’re home to do so.
Also note that this is less of a worry if all your accounts are private — hopefully
there are no would-be burglars among your circle of family and friends! Though
one never can tell. I’m looking at you Uncle Borrowed-My-Leafblower-Without-
Asking-And-Never-Gave-It-Back.
Lock Everything
While it seems like common sense, be sure to lock every single possible entry to
your home, including deadbolts. While you may lock the main doors when you’re
gone at work, there are surely windows and/or doors (such as into the garage or a
second-floor deck) that usually stay unlocked or un-deadbolted. Before you leave
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for a vacation though, go through the house and lock absolutely every window and
every door.
Don’t Leave Spare Keys Out
If you have a spare key hidden somewhere — under a mat, attached to a mailbox,
in a fake rock — now is the time to remove them and stow them away. If a would-
be thief knows you’re away, they’ll feel free to take their time in searching for spare
keys. They also know all the most common hiding spots way better than you do, so
don’t try fooling them.
Lock the Garage Door
If you have an automatic garage opener (rather than a manual door that you have
to open and close by hand), you’re already pretty secure. Those doors are hard to
open for burglars. There is a workaround, however, called “fishing.” It’s where a
burglar will snake a coat hanger through the top of the door, and pull the
emergency release trigger, turning off the automatic opener and allowing the door
to be opened manually. This isn’t possible on all openers, but it’s definitely a risk for
some.
No matter which type of door you have, the best way to protect it is to install a
deadbolt-style lock. Just one per garage door will do the trick, but you could install
one on each side as a failsafe.
Don’t Lead Burglars to Your Home
With Your GPS
Many a GPS, either the portable or built-in style, has led thieves directly to
unsuspecting homes. When a car is left at the airport, a bad guy can break in, turn
on the GPS unit and often find out exactly where home is. If you have a portable
unit, don’t leave it in the car either at the airport, or in your hotel parking lot at night
if you’re road-tripping. If you have a built-in unit, set “home” for something other
than your actual exact address. Use a nearby intersection or cafe instead. That
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way you’ll still get home, but won’t lead anyone else there either. (It’s not a bad
idea to do this with your portable unit as well just in case anyone gets their hands
on it!)
Stash Valuables in the Safe
While we’re home, there’s often cash, jewelry, family heirlooms, etc. that are out for
our use and enjoyment. When you go away, however, it’s best to put all of that stuff
into your safe (you have a safe, right?). Just in case your home is broken to, the
bad guys won’t get to your truly valuable stuff.
Have Someone Take the Trash Out
When trash sits in a garage or outside for a week or more, it not only stinks up the
joint (as well as neighboring homes), it can attract bad guys. If they catch wind
(literally), they’ll be suspicious and more prone to snooping around. If your trash is
visible from the curb, it’s also a visual cue to burglars if everyone else’s cans are
empty in the neighborhood and yours is stuffed to the brim.
If trash day comes while you’re on vacation, ask a neighbor if they can pull your
cans out and bring them back in after the trash is taken. Since they’re already
doing it themselves, it’s generally not too much of an inconvenience.
Hire a House Sitter
One option that covers many of these tactics is to hire a house sitter. Whether a
family member, a friend, or other acquaintance (nannies often make great house
sitters!), having someone actually stay at your home to care for and keep an eye
on it is a great way to ensure its safety – especially if you’re taking a longer trip. It
can be a pricey option; you can’t very well ask someone to stay and care for
someplace other than their home for a week or more without compensation (even
friends and family, unless they offer, and even then, you should pay them with a gift
card or nice dinner). Having said that, if you have someone trusted who is
convenient to your location, plants can be watered, mail/packages can be taken
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care of, and the house can generally be cared for in one fell swoop.
There are also companies and agencies that offer house-sitting services. The most
reputable of which offer reviews, references, and even background checks. Some
newer companies are doing free exchanges — the homeowner gets free house
sitting, the sitter gets free lodging for a week. Of the companies that do that, the
majority do not offer background checks. Personally, I’d either have someone
trusted look after the house, or go with an agency that thoroughly vets their sitters.
Add These To Your Vacation
Checklist
Last summer, as Brett was preparing to head out on his annual family vacation, he
realized that having a handy dandy pre-trip checklist would help not only get the
family out the door on time, but keep the house in tip-top shape while they were
away.
You’d do well to not only have a vacation checklist for yourself, but to have a
security-specific section. Go through the list of action steps above, note the ones
that are relevant to your home and situation, and add them to your list so you never
forget them again. If you rush out the door and forget just a single lock which then
allows entry to a burglar, all that security planning has gone to waste.
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