Prepare Your Home for Summer Vacation

Summer is finally here. Traveling is opening up for us to move around a little more, at last. After a long year of staying close to home, many are making plans to go on a long-awaited vacation. However, there is always that worry about leaving your house behind with a lifetime of memories inside. Will it be safe? Burglars also have been waiting for the vacation months of July and August to come. They know that with a holiday weekend, many go out of town. Let’s look at a few of the best ways to secure your home if you leave it behind for a few days. We’ll also see how home security systems greatly benefit your vacation too. 

Make a Plan

When a vacation is needed, you plan. It takes reservations, savings, time off of work, and other preparation. This same way of planning needs to go into leaving your home behind also. Make notes of your daily routine and figure out how to keep it going while you are away. Do you have pets, newspaper delivery, mail, or other routine items that need care? If there are pets, you might have a friend to consider for housesitting. That way, the home looks lived-in and not empty. If not, be sure to put the newspaper and mail on hold so they do not pile up. Keep up any maintenance that helps you around the house, such as a cleaner, lawn service, or pool service. 

Prepare Your Home

There are additional actions you can take in addition to any home alarm systems to safeguard your house. Home security can be a good neighbor, ask them to park one of their cars in the driveway. Locking up your valuables in the home is also suggested. Don’t leave items that are seen by looking in the windows. You don’t want to necessarily close all the blinds and curtains tight since that is out of your daily routine. Check on all your outside lights to make sure they are in working order. Motion-sensor lights are best since they won’t waste energy and serve to scare away those that wander onto your property at night. Also, before you close the final door, do a walkthrough of the home and re-check all the windows and doors to make sure they are closed and locked. Don’t assume someone else did it. 

Best Option for Home Security

Of course, having home security to deter any burglary is the best choice. Visible cameras, a video doorbell, motion-triggered outside lighting, and yard signs do a lot to scare away potential intruders. Even better, adding alarm monitoring to back up your home security system puts that extra layer on to seal up your protection. Monitoring also listens for your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Having your system monitored lets you relax on that vacation. If there is an unfortunate occurrence at the house, your monitoring company makes sure to get emergency services out there quickly. Time is critical, and if you are out of town, it is a relief to have someone looking out for your home.

Smart Home Controls

Smart home devices make our homes more convenient. This is especially true when we go out of town. Having smart devices added in with your home security allows you to program your lights, TV, thermostat, and even your blinds, plus more. Set up a schedule of your daily routine so that when you are out of town, it looks like you are still at the house. Or, you have manual control anytime you want to turn a device off, on, or just check the status. If it plugs into an outlet, you can turn it into a smart home device. 

Enjoy Your Time Away

Vacation time is for relaxing, not worrying about what is going on at home. Home security systems with alarm monitoring make that happen. No one wants the distraction of wondering if everything is okay on your property. Give us a call at True Home Protection for more tips on how to keep your home safe while you are gone. We have many years of experience in what works for protection at home. Take that vacation you have planned out for that needed rest, and let us look after your home.