Copyright © 2005 Ian White
House Carers
http://www.housecarers.com/
If you are planning on being away from your home
for an extended amount of time, it is important that you secure
your home. You will not be able to enjoy your family vacation,
concentrate on the business meeting, or feel relaxed while visiting
relatives, if the thought of your home being violated is always
in the back of your mind. There are many things that you can do
before you leave, as well as things you can have arranged to be
done by a third party, that will ensure that your home, property
and pets are safe.
The most important aspect an owner needs to be
concerned with is that their home does not look vacant while they
are away. Statistics report that generally a home is burglarized
every 12 seconds. It is important that you leave your curtains
open when you leave. Closed curtains indicate a vacant home. You
can also purchase light timers. They will turn on and off different
lights in your home throughout the day until you return from your
trip. It is also good to invest in motion sensor lights for the
outside. As added protection, you may want to keep a radio on
somewhere in the main part of the house. The volume need not be
very loud, just loud enough to fool an intruder. It is also good
to have an alarm system. Make sure that it is turned on when you
leave.
Do not leave house keys under rocks or flower
boxes around your home. Make sure they are all removed prior to
your departure. Never leave a message on your phone that you are
away. That is just asking for an intruder.
You need to also be aware that your lawn can
also give signals that you are away and your home is vacant. If
you are leaving during the warmer months, clip your lawn prior
to your departure. Arrange in advance to have someone come and
cut your lawn while you are away, as well. It is also good to
cut back plants or shrubs that would provide a good place for
an intruder to hide, or lurk behind. If you live in a cold climate
and it is winter, be sure that you make arrangements to have someone
you trust come and shovel the snow while you are away. Nothing
gives a clue that no one is home more than a driveway and side
walk that is piled under 6 feet of snow. If it is pool season
arrange for someone to clean your pool while you are away.
Make sure that all outside work buildings or
sheds are locked. Mowers, bicycles, and tools need to be secured
inside. It is important that you do not leave your garage door
opener inside any vehicles that will be left on the driveway.
You can even arrange to have someone move your vehicles around
periodically in your driveway to give your home the lived in look.
Check all windows prior to leaving, as well as outside doors.
Dead bolts on the doors, and key locks for the windows are the
safest. Just make sure that the keys are removed from the window
locks before your trip. Do not forget your skylight windows, or
the small fanlights that may be in your bathroom. If an area is
small enough for a head to fit through, it needs to have a lock
on it.
You need to contact your local post office and
have all mail kept there until your return. Cancel all newspaper
subscriptions, as well. This is not an uncommon practice, and
it will ensure that you don't have papers piling up on your walk,
or mail spilling out of your box. That is an open invitation to
an intruder.
It is also important that you are careful during
casual conversation with the clerk at the store, dry cleaners,
clubs, etc. Do not let anyone in the general public know that
you are planning a trip. You never know who might be listening.
It is also important that you do not list your address on your
luggage. You would be surprised at how many homes are burglarized
because a future burglar saw your address on your luggage at the
airport. They simply follow you to the departure gate and ransack
your home that evening.
You can contact your local law enforcement office
and let them know that you are going to be away. Give them the
dates of when you will be leaving and when you will be returning.
They will provide a patrol unit to drive by your house every day
to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. If your
neighborhood has a neighborhood watch program have your home listed
as one of the homes that is in need of being watched. It is a
good idea to also make an inventory of your valuables, with serial
numbers and model numbers where possible. This information comes
in handy if you ever have to file an insurance claim due to theft.
It is important that you make adequate arrangements
in regards to any pets that you may own. You can board them at
a shelter, if need be, though the comfort and care of your pet
should always be kept in mind. It will be unsettling to your pet
to be separated from you, make sure that their temporary home
is as loving and comfortable as possible. No family pet should
be kept in a cage for an extended amount of time. Make sure that
you are leaving your pet with someone who is an animal lover,
and not in the business of kenneling for greed. You should never
forget the goldfish in the tank, or the plants in your home. It
would be sad to come home to a floating fish and dead house plants.
You may want to make prior arrangements to have someone come into
your home to take care of these other special family members.
Prior to leaving it is important that you go
through the refrigerator and dispose of any products that will
have spoiled before you come home. You need to reduce the temperature
on the hot water heater to a lower temperature, as well as the
thermostat on any central heat and air units that you may have.
Make sure that all outside water hoses are disconnected if it
is the winter season, it will help to keep your pipes from bursting
in extreme cold weather. It is also important that you check all
smoke detectors to verify that they are in working order.
An option that you may want to check into that
will give you peace of mind is a house sitter. This is a person
that comes in and takes care of all the above listed things and
stays at your home while you are away. Your pets will be able
to stay in their own environment, the plants will be watered,
the pool cleaned, the mail checked, the lawn will be mowed, etc.
The house sitter's voice will be heard on the end of the telephone
line when a future burglar calls to check to see if someone is
home. It will be the house sitter that they see coming and going
from your home on a regular basis if your house is under surveillance
by a future burglar. The presence of the house sitter is the number
one burglar deterrent.
A house sitter can also provide invaluable services
like forwarding faxes to you if you run a home business and an
urgent matter needs to be dealt with. They can also provide immediate
attention to your home if there is ever an emergency. House sitters
are the best thing you can do in regards to your pets. They can
take your furry friends for their scheduled checkups, and tend
to them if they get sick or hurt. They can also bathe them, feed
them and love them until you get home. You can also leave a grocery
list with your house sitter. When you return home, you will have
a pantry and refrigerator stocked full of food, and you will not
have to worry about that dreaded chore upon your return. A house
sitter can also be in charge of getting any needed prearranged
servicing done on your vehicles, or your home, while you are away.
Above all else, the main service that a house sitter provides
is that you can call home and see how your home is doing.
There is no greater feeling than to have peace
of mind and to be able to enjoy your time away from home. The
only feeling that can match that is coming home and finding that
your home is still intact, your pets are well, and that your valuable
are where you left them. You cannot leave home without having
someone watch over your home. The day of everyone leaving their
front doors unlocked are over. Make sure that you do everything
you can to assure that your home, pets and possessions are well-protected
while you are away.
