With Christmas quickly approaching many people are preparing to leave for vacation. Along with making sure you pack enough pairs of socks and that book you’ve been meaning to read, make sure that you also prepare your home for your absence. The most important thing you need to do to keep your home safe over the holidays is to make it appear occupied and well looked after. There are a number of ways you can do this:
Leave A Light Leaving a light on makes it look like someone is always home. Leaving a light on all the time is not very energy efficient, though. This is why we recommend investing in a light that you can control via your smartphone to turn on and off at certain times while you are away.
Turn On The Radio: Leaving a radio on is not only good for any pets you may have left at home but will let anyone trying to intrude know that there could be someone home. Keep the volume loud enough for someone breaking in to hear, but not so loud that it wastes electricity and stresses out your pets.
Invite Neighbours To Use Your Driveway: While you may want your vehicles safely stored in the garage, invite neighbours who you trust to park in your driveway. This way it looks like someone is home or, at the very least, keeping tabs on your property.
Have Someone HouseSit: This can be done in two ways. The first is having someone stay at your home while you are away. This is a great option, especially if you plan on leaving pets behind. The other way you can do this is simply asking someone to stop by every other day or so to collect your mail, flyers, check things out, etc..
Finally, remember that in Calgary you can get a fine for not shovelling the sidewalk lining your property. Make sure you have someone shovel for you incase it shows. Not only will this help you, but it will help those still in the community from hurting themselves should they need to walk your way.
If you know of people around you who will be gone, or simply want to go the extra mile for those still at home, be a snow angel! The snow angel program began a number of years ago in YYC. It encourages people to help out those around them by taking the extra minute to shovel their walkway. This is a great way to bless and serve those around you this holiday season.
Happy Holidays!
Posted by Ken Richter on
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