Keeping Your Encinitas Home Safe on Vacation

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, many of you will be planning to use your long weekend to go out of town. But even if you’ll only be gone for a few days, you’ll want to make sure your Encinitas home is safe and secure while you’re away. Before piling the family into the car and attempt to beat the traffic, there are a few things you should do to make sure your house is protected while you’re away.

Ask a Friend to Help

One of the simplest ways you can put your mind at ease while away from home is to ask a friend to stop by. Many people ask their friends to come by once or twice a day to check on their home. This is especially true if you have pets that aren’t going on the trip with you. If you’re going out of town for an extended period of time, you may even want to ask someone to housesit for you until you return.

Hold Your Mail and Newspaper Deliveries

If you’re going out of town for a few days, consider contacting the post office and your newspaper delivery and requesting them to hold off on delivering while you’re out of town. Having a stack of mail and newspapers piling up on your doorstep is a sure sign that you’re away, and could make you a target for burglaries.

Be Wary of Announcing Plans on Social Media

These days it’s hard to resist telling the world when you’re going out for a gallon of milk, but stop and consider who may be reading your social media posts. Chances are good that absolute strangers could have access to your various social media posts, and announcing your plans to leave town for a few days could be an open invitation to criminals. Also avoid announcing that you’ll be out of town on personal outgoing voicemail or answering machine messages.

Unplug Your Electronics

It’s a good idea to unplug any electronics that may be susceptible to power surges while you’re away. Unplugging devices like televisions, computers, and other appliances will not only save on power, but could prevent an avoidable disaster while you’re away.

Keep Your Curtains Open

It might seem like a good idea to close your curtains while you’re away, but it’s actually not. Closed curtains will keep people from seeing into your home, but will also prevent neighbors or anyone else who is keeping an eye on the place from being able to see suspicious activity. It’s also a bad idea to leave your lights on while you’re away. While having a fully-lit home may make it look like someone is home, it’s a huge energy waste and a dead giveaway when the house is lit throughout the day and night.

By Linda Moore

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