Vacation away: Preparing your home

I do the ff: unplug everything esp. TVs, all electronics. Turn off the water aupply on the washing machine (my plumber says you should do this every time you finish using the machine!). Turn off the water supply to house...now I never used to do this but again the plumber highly recommends this.
I do not unplug the frig!

DO NOT close all your draperies etc. Make your house look like someone is in it. Make sure you stop all mail/newspaper deliveries. If there is a local paper which they toss in your driveway each week (I do) see if you can get a neighbor to pick it up so it doesn;t lie there day after day.

If fact, if you have a nice neighbor who would do a few things for you, it is a good idea for them to check your house, water your plants outside so it doesn;t look like you are away, etc. Bring them a nice gift when you return!

If you live in a violet-storm area, take all precautions.

Notify your local police dept. about how long you will be away!

Agree with everything that Maryann already recommended. We get our neighbor to pick up the mail, water the plants, etc. I also ask my neighbors' son to park his car in our driveway rather than on the street. He also mows our lawn when we are away.

I discovered a handy thing at the home supply store - it's a gadget you screw into your outside porch light that senses light and dark - you can leave the light switch "on" the whole time, and it senses when to turn on the light (and it then appears like someone is home). I've put them on my outside front porch lights. I also have many lights on timers and have my sister or neighbors check in every few days. Also, turn off your hot water heater (at the fuse box) - you'll save in electric bills not heating the same tank for 2+ weeks, plus if it springs a leak, you're not losing heated water.

I like the sensor light idea.

We are new to the neighbourhood so there isn't anyone I trust that much to come into my home.

No family nearby either :-(

I agree with all above especially the idea of hiring someone to pick up the mail and deal with the plants etc. You might also consider stopping your newspaper service (call your local paper for information on how to do this) as old newspapers aren't frankly terribly valuable. What I would also do is consider stopping your mail if you are gone for three weeks or more. You then can go pick it up at a local post office when you return.

I think everone had great ideas.
Eli, I would talk to neighbors too, even if you don't know them well,( but think they are ok ), just to let them know you will be away and no the moving truck moving out your tv and steros is NOT ok..
My dad was robbed once, and his neighbors saw the whole thing. They just thought he was moving and didn't do a thing about it.

I think the car in the drive way at different times is a good idea too, we all use that one in our neighborhood, its funny, I can tell when someone is away if I see another neighbors car in their driveways( since I know whose car is whose, but a burglar wouldn't)

We actually will have a car in the driveway the whole time...I need to rethink that one I suppose.

We can stop the papers and mail. I will probably tell the older neighbour that we are going so if she sees the moving truck (Pat, you do have a way of telling these stories, LOL), she won't think it's us.

But I would like some 'safe' lighting ideas for indoors. We have used the timers on lamps but I'm a little reluctant this time. I will try the sensor for front and backyard.

Eli, I also have a fatalistic attitude a bit, if a burglar really wants in YOUR home, no matter what precautions you take, they can case it out and figure out the lights on timers and cars in driveway tricks. The tricks are good for fooling an opportunist theif, but I am sure there are some thiefs that really look for homes where people are away.
So, I pack the jewerely I inherited from my mother( which is my only irreplaceable stuff I care about)off to our safety deposit box at the bank, and make sure house and content insurance is paid up.

PS Best inside house care tip was to turn off water to Hot water tank, and drain it, ever had a hot water tank blow while you are away.. Yikes.

I usually leave two compact flourescent bulbs on a timer. I put a radio on a timer from 3 pm to 9 pm so there is noise in the house but not all night. I put a hold on the mail until I go pick it up.

Ask your neighbors to keep an eye on the place and give them some way to reach you in case of emergency. One time the automatic sprinklers blew a fuse while running. I had to fed ex a key so my neighbor could get in a turn them off.

My sister lives in a very new community so she doesn't know many neighbors... so she asked a trusted friend to house sit a few days a week.

I have pets, so I have a pet sitter come to check on my animals daily, and turn the drapes, lights, etc. on at different times.

I have a fake security camera above my garage. But a real one would be better, but expensive. Also I have a sensor light above the garage and a car to make it look like I'm home.
But I do hope you will think about the fake security camera idea. They look very real!

I like the fake camera idea. Make sure smoke detector is working ok. Unplug the automatic garage door opener in case of accidental or unauthorised openings. Set your phone voicemail to 5 rings to give the idea that you can't get to the phone. Having the voicemail pick up too early or too late will indicate that nobody is home. Auto-program the radio and put on a Talk Radio channel If you got sliding glass doors, put a broom stick or a long stick on the bottom to prevent the doors from sliding. I don't have a dog but I have a sign on the fence Beware of Dog and I leave my cat's big food dish with some kitty chow on the porch

I strongly agree with what Pat said that if someone wants to get into your house they will. Your local Police will tell you this. Therefore, as Pat said, do
put anything of value in your safe deposit box. Not everything fits, however! The Police say that burglars do not like going into basements as they are afraid of being trapped....so that is a good place to put certain valuables (up high in case of flooding!!). If you have an outside entrance to your basement this probably is not a safe haven. Most
of all, do not leave valuables in your bedroom drawers(they get dumped) or silver in the dining room. They say that these are the 2 places thieves hit first. I have gone so far as to leave some things with close friends. I have done many trips in the last few years without lights on timers and nothing has happened! Luck maybe. On some of those trips my car has been in the driveway and on others
I have been driving it. A house sitter or checker is a great idea. Ask your Police.

