The Ultimate Guide
to Preparing Your Home Before Vacation

List of things to do before going on a family vacation

Before going on a vacation, there are so many things which have to be done. Besides having to worry about packing, catching your plane and if you brought your swimming suit and sunblock, you have to worry whether your house will be safe. People deal with this issue in many different ways.

Listed below is a list of things which you have to do before leaving town to ensure your home remains safe.

Planning a family vacation takes a good deal of right preparations to ensure your home and family safety.

Let your friends and family know

The best way to protect your home from potential incursions is by letting your closest relatives and friends know. Besides telling them, you could also give them an extra key and ask them to check the house every once in a while. If you’re worrying about leaving something on, ask them to check it for you. That way, you will be able to sleep at night without thinking about gas leaks or electrical discharge inside your home.

Have your holiday activities planned, too, to avoid packing unnecessary stuff.

Take care of the spare keys

If you’re one of those people who keep their spare keys under the doormat or a flower pot, this one’s for you: take the spare keys with you. Who knows who may find them, and it’s like a free invitation into your home while you’re gone. What if someone already knows about your spare keys, and is waiting for you to leave to take advantage of it? Bring the spare keys with you or leave them inside the house where it’s safe. Don’t take any chances; it’s your house that we’re talking about.

Unless you have a person of trust to leave your home spare keys with, take them with you.

Let the police know

Sometimes, you can just let the police know that you’ll be out of town and they will send a patrol to check on your house every once in a while. This is one of the best ways to prevent burglary, and you get it for free. The police will be performing their duties, burglars will think twice before breaking and entering and your house will remain safe.

Don't attract too much attention with your vacation plans - it's prudent to inform only people you can trust, and even then only when necessary.

No more mail and magazines

The last thing you want to happen while on vacation is for your mail to pile up in front of your doormat or mailbox. If you don’t stop your subscriptions and mail from being delivered, everyone will find out that you’re not at home just by looking at your mailbox. Stop all the deliveries, and ask the post office to hold it for you until you come back from vacation.

When you have a family, it takes careful planning to pack all you need and avoid overpacking for your family trip.

Leave the house as it was

One of the most common mistakes people do when going on vacation is leaving their curtains closed, lights off and gate locked. This is a clear message stating that no one’s home, and a free invitation for thieves and burglars to break in and steal your belongings. So, what you should do is quite the opposite: leave the curtains as they were before you left, perhaps even leave a hallway light on to give false impression that there’s someone around.

Once you have taken care of your home and prepared it for your vacation, you can then care-free enjoy your family holiday.

Consider hiring a housesitter

Move all the expensive things so that they are not visible through the window. We’re taking laptops, jewelry, and other small and expensive things. The rest should remain the same. You can also go with house sitting and hire someone to take care of your home while you’re gone. Explore your options before you go.

One cannot be careful enough when it comes to home security. Take all the precaution measures you want and ensure your home stays safe while you’re basking in the Caribbean Sea. Let your closest friends and family, as well the police know you’ll be away for a while and enjoy your vacation knowing that your home is well protected.

All above images courtesy of Creative Commons

Author bio:

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls and a passionate traveler. In her free time she enjoys exploring new and exciting travel destinations with her family.

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