8 ways to protect your home when you're not there

When you go on holidays, there’s always that niggling feeling that something bad is going to happen at home. A leaky pipe could burst, a burglar, neighbours taking advantage of your shared property. So here are 8 ways to put your mind at ease and protect your home when you’re away.

Visible electronics on timers

This gives the illusion to outsiders that you’re still at home. Don’t give burglars a reason to believe that you aren’t at home. Installing a timer on your lighting will make sure that they are turned on and off at appropriate times to make it look like you’re home, while still keeping you from running up a high electricity bill. This can be applied to other electronics in the house, such as televisions or radios to provide noise so that it not only looks like people are at home, but that it also sounds like it. Turning them off at random times also adds to the realness of the appearances you’re keeping up.

You can always use timers while at home too, especially to keep warm in the colder months. Check out these 5 low cost ways to keep warm this winter for more helpful tips.

Trustworthy friends

Neighbours and family friends who you have a good relationship with will possibly be a good asset to have while you’re away on a vacation. Leave a spare key with them and let them know that you’ll be going away for a while and would appreciate someone looking and checking in on your home. Don’t ask them to take care of household tasks but it’s alright to take care of things that would look like the house is unoccupied, such as collecting the mail. This action can also be reciprocated and build up your friendship with your neighbours and friends. Show them how much you appreciate the time they’ve taken to check in on your home with a small token like a box of chocolates or a houseplant.

Choosing the right plant can be tough. For the small and easy to manage plants, have a look at these 11 pretty and tasty things you could grow in a micro garden.

Home security system

There are many options to choose from. Home security systems are vital for alerting you and the security company monitoring any unusual activity happening in your house while you are away. There are some security systems that allow you to view a live camera feed of your home so that you will be able to watch from your holiday destination. Moreover beyond just security cameras, you can also have a motion detector installed that will inform your security company if there is an intruder.

House sitters

Having someone actually stay at your house and mind it for you while you’re away is too good an idea to discard. Whether it be a family friend or a hired nanny, it could help you reduce other costs such as animal caretakers and electrical costs since they will be there to turn off any unnecessary or unused electronics. They will also be able to solve daily problems such as collecting packages/mail and watering your plants while you’re away.

A low profile on social media

Social media has become increasingly popular in daily life, but be careful when you’re going away because you could be unintentionally alerting and inviting unsavoury people to break into your home and steal your valuables. Keep a low profile and post your pictures after you return. It helps if your profile is in private mode, but there might be the possibility that a burglar is amongst your circle of friends.

Empty rubbish bins

Not having someone take out the rubbish before your trip can be a tell-tale sign to potential robbers that your home is uninhabited. The smell of your bin will alert burglars of the vacant status of your home and increase chances of an attempted break in. Ask your house sitter or friendly neighbour to wheel your rubbish bins out on rubbish day in order to give bad characters, or local vermin, one less reason to snoop around your home.

Pipe care

Taking care of your pipes is pretty important when you think in terms of your water bills. You don’t want to come home from having an amazing holiday and find that your pipes burst, leaving you with a mess in the house and an enormous water bill to pay off. Ask your neighbour, family friend or housesitter to periodically turn the taps on and off in order to make sure that your pipes don’t seize up.

In order to prepare for accidents like this, you could also look into home insurance. To find out exactly what home insurance will cover, have a read of this handy guide all about it.

Exterior lighting

Lighting of any kind both inside and outside of your home will deter unfriendly figures from breaking and entering. You can set timers on exterior lights too so that they turn off at an appropriate bedtime so that it gives the illusion of people being in residence. Plus, solar lights in the front yard are a good and less expensive option to utilise, since they take their energy from the sun during the day.

Interested in investing in solar panels? Read our guide to find out if solar panels can add value to your property.

Consider applying these ideas to your home to ward off potential burglars while you’re enjoying yourself on a well deserved holiday.