In the lead up to your well-deserved holiday, your excitement about your trip may be all that is on your mind. I completely understand and so I have done the research and brainstorming for you and come up with my top 6 tips to keeping your house safe while you are enjoying your travels so all you have to do is follow them.

Clear the Path

This is only relevant if you are going on holiday during winter. Nothing screams ‘nobody at home’ more like getting 10cm of snow and your driveway is the only driveway on your street that hasn’t been cleared and is without footprints leading to the door or car tracks. Either strike up a deal with your neighbor (you clear their driveway when they’re away and they return the favour when you’re away) or hire a snow clearing company for the duration you will be away.

Piping Cold

Again this is a winter travel tip. Ask a neighbor, family member or friend to come in and check on the house. While they are there, they can check your pipes by turning on the tap to make sure they are not frozen. Also, some home insurance policies require that the temperature of your house be monitored if you are absent for more than a specified number of days. If something happens to your boiler and you didn’t have anybody checking on the house, you may not be covered. Some policies accept if you have a home monitoring system that is linked but obviously each policy is different and so you need to check with your insurance company.

Police Check

In some areas you can let your local police know that you will be away and they may drive by your house while on patrol to check that everything is okay.

You’ve Got Mail

If you have a mailbox then either stop your mail for while you are away or ask a trusted neighbor to collect it for you. A buildup of mail is a really good indicator that nobody is home.

Light it Up

Leaving lights on the whole time is not a good idea. It gives the impression that nobody is home and it racks up your electricity bill. Leaving lights off the whole time is also not a good idea as again it gives the impression nobody is home. What you can do, though, is use programmable lights or plugs that you can plug a lamp into. Lights switching on and off makes it look like someone is turning them on or off and you can put the lights on a schedule so you don’t have to worry.

Unplugged

Unplug your appliances to protect them from a power surge. However don’t make the mistake of unplugging your cable box if you are recording something while you are away!

Bonus tip: If you have family or friends checking on your house instead of a trusted neighbor, make sure your neighbor knows that you are going away and make sure they also know that your family or friend will be going to your house to check on things so they don’t think they’re an intruder!

About the Author

Rhian Torontow is a Family Travel Consultant with Magical Family Adventures. Rhian creates travel experiences that foster connections in your family that will last a lifetime and transforms your children into open-minded, flexible, well-travelled people. During Rhian’s childhood, her father travelled for work constantly and it was always travel that brought her family back together. You can follow Rhian on Facebook at www.facebook.com/magicalfamilyadventures, Instagram @MagicalFamilyAdventures and you can also connect with her on LinkedIn ca.linkedin.com/in/rhiantorontow/