Hi! It's been awhile. I've been busy selling houses so haven't had
much time to write one of my super exciting blogs. But, I'm back and
this time I have some tips for securing your home for the holidays.
Many of us travel during the holiday season. We travel to see family,
we travel to get away from family, we are gone doing our shopping for
gifts and groceries. In all that hustle and bustle, the simple things
like securing your house can fall to the wayside.
Here are some handy dandy tips that I have come across that may help.
1) Lock the doors - You would think it would be a simple task.
However, with all the craziness of family, travel, shopping, kids,
pets, gift lists, parties and all the other things that come along in
the holiday season, you would be surprised on how easily you might
forget. Get into the habit of double checking all of your doors before
you leave the house. Better to check twice than leave the door unlocked
for Mr. Burglar to come on in and have a cup of coffee.
2) The Lights are on but no one is home - Again another simple one.
Leave your lights on. If you're leaving for the night or a holiday
trip, leave a few lights on. If you're worried about the expense on
your power bill, don't. It would be a lot more expensive to replace
stolen goods, broken windows and the hassle of being burglarized than
the few extra dollars it may cost you on your monthly bill.
3) Put it in the hole - Sliding glass doors are a burglars best friend.
This is the number one place that homes get broken into. It's pretty
easy to lift a sliding glass door off its rails and get it open. (I've
even had to do it myself, don't ask). Get a security pin. You can pick
them up at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-mart etc. for a few dollars.
Definitely worth it!
4) Out of sight, out of mind - Put your crap away. Don't leave the
keys to your car visible on a table. Don't leave your laptop out. Put
your jewelry away. Anybody could come along and look through your
windows. Personally, unless it's Mark Wahlberg or Channing Tatum, I
don't want anyone peering through my windows checking out my goods. Put
away all of your valuables somewhere out of sight and keep your blinds
closed.
5) Locking up your junk - Garages and sheds. Those places where you
keep your hammers, ladders, axes and anything else that would be helpful
to your friendly neighborhood burglar. What a messed up story if the
guy burglarizing your house uses your tools to do it. That's almost as
crazy as forgetting to take your son on your family Christmas trip and
he has to stay home by himself and defend the house against 2
burglars...
6) Like a good neighbor... - If you will be gone for more than a few
days, let your neighbors know that you're leaving. Not the annoying
neighbor that you maybe don't get along with but the other ones (unless
you're the annoying neighbor that nobody likes then you're SOL with this
one). If your neighbors know you'll be gone, they will know that
nobody is supposed to be at the house. Then if they see someone around,
they can report it.
7) Facebook is not your friend - I find it amazing how many of my
Facebook friends update their status with the fact that they are leaving
to go on vacation or are "checking in" from some awesome beach resort.
You are basically letting everyone on earth know that you are not home
and that your house is free and clear for a visit. Sure, you want to
brag to your friends that you're on an awesome trip to an awesome place
and they aren't, but don't forget, anything you put online is out there
for all to see. Oops.
Anyways, these are the tips that I came across that stuck out as
important and easy to do. You can never be too careful if you ask me.
Some of them may seem like common sense and ridiculous but again, with
all the craziness that surrounds the holiday season, you may not be
thinking about things like this. If you are and your house is locked up
tight like Fort Knox, well then I'm sorry you just wasted several
minutes reading this blog. If not, then you're welcome and Happy
Holidays :)
