I know some of my readers will be doing a bit of snow birding this winter. The Mathematician and I have a few trips planned out for 2023. (Hello, Vegas! I’ve missed you.) Making our travel plans got me thinking about how to secure your home while your travel. So let’s review some steps you can take to keep your home safe while you’re off adventuring.
Don’t Broadcast Your Plans
Rule # 1: Thou shall not post your plans on social media.
This lesson is one that many people still haven’t learned. If you’re going out of town for an extended period and your house will be vacant, don’t blast it out on social media. You don’t want to announce to the world you will be gone.
Yes, travel is fun and exciting (for most of us). We want to share with the world that we’re laying on the beach sipping caipirinhas or rock climbing in Arizona or whatever floats our boat.
But once you put that info out there, you have no control over where the information travels. Even if you have your privacy settings on lock down, screenshots can be sent anywhere and word of mouth travels.
Same goes for chatting in the grocery store or wherever you like to chat with strangers. (I chat with strangers; it’s in my blood.)
Guess what! You can post every detail when you get back in a fabulous “we’re happy to be home but look at the awesome things we did” post.
Lock Up Nice and Tight
Peter MacAllister from Home Alone (yes, I’m still stuck in the holidays!) is a good case study for this directive. As he tells Harry, “we’ve got timers for our lights and locks for our doors.” Only he left his garage door open. Whoops.
You can pick up timers for your lights at any hardware store. If you want to get fancy about it, you can get yourself a smart plug that you can schedule or access from an app. This setup is cool because you can pop into the app remotely and adjust the times so the lights aren’t going on/off at the same time every day.
For your exterior lights, these programmable switches are wonderful! You can set your lights to come on a dusk and stay on until a time of your choice. We installed them for our porch and garage lights and use them all year round. We don’t even think about our exterior lights anymore. If you are traveling, you could adjust the program to keep the lights on the entire night to deter anyone from approaching.
If you are leaving cars parked outside the garage, remove the garage door remote and valuables from the vehicle. This will help prevent criminals from access your home by breaking into the vehicle to retrieve the garage door remote.
Definitely do a triple check when you leave that all doors and windows are closed and locked. If you have a sliding door, pop a dowel in the track for extra security.
And, please, close the garage.
Stash Your Valuables
This topic brings to mind the scene in the movie Coyote Ugly, where Piper Perabo’s friend “freezes her assets” by putting a wad of cash in the freezer. This setup didn’t work out so well for Piper, but you get the gist.
Make sure that you put away anything easily spotted through a window or door – cash, jewelry, expensive tech, etc. If you have a safe in the house, that’s the best place for your valuables. Costco sells safes in the store, so if you want one they aren’t difficult to find. You could also invest in a gismo like this outlet safe for smaller items.
If you don’t have a safe, try to locate an out of the way hiding spot. Bigger things – try the attic or basement. Criminals know they need to be able to make a quick exit, so I would think they would be a little bit leery of places like your attic or the basement. (Not being a criminal, this thought is just conjecture.)
I’ve been known to use painter’s tape to strategically hide smaller items in places where I thought no one would look. You may have a safety deposit box at a financial institution – you can drop your valuables there before you leave.
Security Cameras
More and more, homes have video door bells. These are a great way to keep an eye on your property while you are away.
There are tons a different models, so you’ll want to do your research. You have to pick the model that is correct for you and you’ll have to be okay with the company that produces the product and how they handle your information.
You can also add cameras to your property. These exterior cameras have become very cost effective. There are models that require an outlet, some that use a battery and others that let you hook up a small solar panel to recharge a battery. (Fun fact: This tiny solar panel is how I was convinced that installing our full solar panels was perhaps worth looking into.)
Drop the Thermostat
Let me rephrase – adjust your thermostat to a cost-saving temperature without putting yourself at risk of freezing your pipes. Most websites recommend keeping the temperature above 55°F to prevent pipes from freezing.
If you’re going to be gone for a few weeks or more, you may wish to have a friend or neighbor stop by to walk the house and run the faucets. If you have pipes prone to freezing, you can leave the faucets on at a slight drip. The moving water will prevent the pipes from freezing, but be prepared to pay the price in the form of your water bill.
Alert Your Local Police
Many localities offer a program where you can let the local police know you plan to be away from your home for an extended period of time. The police will drive by occasionally to verify the house appears secure.
If there is an incident at your house, the police will already be aware that you’re not home and they can respond accordingly. If you have an alarm system monitored by a third party, you may wish to alert them as well so they can respond appropriately too if the alarm is triggered.
Arrange for Basic Exterior Maintenance
Nothing says “vacant home” like 4 inches of untouched snow in your driveway. Additionally, some localities require you to shovel sidewalks within a specific amount of time.
Same goes for your lawn. If it gets too long, the locality is going to issue you a ticket and perhaps cut the lawn for you (followed by a ridiculously overpriced invoice for said service).
Every neighborhood has a teenager looking to make extra cash. When my family snowbirded for four weeks in January a few years ago, I knew we needed someone to be on standby to shovel the snow. I posted on the Nextdoor app to my specific neighborhood looking for someone to assist. A father down the street said his high school son would be happy to shovel our snow. I sent money via Venmo every time he had to come dig our house out.
Note: I only posted we were looking for help with snow removal. I did not say it was because we were traveling!
While you are at it, place a hold on your mail and newspapers. These items stacking up can also be a noticeable indicator that you are away for an extended period of time.
I wish you safe and delightful travels if you are on the move this winter. I hope you found these tips to secure your home while you travel helpful. As always, thanks for joining me this week and reach out if I can help you with any of your home ownership questions or concerns!
