How to Secure Your Home while You're on Vacation
Most break-ins are preventable with simple burglar-proofing techniques. Make sure they're in place before you head for your holiday.
Up next in Home Security & Safety (26 videos)
Don't wait until you're burglarized or suffer a home invasion to check out the home security and safety advice in this Howcast video series.
You Will Need
- Burglar's mindset
- Exterior lights
- Newspaper and mail suspension
- Light, TV, and radio timers
- Discretion
- Home safe or safety deposit box
Steps
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Step 1
Think like a burglar
Think like a burglar: Walk around the outside of your home, looking for ways you could break in. A burglar's main criterion when choosing a home is that they can get in quickly without being seen. See if any expensive items are visible through a window. Secure your home by plugging up any security holes you find.
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Step 2
Shine a light on crime
Install lights near entry points and put them on a timer, or consider installing motion-sensitive ones. A burglar won't feel secure in a spotlight.
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Step 3
Don't announce your absence
Don't announce your absence. Suspend newspaper and mail delivery; don't talk about your vacation on social-networking sites; put lights, TVs, and radios on variable timers; arrange for someone to shovel if it snows or mow the lawn if you'll be on vacation more than two weeks; ask a neighbor to put a garbage can at your curb on trash days.
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Pull the car into the garage or around the back of your home to load it up with luggage.
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Step 4
Burglar-proof your garage
If you have an automatic garage door opener, lock your garage manually from the inside and disengage the electronic device before you go on vacation; it will prevent burglars from using a decoder to open the door.
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Lock the door between your house and your garage; it's a favorite entry point of burglars.
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Step 5
Lock your shed
If you have a garden shed, lock it up. Burglars like to borrow ladders and tools to break into houses.
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Step 6
Padlock valuables
Lock up valuables in a home safe that can be bolted to the floor, or in a safe deposit box. Include any documents that could lead to identity theft. Now go enjoy your vacation, secure in the knowledge that you've done everything possible to prevent a break-in.
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Americans burglary victims lose an average of $2,079.
