Six Home Security Tips While On Holiday

So you’re going away this summer? No doubt one of the last things you’ll think about just before you go is making sure your house is secure. If you’re anything like me this is very important in being relaxed enough to enjoy your holiday. There’s nothing worse than being away and wondering if you locked your door!

As such I thought I’d capture a few handy tips for you to consider before any holidays you’ve got coming up.

Alarm System

It seems fairly obvious but if you have an alarm system there’s a great chance that even if someone gets in your house then it will scare them away before they have chance to get anything valuable.

Many houses have alarms now which is great, especially when they have the alarm boxes on the outside of the house as that’s a warning to an intruder before they have even got into your house. A useful prevention technique!

In fact, you can actually just buy the boxes. If an alarm is too expensive you can simply buy a fake box if you wish to try and deter intruders.

CCTV

This is becoming more and more popular, and also more and more reasonably priced to appeal to the masses. There are so many different ones you could get it’s impossible to go through them all in one post. Ones inside the house, outside the house, wired or wireless, connected to a security team, perhaps recording on a hard drive.

Once again you can even get fake ones, and fake cameras that have a flashing red light so they look real too.

Just be careful where you put them (high up) and perhaps put signs in windows to make it clear you have CCTV so it’s a prevention as well as to catch the criminals.

Sheds and Garages

It’s important to not forget about these. Do they have an alarm fitted? If so make sure it’s turned on and buy a sign to stick up to say there’s an alarm.

What sort of lock does the shed/garage have? Most garages have decent locks as far as I know, but what about your shed? Does it need more locks?

What about other storage units outside? Do they need decent locks/padlocks?

Tell Your Neighbours

I guess this depends on how well you know and trust your neighbours! If they can watch over your house while you’re away and vice-versa then it’s a great arrangement to have. A mini neighbourhood watch!

I’d also give them your number in case it’s needed and the number of a relative or good friend who lives nearby for any issues that crop up.

Patlock

I’m guessing most of you have no idea what this is. I didn’t know about it until my brother-in-law got one and told me about it. Within 20 minutes I had ordered one (here’s a link).

Basically, as you can see in the photo, it’s a simple contraption that goes over patio door handles and means that even if one was unlocked (or broken in to!) then the door handles can’t turn. It’s also very simple to use without the need for a key.

The extra thing I like about this is that it stands out from the outside and you get little stickers to put on your door. This is in an effort to prevent burglars from even trying to get in your house.

Make A List

To give you peace of mind when you go away make a list of what you need to do to secure your house. Tick it off and you can relax while you’re away knowing you’ve done all you can. The list could include:

• Lock front door
• Lock back door
• Lock shed/garage
• Check windows are shut and locked
• Turn on alarm in house and shed/garage
• Tell neighbour I’m away
• Put Patlock on
• Make sure CCTV is on
• Take spare keys out of plain sight
• Check car(s) are locked

Hope That Helps

Firstly, if you’re going away I hope you have a fantastic holiday. I’m sure wherever you go you’ll have a great time. I hope that this guidance helps somewhat for you to switch off as much as possible from home.

If you think this could be useful to someone why not share it? Do you know someone going away this summer? Perhaps they would want to read it. Feel free to share using the buttons below if so.

Do you have any other home security tips?