It’s vacation time and a time when your home is most vulnerable. Our local Windermere Real Estate furnished an excellent home safety checklist:
– Make plans for the porch Even if you stop mail and newspaper delivery, you still might have other people call on you and leave notes or fliers, even packages. Ask a trusted neighbor to stop by to collect whatever may be there.
– Hire out the yard work If you’ll be gone for an extended period of time, hire someone to mow the lawn and water the plants.
– Install multiple timers Install automatic on/off timers on multiple lights, a radio or television. Some timers even let you vary the schedule. Step out onto your porch to test the volume of your radio, making sure it can be heard (but don’t make it obviously loud).
– Put a car in the driveway If you’re leaving a car behind, park it in the driveway instead of the garage. Or, if you don’t have a second car, ask a neighbor to park there while you’re gone.
– Silence the phone Turn off the ringer for your phone, or have your calls forwarded.
– Take care of the trash If you must leave your trash out for collection, ask a neighbor to carry the trash cans back afterward.
– Alert the neighbors Even if you don’t need the help of your neighbors, be sure to let them know what days you’ll be gone and if you’re expecting anyone to drop by.
Following these precautions will ensure you a more relaxed vacation and a pleasant home-coming.
1 comment:
Good advice. Although not always the case, those of us in small towns can leave our homes without too much worry. We know our neighbors and, in our case, our son lives directly behind us. But being our son, he might let the grass get a little long before mowing. :-) The downside, everyone in town knows we're gone. The good and the few bad.
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