5 Ways To Keep Your Home Safer While On Vacation

Vacations are typically a time to unwind and have fun. But there's absolutely nothing jovial about returning home from vacation to a burglarized home. So, if you plan to venture beyond your own backyard this summer, here are a few recommendations to make sure the home you leave is the same one you return to.

Keep your vacation details private and protect who you tell. Don’t post “I’m so excited to going to FILL IN THE BLANK for a whole week!” on Facebook. If you insist on making a post only share with trusted friends. Also be sure to utilize new social media networks like Westchase Neighborhood Watch on Facebook.

Detective Larry McKinnon of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office adds it's not a good idea to “Check In” with applications like Facebook Places and Four Square when you are on vacation. He recommends letting know people know you were on vacation and posting photos after you are already safely back home.

“It can be entertaining, but it can also cause you some issues when it comes to the criminal element,” McKinnon said. “There’s a criminal element that surfs those websites.  They can Google your name and try to back-track you back to your home address."

Make arrangements for a friend or family member to pick your mail, newspapers, and for an extended vacation, schedule regular mowing of your lawn.

“A pile of newspapers in your driveway sends a message that you’re not home and haven’t been home,” McKinnon said. "Nowadays you can even suspend your newspaper subscriptions for a week or two online.”

Purchase inexpensive lighting timers for installation in rooms of your house.

“Go and buy two cheap timers and hook up to different lamps, so they go off at different times and it looks like there’s movement in the house,” McKinnon said.

Double-check your house is secure before you leave. Check all doors and windows. Arrange for a special watch of your home. The Sheriff’s office can go by your home and patrol if time permits.

Detective McKinnon highly suggested inventorying valuables, going through the home and taking photos of items, putting on a memory stick and putting in a safe location. He also recommended etching your driver’s license number into a bicycle, lawn mower, video gaming system, etc.

“Every deputy out there can run your driver’s license number and find out where an item came from,” McKinnon said. “If I stop a guy with ten Sony Playstations in the back of his trunk and one has a driver’s license number on it, guess who’s going to get it back.

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5 Ways To Keep Your Home Safer While On Vacation

Make arrangements for a friend or family member to pick your mail, newspapers, and for an extended vacation, schedule regular mowing of your lawn. “A pile of newspapers in your driveway sends a message that you're not home and haven't been home,”



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Fun, cheap family vacation advice. HELP ...

I want to take my family on a little vacation in Febuary. It would be Me,my husband and our 10 year old. But the thing is we’re on a tight budget. Our son has a week off and we want to do something fun. I’ve heard of people going away to like the Pocanos or where ever for VERY CHEAP and I was wonder if anyone knew any other cheap but fun places to go. Please help.

P.S. We live in New York City.

Best answer:

Answer by nova_queen_28 I love Washington, DC personally and you can often get priceline.com for a decent price (I usually get $ 50/$ 75 per night when I go). For a 10-year old boy there is the museum of Natural History and Air & Space which would be really neat. US Mint. And there are tons of other things to do that you could easily fill up a week. If you like the DC idea, stay in Arlington or Alexandria and use the Metro to get into DC itself. Most hotels are close enough to a station to walk or offer a shuttle.


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