Safe And Sound, Wherever You Are

Spring is here. Well, sort of. Sunshine Savings Time has went back on schedule, as reliable as New Year's Day and also the Fourth of July. Your own clocks have sprung forward, you changed the batteries inside your smoke alarms, and not too many of you overslept in April 2. Now you get to freshen up the filters on your air conditioning units and do whatever else you must do to make sure you're ready for that warm summer months. Maybe even do some spring cleaning.
This is also the season you get bombarded along with ideas for travel -- for spring break, summer time vacations, and short weekend getaways to some mountain cottage or beach front house or country inn. Sometimes it seems that half the city and a large part of the suburbs empty out all weekend once spring shows up.
And guess what? Late spring and summer are among the happiest times on the planet for thieves! Why certainly not, when there's nobody around to notice that they've broken into your house, and you won't get back until Monday at the earliest, maybe not for a week or more - by which time your prized possessions are actually fenced, your car has been through the chop look, and tracking the thiefs gets harder with every single day that passes.
So before you decide to pack the SUV as well as call a cab to take you to the air port, take stock around your home or apartment. Here are a few things you should consider doing before you depart on your get-away.
· Tell someone - the police department, a neighbor, nearby members of the family - about your adventure. Let them know when you're leaving, where you'll be staying, when you'll be back, and how to contact you in an unexpected emergency. If you have a security system plugged into the police and/or flames department, make sure they know that you're not there.
· Cease delivery of mail along with newspapers. Nothing shows your absence better than several days' worth of newspapers before your door or your mailbox so full not a thing else will fit.
· Ask someone you trust to keep close track of the house while you are away. Make sure they have a spare key. They can ensure that no deliveries slip over the cracks and keep your home looking occupied. A friend with a key may also be helpful in an urgent of any sort. Imagine you receive sick while on escape, and the insurance papers you may need for treatment are locked in the home. Or if there is a break-in, they'll be accessible to a) call the law enforcement and b) be there if your police come to explore.
· Take valuables for your safe deposit box. Do not leave jewelry, negotiable relationship certificates, coin collections, along with other easily portable items in a desk or bureau, even though it's locked. If you do not possess a good safe for you to store them in, take these phones a place that actually.
· Set timers to convert lights and appliances on and off. Sophisticated systems will let you preset 'random' times; simpler ones turn on the same appliances every day simultaneously. But don't leave the house looking empty.
· Examine your security system. Make certain all access points are generally securely locked. Front entrance, back door, and garage doors are vulnerable. So are windows. If you don't have got key-operated window locks, have them. Better yet - especially for city apartment dwellers below another floor - get bars put on all accessible windows.
 
Also keep in mind - when you get back home, thank the people who watched over your house - send a note to the police agency, take your friend out and about to lunch or buy them flowers. Because the best security on the planet comes not from wild hair and keys, but from being - and developing - good neighbors.
Right now, make your plans, and also have a great vacation!