Smart ideas to protect your home while on vacation

Happy Holidays!

It's the time of the year when most people take a break from 'it all'. The summer holidays are here and before your mind gets consumed by lazy thoughts, bright skies and blue seas, take a moment to consider protecting your home before you go.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Install security cameras in your home.

Choose a home security system that allows you to view live video remotely from your phone. By being able to constantly live-stream footage, you can always see what's going on in your home, talk to anyone who may visit, and get phone alerts via motion detectors. Due to the LED night vision installed in the cameras, you can even see what's going on in your home at night!

2. Let someone you trust into your home

Nowadays you can let people enter your home by simply pushing a button on your phone, but you can also just leave them with a key. It is important to clear your mailbox and remove newspapers and flyers from your driveway as these are tell-tale signs of an unoccupied house. Never hide a spare key in a flowerpot or elsewhere outside the house - the thief will find it first!

3. Keep up on regular home maintenance.

Keep scheduled visits by gardening and pool maintenance services and get someone to put out your refuge bin on collection days. If any potential thief is staking out houses in your area, they will notice if something is off.

4. Keep a low profile on social media.

Don't post that you will be going on holiday or vacation pictures. More importantly, double-check your social media profiles to ensure that your address and phone number are not readily available. Delete any past posts, party invites or Facebook events that might include your phone number. Google makes it very easy to link a phone number to an address!

5. Lock away your valuables

Get a small safe and lock away your valuable items of jewellery, etc. or get a secure locker at your financial institution. Alternatively, hide these items in an unusual place like the pantry in an inconspicuous container. As a rule, thieves will look for valuables in the bedroom first.

6. Disconnect your garage door.

Universal remotes can sometimes open any garage door. Disengage your automatic garage door opener and opt for a manual lock.

7. Install an outdoor sensor light.

Motion-sensor flood lights are useful year-round for general home security whether you are home or not. They are easy to install, can even operate on solar energy and some are equipped with technology to turn off and on at certain times.

8. Advertise your security

Having a security system in place will deter burglars, so be sure to advertise it! Place security signboards or stickers at the obvious accessible entry points to your home.

8. Switch on the lights!

Giving the impression that someone is home every night could deter those unwanted guests. You can easily set up a few timers for your indoor lights or use 'smart bulbs'. These will allow you to customize your home's lighting, create light bulb groupings, or adjust which lights are on while you're traveling! With smart bulbs, you can pair your phone with your light bulbs and control them no matter where you are in the world.

While it seems like an unlikely scenario, it's smart to safeguard your home from intruders by visually checking in, programming your lights and appliances just with the push of a button, and scaring them off by talking to them through your devices.

Preventing damage to your home should be a motivator to start using smart devices, plugs and switches and allowing the monitoring of energy consumption.

Getting a notification on your phone when an alarm goes off or being able to check in daily to ensure that everything is running smoothly is great for peace of mind and ensures 'Happy Holidays'!