15 Ways to Keep your Home Safe When You’re Away
Traveling for the holidays? Get 15 tips to keep your home safe while you’re on vacation.
This post is sponsored by the Home Depot.
Home safety is important year round, but with the holidays approaching, it’s the perfect time to consider ways to keep your home safe and secure while you’re away. I’m excited to partner with Home Depot today to bring you some simple ways to help secure your home before you travel.
Whether you’re traveling for long stretches or just headed out for your holiday shopping, it’s important that your home not look empty. And with today’s smart home technology, it’s easy to monitor your property while away! So check out these simple ideas to protect your home this holiday season.
TOP 5 Ways to protect your home while on vacation
1. Install interior Security System
This is an obvious one: home security systems can bring great peace of mind whenever you’re out of the house. But did you know they can be incredibly easy to set up? And monthly contracts aren’t even required?
This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure.
There are many, many home security packages out there with varying levels of monitoring services, but in partnering with Home Depot on this project, they sent me a Ring Alarm Home Security Kit. We had it up and running in less than an hour! And I have it set to notify me on my mobile phone any time one of the sensors is triggered. It couldn’t have been easier.
2. Set up Outdoor Security Cameras
Again, outdoor home security cameras may be a no brainer. To be able to see your property while you’re not there is amazing… Even better, you can set up many surveillance cameras with motion detection to notify your mobile device when triggered. But I think many homeowners worry that outdoor cameras are too complicated to mess with.
I’m actually going to share another post soon with tips for setting up your home security system, but suffice it to say today that we installed the Eufy 1080p Security Camera System out at our little hill country property a couple of months ago… and I can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner.
Any time I want, I can pull up video on my phone of the exterior of the house. And when there is motion, it notifies me so I can double check that it’s an approved visitor. This is also super helpful for monitoring package deliveries when you’re not home.
3. Decorate
Of course I’d say that. 😉 But in all honesty, if you are traveling during the holiday season, it helps a home to look occupied or “lived in” if there are some holiday decorations.
So string up some twinkle lights and hang a wreath, even if you aren’t planning to be at home for the actual holidays. You can even string outdoor lights and control them from your mobile device using a smart plug like this.
4. Use Smart Bulbs
Speaking of lights helping a home to look lived in. I can’t help but thinking of the scene in Home Alone when the robbers are scoping out the street they want to rob. The homeowners have clearly put their holiday lights on a timer, because the thieves sit in their car and countdown until the moment the lights will come on.
The beauty of app-controlled smart lighting is that you don’t have to follow an exact schedule. Can you create a schedule and leave it to run? Of course! But if you’d like to change it up some, you can do that from your mobile device.
I recently installed some of these Wiz Connected Wireless Light Bulbs in my kitchen, and I love the freedom it gives me. Sure, I can turn them on and off with voice command using Alexa (which is great when you come in the door with your hands full!), but I can also control them from my phone from anywhere.
5. Phone a Friend
Despite all the wonderful technology available these days, I still think it’s wise to talk to someone you trust about your travel schedule. Whether it’s a close neighbor friend or a family member in town, having someone close by who can check on things or bring packages inside for you is priceless.
Other Tips for Home Safety When you Travel
With the tips above, you can both keep an eye on your home while gone and give the impression that your home is occupied. Those two things are a great start! Here are a few more simple suggestions for making wise choices for your home security during holidays.
How to Protect Your Home When You Travel:
- Lock your doors and windows.
Obviously.
- Stop your mail.
An overflowing mail box is a sure sign of an empty home. You can hold delivery of your mail by calling your local post office.
- Have a lawn service come while you’re gone.
An overgrown lawn can make your house look uninhabited.
- Don’t announce your travel on social media.
News travels. Fast. Limit it to those who need to know.
- Remove or lock up any major valuables.
Family heirlooms can’t be replaced. Small, portable, expensive items (like laptops and jewelry) are very tempting to thieves. Take them with you or put them in a safe.
- Install motion detector lights.
Something like this will turn on when someone walks into view. Great deterrent to casual passersby.
- Put in a doorbell camera.
If outdoor surveillance cameras are too much or they need to capture a different angle on your property, doorbell cameras are a useful tool for monitoring your front door.
- Remove or lock up your hidden key.
If you have spare keys hiding under flower pots, don’t leave them there when you’re out of town. Give a key to someone you trust or lock it up in a coded box like this.
- Add a smart lock to your door.
Even better than the suggestion above: consider adding a smart lock to your door so you can control it from afar.
- Make some noise.
Whether it’s a tv, radio, or even a smart speaker, it helps contribute to the home looking occupied to have a little noise going on inside.
I hope you found these tips helpful! But even more importantly, I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a safe holiday season.
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Very smart suggestions. Maybe even have someone check on the house while you’re gone. I have a great friend and neighbor. we look out for each other. thanks , have a wonderful holiday.
So true! This is a bit tougher for my second home as it is in a remote area, but thanks for the tip!