You've packed plenty of repellent, sunscreen and even booster cables for the car – your road trip has the safety seal of approval. Before heading out on vacation, keep your home safe with the following tips.
• Hold mail delivery if you'll be away for more than one week (www.canadapost.ca; click on Other Products and Services under Personal). If your vacation is less than a week, ask a young neighbour to collect your mail.
• Set your light timers to go on and off at different times.
• Ask a neighbour to park his car in your driveway and to put a bag of garbage in front of your house on garbage day. The same neighbour can retrieve any flyers that land on your doorstep.
• Give a trusted friend or family member the keys to your home and ask him to enter it every 48 hours to make sure there are no emergencies, such as a leak in the water tank, and to change the position of blinds or curtains. Make sure this same person has your contact information while you're away.
• Keep your answering machine message the same; never say you're away.
• Decrease the volume of your telephone's ring so people outside won't hear repeated missed calls, and increase the volume on a radio to give the impression that someone is in the house. Set the television or radio on a timer to go on in the afternoon and again in the evening.
• Visibility is key; keep all your valuables out of sight from windows and trim bushes around the house so prowlers can be spotted.
• Unplug your computer. Other electrical items, such as your TV, should be connected to a plug that is grounded, which means its charge has been neutralized. Also, be sure to remove anything that's flammable, such as old newspapers or propane tanks, from the basement and attic.
Page 3 of 3 -- Is a group trip right for your family? Before committing, check our list of travel pitfalls on page 1.
