How to Keep Your Home Safe During The Holidays
With all of the shopping, decorating, parties, and fun coming up this holiday season, it is important to be safe while still having fun. The best thing that us at Keyed In LLC can suggest for home safety during this holiday season, and for the entire year is to have a well monitored home. Also, there are several other precautions that you can follow to keep your home and family safe. Here are 5 tips to help you do so:
Keep your travel plans offline
If you are going on a trip during the holiday season, be sure that you keep your travel plans off of social media networks. Never post where you are going, when you are leaving, or when you will be back. This is prime information that a thief can stumble upon because then they will know when your home will be empty. Even if you choose to have the absolute highest level of security on Facebook, posting this very personal information is NEVER recommended.
Notify a neighbor
If you have plans to go out of the neighborhood during this holiday season, be sure to let a trusted neighbor know. Ask your neighbor if they can keep an eye on your home and alert you if there is any suspicious activity taking place. It would also be wise to ask this neighbor to shovel your walkway if it snows and to pick up your newspaper so that it gives a burglar the illusion that someone is home even though you are away.
Hide any Christmas gifts
In most cases, you want to keep gifts away from the sight of children, but you also want to keep these presents out of the sightline of a burglar. Putting beautifully wrapped presents under the tree may look stunning, however it is a welcome sign to any thief in the neighborhood. Try to keep your Christmas tree with gifts underneath away from a window or other place so that burglars cannot get a good view of what is underneath your tree. When you aren’t home, it would be fairly simple for a burglar to break a window, steal the gifts, and then leave without a trace. In addition to gifts, make sure that you take care of hiding electronics that are meant to be gifts.
Watch your Christmas lights
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, December is the absolute deadliest month for electrical fires. Before you decide to string lights on the outside of your home or on the tree, be sure to inspect the strand to make sure there are not any loose lights or frayed pieces of wire. Throw away any damaged wires or cracked bulbs to reduce the changes of a serious accident. Be sure that you turn off holiday lights when you go out for the night or when you go to bed. Using a switch is an efficient way to operate the Christmas lights on your home.
Inspect your furnace and chimney
Heating equipment like furnaces and fires can cause many deaths every year. Surprisingly, in 2008, the U.S. Fire Administration reported that approximately 2,650 people died while in a house fire. Take the time to have a professional come and inspect your home to ensure that it is in a safe and useable living condition.
The holidays truly are one of the most spectacular times of the year, as long as you stay safe during them. Be sure you take the precautions that you need in order to fully enjoy the holiday season. With us at Keyed In LLC, you will have the peace of mind to travel and know that what really matters most is completely protected.