I also use timers (and never use an older lamp), each set at different times but overlapping and not for long periods of time, say 3 hrs each starting at dusk and going to 2 a.m. (the last in the bedroom). Put mail on hold (can do this online). Call and have papers stopped. Get most dependable neighbor to check for anything else that might get tossed in driveway. (Bring her back a little something from trip (chocolate, which she likes) as a thank you. Put radio on timer also (9pm to midnight). Also, in addition to turning off water to washer and dryer (I have someone come over and water plants so can't turn off water) I also turn off the icemaker. Valuables go to a safe deposit box. No problems so far.

I'm glad you like my fake camera idea. I also have a beware of dog sign, and to make my sign look more threatening, my cat chewed up the edges on the sign, and it looks like a dog chewed it! LOL!

I'm no security expert, but I have read a fair amount about this topic, thought a lot about it, and have talked with several police officers about it (I've worked in and around city halls all my adult life, so police are readily available). What I've put together, and practice, is this:

Above all else, make your house looked lived in while you're gone. Ideal is to have someone whom you trust live in your house while you're gone. This creates a "normal lifestyle" appearance. If you have gardener or housekeeping service, keep it going. Make everything look normal.

Second best is to have a neighbor check on the house once or twice a day. Have them bring in paper, mail, turn lights on and off, take care of pets, etc. It is better to have a neighbor take care of paper and mail than to cancel those services, because believe it or not, some mail/paper carriers are not to be trusted. Add to this approach a few programmable timers for lights, music, etc.

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Third best assumes you can't get personal house-monitoring help. In that case, cancel paper and mail delivery (better than letting it pile up) and rely on programmable timers for lights, music, etc. Notify the local police dept that you will be gone and ask that they do occasional drivebys (more likely in smaller communities than large). Ask a co-worker or friend to do a visual check once a week or so.

I personally don't shut off the gas, throw the main electrical breaker switch, etc when I go away. Maybe if I were gone for 6 months I would consider that. But for a couple/few weeks I think that is overdoing things.

If your brother lost his home to a faulty lamp, it's unlikely that being away on vacation had much to do with that. That's not really a leave-home issue, that's a basic at-home safety issue. Being away from home when a faulty lamp does its thing might be better and less lethal than being there when it happens. Better yet, don't have faulty lamps (though probably most of us do - we can all learn from your brother's experience).

I'm actually heading away for 2 months, and this is what i have organised:

• I have a friend coming down from sydney who has never been to canberra (so she can do some exploring while she is here) to look after my appartment, mail and my 2 cats. I will pay for the rent, electricity and all other bills while she is there (will actually change my phone bill so that it will be local calls only - no surprises when i get back)

• My car will stay at my sisters house while i am away.

• my sister will also collect my mail from my friend and let me know if there are any major bills or anything i need to pay while i am away and I will pay them via netbanking.

• my other friends will visit my friend from Sydney to show her around and be some company. Also to double check on the cats cos one of them tends to fret and not eat - but she also knows these other friends which should help.

We found a graduate student who will mow the lawn, so that's one headache off my list.

I will ask my neighbour to remove anything like flyers (and the annoying AVON lady's catalogues that she insists on throwing in everyone's driveway each month!), and look into timers and a couple new lamps.

I like the idea of a fake camera too. We only get the Sunday papers. I checkout news online and on the television. Less paper!

Eli
Some good suggestions. I must admit I worry about my empty house back home. It's worry some when people know that you travel for a living. You'll never hear me brag about my upcoming trip. I make a point of mentioning my one profession but not the one that takes me away regularily.

I have a non-published number. I load my Car in the Garage and keep the door closed until I'm ready to leave and then up goes the remote and I'm gone.

Consider a home alarm monitoring system. Also security bars and shatterproof plastic on the windows. Good neighbours look out for eachother.

Multiple cycle timers are best and are less predictable. I have Beware of Dog signs even though he is tiny. And large Dog Bowls by the door. Remember the Golden Girls episode where the door bell was barking dogs?

I also put a key locking handle on my storm doors. And changed the keyed alike locks. Photo-cell Motion sensors are great.

Neighbourhood Watch is a good thing to participate in!

One more thought a day later...
I was broken into once. They smashed a window pane in the french door at the Garage front. Once inside the garage they were out of sight and had access to tools. They broke into another french door and opened the lock from the inside. It was too easy!!

So now I've replaced all glass doors except the pretty leaded glass double doors at the front entrance. They are visable enough from the road and too beautiful to remove. I added locks which are key locks on both sides so no one can smash the glass and reach in and turn the lock and gain access.

You know what they took? No, not the Oil Paintings or Vintage Wine Collection or Electroncs...they took the microwave!! Unbelievable...a less than $300 oven!!
They also used the WC and couldn't flush due to no water. They exited out my Patio Doors which had no stairs and no deck, just a 10 foot drop into deep snow! And they left the door wide open which drained the Oil tank!

How strange...