How to Prep Your Home for Your Next Family Vacation

Whether you’re planning to get ready for your first major family vacation, or if you’re just planning a small getaway, it’s a good idea to consider all your different options for home security while traveling. If you’re anything like a lot of other Americans, then you recognize the importance of a good family vacation from time to time. As a matter of fact, were you aware that approximately 1 billion U.S. passengers fly every year? Sure, no one wants to believe that their home security is at risk when they’re simply trying to enjoy a nice vacation with their family. However, this kind of nonchalant attitude is often the very attitude that leaves people vulnerable in regard to their home security while traveling. The good news is that you don’t have to be powerless when it comes to making sure your home is secure and safe the next time you’re out on a family vacation. Here are a few ideas on how you can prep your home for your next family vacation, so that you don’t have to worry at all about your home security while traveling

Make Good on the Garage

Before you even think about setting out to embark on a family vacation, it’s a good idea to ensure that you’ve taken care of any garage door opener repairs that need to be addressed. While your garage may seem like quite a strong, secure place, it also poses a significant risk when it comes to your home security while traveling. Even when homeowners attempt to set up security systems that make it appear as though people are around in the house, many of them fail to make a convincing enough illusion. So if you’re storing things like pontoon boats, ATVs, or any other recreational equipment on your property, you need security that actually works. This fact compounds with the fact that many burglars have experience in being able to tell whether a home is occupied or empty. Regardless of all the rest of your home security while traveling, you simply cannot afford to ignore taking care of any issues with your garage.

So what exactly can you do if you’re concerned about the security of your garage? Well, there are a few key steps that each and every homeowner should take before they attempt to embark upon their next family vacation. Whether you’re only planning to be gone for just a few days, or upwards of a few months, it’s never wise to leave your garage vulnerable. First and foremost, you should make sure that your garage door is functioning properly. Depending on the style of your door, you may need to invest in some repairs to ensure that any unwanted visitors can’t fool the door into opening. This is especially important for garage doors that are able to be operated with an automated switch of some sort.

Next up, you’ll want to make sure that other additional side or back doors are properly secured if you want to maximize home security while traveling. Far too many people take the time to secure the main door of their garage and the rest of the entrances in their home, only to forget that vulnerable back garage or patio door. For these types of doors, it may be a good idea to install some sort of home security systems. Whether you purchase magnetic door alarms, a complete home security camera system, or some other type of security measure, it’s important to make sure that all entrances through the garage are locked down. This is one of the best ways to optimize your home security while traveling.

Repair Your Roof

While a bad roof may not always be something you want to address before heading out for a family vacation, ignoring it could lead to even greater problems down the road. Something as seemingly harmless as a leaking roof can generate much greater issues if ignored from the outset. Conversely, if you’re prudent about taking care of leaks in your home’s roof before you head out on a family vacation, you’ll be able to fully relax and enjoy your time away without having to constantly worry about whether or not your roof has caved in on the rest of your home. It may seem like an absurd or outlandish scenario, sure, but as the famous saying goes, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

When taking care of the rest of your home security while traveling make sure you schedule an inspection for your roof before you head out. Even if it may look as though everything is fine and dandy on your roof, you never know what kind of damages you may be blind and oblivious to. The right roof specialist can often perform an inspection that can not only address any pressing issues with your roof but one that can also project into the future by noticing any damages, cracks, or leaks that might end up causing even greater problems down the road. Being proactive about your roof before you go out on a family vacation is just one way to be mindful as a homeowner, thus sidestepping any major problems before they even have a chance to get started in the first place.

Close the Windows

It’s nice to know that most home insurance companies nowadays offer some wide-ranging insurance services. Even so, dealing with something such as flood damage restoration is not something that most people want to encounter upon returning from their fun, relaxing family vacation. While floods are just one problem that can be caused as a result of leaving the windows in your home open, there are many more issues that can arise from this simple careless act of neglect. As a matter of fact, when you leave on a family vacation, closing your windows should be something makes the top of your list when you’re examining home security while traveling.

If you live in an area that is prone to extreme weather patterns and huge storms, then failing to close your windows can have some serious impacts for the worse. For example, something as seemingly harmless as a hail storm can lead to some enormous damage to your interior floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, and personal belongings. Similarly, a window that’s left open in a basement may leave the lower level of your home open to flood damage once a big rain or thunderstorm rolls through your town. To avoid all of these issues and take care of your home security while traveling, don’t forget to close each and every one of the windows in your home before you leave town.

