How To Protect Your Home When You Go On Holidays
Many people travel during the holiday season but do not make sure that their houses and homes are protected. Crime goes up during the winter and summer holiday seasons. Here are some things that you should keep in mind when you go on a holiday.
Always give strangers the feeling that you are at home. Have someone shovel the snow off your stairs or out of your driveway during the winter season. You might ask someone to park their car in your driveway.
Tell your newspaper deliverer that you are not at home. Having a stack of newspapers and other mail on your doorsteps tells people that you are not at home. You could also have a neighbor or a relative get your mail every day.
Install a timer in some of your rooms that turns lights on and off during different times of the day. Some TVs also come with a timer that you could set to be turned on during prime time. Have motion sensitive lights outside your house that keep burglars away when you are not at home.
Don’t leave extra keys in hiding places where they can be easily found, like under a plant pot or on a window sill. Check all doors and locks and make sure they are in the proper place.
If you do have extra money get a security system installed. But do it at least a few months before you leave in order to get accustomed to it. Get information about new interactive systems that are on the market. Some standard systems can be controlled via your smartphone or portable computer.
Dogs are always a great way to protect to scare off burglars when you are not at home. You could also buy a barking dog alarm at a low cost.
Before you leave make sure you know what valuable things you have at home, so when you come home you will know if something is missing.
Finally, don’t tell anyone that you are out. And don’t publish your plans on Facebook or elsewhere. Keep private information to yourself.
Related Topics
- New Software Helps to Reduce Crime and Catch Criminals
- Closed Circuit Television Helps Police Catch Criminals
Words
- accustomed = to get used to
- bark = sound that a dog makes
- burglar = someone who goes into houses and steals things
- crime = activities that are against the law
- deliverer = person who brings you something
- driveway = hard area between your house and the street; most of the time it leads to your garage
- interactive = you can control it with commands
- keep in mind = be aware of, think about
- lock = an object that keeps a door or an object closed; you need a key to open it
- mail = letters and packages that you get from the postman
- motion sensitive = something that is turned on when you move to it
- portable = moveable
- pot = something that a plant stands on
- prime time = time when most people watch TV
- proper = right
- protect = guard, keep safe
- publish = to make known, tell everyone
- relative = member of your family
- scare off = to make someone go away by frightening them
- security system = a system that sets off an alarm if somebody breaks into your house
- shovel = tool with a round blade and handle that is used to move earth and snow
- sill = narrow shelf at the bottom of a window
- smartphone = mobile phone that has an operating system and works like a computer
- stack = pile
- stranger = someone that you do not know
- timer = instrument that measures time when you are doing something; you can program it to go on and off at certain times
- valuable = costly; worth a lot