The Holidays are Coming – How to Keep Your Home Safe
Whether you plan on traveling or staying in, it’s important to make sure that your home stays safe and sound during
the holidays. Crime tends to spike during this time of year, due in large part to the fact that a lot of homes tend to be
empty and many others hold valuables as people stock up for the season. If you’re interested in making sure that
your house remains safe throughout the holiday season, consider implementing these home safety tips.
Take a Street-Level View of Your HomeIf you plan to go out, be it for a vacation or a late-night holiday party, take some time to scope out your house from
the street. Make sure that any valuables you want to protect can’t be seen through your outdoor windows. While
many rooms can easily be covered up using curtains or blinds, take some time to check your hallways as well.
People who are casing your home will often watch any windows that lead to hallways in order to gain some insight as
to the traffic patterns in the house. While it might take you a little bit out of your comfort zone, looking at your home as
though you planned to break in can reveal a lot of security flaws and risks that you can easily avoid.
Don’t Announce Your Plans OnlineThe age of social media means that the things you say can be seen by virtually anybody who checks your Facebook
or Twitter account. Because of this, you should make sure not to announce any vacation plans in advance. Even if
you have your account set to friends only, there are still ways for other people to be able to see your status, either
intentionally or accidentally. Similarly, don’t post photos while you are on vacation. Those pictures and posts about
how much fun you had can wait until you get home, at which you can upload them all at once. By making sure that
you take a little bit of extra care in regards to your online profiles, you will avoid giving an accidental invitation to
robbers or home invaders.
Invest in Some Basic SecurityThere are certain affordable security products that you can purchase to make sure that your home stays safe even
when you’re not around. One of the easiest of these is a simple timer for your lights. If you keep your lights on a timer
so it turns on at certain intervals, it will seem to a casual observer that somebody is home, even when they aren’t. If
you have a bit more money, video monitoring equipment can also be helpful. If you want to use monitoring equipment
as a diversion first, make sure that the camera is large and has a light that makes it easy for criminals to see that
they’re being watched.
You don’t have to put together a massive home security system to keep yourself safe during the holidays. Adding a
few basic essentials, putting your lights on a timer, and making sure that you adopt a certain routine will allow you to
keep your house safe no matter where you happen to go.