Pay Ahead for Lawn Care

High quality lawn care is something that should always be at the top of any home owner’s list. Whether you’re looking at the aesthetic appeals of proper lawn care or the neighborhood charm that a nice lawn can bring, there’s no denying the fact that it pays to take care of your lawn all around the year, even when you may be out of town on your next family vacation. However, it is simply astounding just how many people acknowledge this fact while still ignoring their lawn care. Many people simply assume that doing the bare minimum to take care of their lawn is sufficient. In the majority of cases, however, this kind of behavior only leads to lackluster outcomes. Thankfully, you have options for lawn care, even when you’re out of town on a family vacation.

Paying ahead for a lawn care service to visit when needed can save you an enormous amount of time and money. Sure, you may have to spend some money upfront in order to secure the services of a lawn care company, but you have to think about the secondary costs associated with not doing this. A few weeks away from your lawn with absolutely no attention being paid to your grass, trees, and shrubs can have disastrous long term effects on the health, look, and feel of your home’s outdoor spaces. In fact, sometimes a short period of neglect is enough to kill off vital nutrients that your soil needs in order to maintain proper growth in your lawn. In this way, leaving your lawn alone when you’re out of town can end up costing you big time. It’s far easier to hire a lawn care service to make sure this doesn’t happen the next time you’re looking to leave your house for a family vacation. Prioritize your lawn care along with the rest of your home security while traveling.

Clear Out the Gutters

While it may not seem at all related to home security while traveling, the state of your gutters is something you need to check in on before you leave for a vacation. Without clean gutters, you may end up running into some similar problems as demonstrated by making a mistake like leaving some of your windows open. All it takes is one big storm to roll through for your gutters to get overwhelmed and cease their optimal function. Be sure to hire some form of gutter cleaning services before you leave, just to have full confidence in the fact that your gutters will be able to do their job while you’re away, whether it’s just for a few days or a few weeks.

Secure Your Home

Home security systems serve as a staple of home security while traveling. From your windows to your front and back doors, securing your home is essential. Many modern solutions also make it easier than ever before to monitor your home from multiple angles even while you’re miles, cities, or countries away! Sure, you can install some basic alarms that will ring to a home security company if anyone attempts to break into your home while you’re gone. Fire safety is also a matter of security for your home while you’re gone. Making sure your fire sprinkler system design is such that you can trust it while you’re gone is crucial. However, it’s also a good idea to look into more advanced home security solutions that use modern technology to step things up a few levels.

Some modern security systems with comprehensive camera setups allow you to monitor a live stream of your home. Using such a system, you are able to swap between viewing camera angles all around your house. So maybe you’re out on your family vacation and you feel like you want to monitor things one night. All you have to do to see your living room furniture, your garage door, or your front door, is open up your home security app and select the appropriate camera angle. Setting up such a system before you leave town for a big family vacation can work wonders for your home security while traveling while also ensuring your peace of mind as you’re away from home.

Store Valuables in a Safe Place

Valuable items should never be left out in the open when you leave your home for any amount of time. In fact, many homeowners would benefit from securing their personal belongings even when they are just gone from their homes for the workday. Leaving valuable items out in the open pretty much provides one of the best incentives for anyone outside your home who may be thinking about breaking in and committing a robbery. In most cases, if someone looks inside and doesn’t see anything of value, they will decide to leave the house rather than breaking and entering.

Before leaving town, invest in a safe for your laptop. Put your jewelry in a safe or in another area that’s difficult to access. Make sure any cash or gold is stowed away where it will be safe. Taking care of these things before you leave town is one of the key aspects of home security while traveling.

Check Your Home Insurance Policy

Finally, it’s important to remember the fact that even if you do everything in your power to make sure your home security while traveling is taken care of, accidents and problems are unavoidable sometimes. That’s why home insurance is so crucial in today’s world. Before you set out on your next family vacation, it never hurts to check in on your current home insurance policy. Sometimes this process may show you that you’re missing out on some valuable benefits by not enabling certain aspects of your insurance policy. Furthermore, a lot of homeowners find that looking to see what their home insurance policy covers provides them with an additional peace of mind that is much needed as they head out on their next family vacation. Your home insurance policy is perhaps your most powerful tool for home security while traveling.

Sometimes taking care of tedious tasks around the house is the last thing you want to do when you’re looking forward to a fun-filled family vacation. However, we hope that this list has helped you to see the importance of making sure your home security while traveling is optimized in each and every way. After all, taking these steps will help you clear your mind so you can enjoy your family vacation even more. And you won’t have to worry about coming back home to any major problems! Good luck out there and enjoy your next vacation!