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How to Keep Your House and Car Safe When on Vacation

Tips on securing the home front while traveling.

Car in front of house

Have you packed your bags, booked your tickets, and you’re ready to board your plane for the Holidays? Well, before you get going, you need to take time to protect your home and your car so nothing goes wrong while on vacation. It seems that if anything would seriously go wrong, it would most likely happen when you are away.

An unattended home is very tempting for burglars to break in. So before leaving, create a checklist for the items to be secured outside and inside the house so you wouldn’t miss a thing.

Securing Your Car and The House’s Exterior

You should install an outdoor motion-sensor light to deter intruders. Also, stop all mail and newspaper delivery so criminals wouldn’t get a hint that you haven’t been home to collect your mail. Furthermore, you should ensure that your car has been well protected and parked in a secured area.

If you are leaving your car in the garage, make sure to lock and disconnect your garage door even if there is no direct access from the garage to your house. If, however, you don’t have a garage at home, then it is probably best to keep it safe in a secured parking lot.

Parking your car at the airport may be the finest choice if you’re traveling by plane.  If you live in New Jersey and you’ll drive to the airport, consider Newark liberty airport parking as it offers great deals on long-term parking tickets. All parking lots are carefully inspected and you get free-cancellation up until 24 hours prior to departure. Leaving your car somewhere secure is possibly the safest way to go; only then will you rest easy on vacation.

Keys pile

Securing Inside the House

It is vital to have a home monitoring system that allows you to view a live video feed remotely. And most importantly, you should never broadcast your absence.

Remember not to leave your lights on just to mimic your attendance; rather, invest in a light switch timer and set timers on interior lights. This way, you avoid costly electrical bills. In addition, it isn’t always safe to keep your curtains closed while you’re away. Closed curtains may hinder neighbors or the police from seeing inside your home if something goes wrong. Don’t leave a spare key at home; give it to a family member or a friend that could come check up on the house, and secure all valuable items in a well-locked safe.

Remember that to take pleasure in your vacation fully, you need to always plan for your home and car’s security beforehand. Create a checklist of everything you need to get done before leaving so you  would keep track of what needs to be taken care of. Your plan should involve securing both the inside and outside of your home to discourage burglars from attempting to break into your house while you are away.

Try to keep everything looking the same as you normally would if you are at home. Don’t switch off all the lights and close all curtains., Secure your car in your garage or driveway. If you don’t have a garage, it would be best to leave it in a specialized parking lot where it is monitored and protected till your return. Have a safe trip and happy holidays!

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  • Lesha Littlejohn October 21, 2020, 2:09 am

    A very good write-up on securing house and car on vacation. Thanks for sharing.

    I love your point that I should not leave the spare key at home. On our last vacation, we leave our home lock keys in a hidden place and thought that no one found it. But after coming back from vacation, we saw our door lock was broken and a huge amount of cash, jewelry, and many valuable items were stolen. Although the thief was ought after filling a case but could not get back all the loosen items.

    So I will follow your tips to give keys to my a neighbour friend.

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