SIX TIPS TO KEEP YOUR HOME SAFE AND SECURED DURING HOLIDAYS

MANILA: As some famous holidays approaches like Christmas and New Year, families are once again getting ready to either visit their loved ones for a couple of hours for a family chat, or go home to their provinces for a few days. Either way, observing Filipino Holiday traditions entails leaving your home alone, which makes it vulnerable to break-ins and burglary. If you’re planning on leaving your home for quite a long time, here are a few tips from MyProperty.ph to keep you worry-free and your home protected from any harm or danger.

1. Keep it to yourself...

If you will be leaving your home for more than a day, avoid letting other people, espcially strangers, know. The more people who are aware that your home is left unattended, the bigger the possibility of somebody invading your house. Also, refrain from mentioning your leaving on social media sites or blogs.

2. But let a trusted friend or neighbor know

While it is a good practice to keep your going away on the down-low, it would be a good idea to let somebody that you fully trust know so they can keep an eye on your house. They can get the mail, newspapers, and package deliveries for you instead of letting them pile up at your gate or doorstep. Unclaimed items out in the open are a sign that nobody is at home. They can also open the lights during nighttime and turn them off during the day. It will give an impression that the house isn’t unoccupied.

3. Keep your expensive and luxurious stuff out of plain sight

Store all your valuable things—expensive stuff such as gadgets, electronics, jewelry, and even your new plasma TV—where they cannot be easily seen from the window. If you don’t have a safe in your home, you may store them in cabinets with locks, which are preferably obscured, or deposit them at your bank.

4. Set up your devices

In case you don’t have somebody that you trust to look after your house, there are a few gadgets that you can get from the hardware store to help you keep your home thief-free. Equip all entry points with sound alarms that give off a loud, shrilling sound to alert people close by that a door or a window has been opened. Install an electrical timer switch that you can configure to switch on certain electronics in your home, such as the lights or radio during a period of time to give an impression that somebody is at home. A battery-powered radio kept switched on while you are away also helps. If you want more protection and you have the extra budget for it, have a CCTV camera installed so you can monitor your home while you’re away.

5. Unplug and disconnect

Remove all electric plugs from their sockets to avoid overheating. This also lets you save energy and money, while it keeps your home safe from potential electrical damage or even fire.To be even surer, switch off your main electrical box before leaving. That is, if you don’t have an electrical timer switch set-up. Also, disconnect your gas stove’s tube from the main gas tank and cut off the water supply to ensure utmost safety.

6. Check and triple check

Before leaving your house, check, double check, and triple check that you’ve done all of your preparations to keep your home safe and secure and that all of your safety devices are working. Make sure that all of the entry points to your house are properly locked. And after exiting your home and locking your door, check everything again from the outside. It may all be hard work, but if it is your security and safety that’s on the line, it will be worth it. You know what they say: it is always better to be safe than sorry.