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What is your ritual for securing the house?


txflood33
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I wasn't sure where a question like this would go...but I guess it is a ritual for some.

 

I think we all know the usual stuff....stop mail/papers, timers on lights, have a neighbor keep an eye out

 

What else do you do....and what do you do for extended trips?

 

we have a cruise in March where we will be gone for just under a month. Are there bigger things I need to think of? Do I need to shut the water off at the main valve? I'm on well water and septic if that matters. 

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I'm not sure what a civilian would do, but here is what the different Armed Services would do:

  • The NAVY would turn out the lights and lock the doors.
  • The ARMY would surround the building with defensive fortifications, tanks and concertina wire.
  • The MARINE CORPS would assault the building, using overlapping fields of fire from all appropriate points on the perimeter.
  • The AIR FORCE would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.
     
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  • 1 month later...

-hold the mail

-put lights on timers

-secure pet sitters/kennel reservations

-send our itinerary (and contact info) to our family

-have a neighbor come into the house once or twice while we are gone

-adjust the thermostat higher (summertime) and lower (winter)

-take out all trash (& put trash cans out for collection)

-run the dishwasher the night before you leave (you don’t want anything running when you leave)

 

 

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On 2/9/2020 at 11:46 AM, lindsay0526 said:

-hold the mail

-put lights on timers

-secure pet sitters/kennel reservations

-send our itinerary (and contact info) to our family

-have a neighbor come into the house once or twice while we are gone

-adjust the thermostat higher (summertime) and lower (winter)

-take out all trash (& put trash cans out for collection)

-run the dishwasher the night before you leave (you don’t want anything running when you leave)

 

 

We do all theses plus add one thing..

Turn the main water switch off.

A few years ago we were on vacation and the hose broke on the ice maker in the refrigerator.

Completely destroyed two floors of our house.

insurance agent told us it is the most frequent claim on Homeowners Insurance

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/28/2019 at 9:38 AM, txflood33 said:

I wasn't sure where a question like this would go...but I guess it is a ritual for some.

 

I think we all know the usual stuff....stop mail/papers, timers on lights, have a neighbor keep an eye out

 

What else do you do....and what do you do for extended trips?

 

we have a cruise in March where we will be gone for just under a month. Are there bigger things I need to think of? Do I need to shut the water off at the main valve? I'm on well water and septic if that 

 

On addition to the previous:

Enroll your house in the local police department's vacation check program.

Ensure a local family member had copies of all essential documents.

Have a copies of passenger contracts and insurance policies in hand.

Call your credit card companies and banks so your ATM and credit cards do not get locked down for potential fraud while making purchases or withdrawals.

 

If it's an international trip, your government has tips, programs, and resources. If you are fro the U.S., check out  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go.html.

 

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/9/2020 at 8:46 AM, lindsay0526 said:

-hold the mail

-put lights on timers

-secure pet sitters/kennel reservations

-send our itinerary (and contact info) to our family

-have a neighbor come into the house once or twice while we are gone

-adjust the thermostat higher (summertime) and lower (winter)

-take out all trash (& put trash cans out for collection)

-run the dishwasher the night before you leave (you don’t want anything running when you leave)

 

 

Being the paranoid individual that I am, I don't put out any sign that let's people know i am not there.  Having a trashcan out for several days is a sure sign nobody is home.  That said, if you have a neighbor to put them out/away for you, all good.

 

If your roll up garage door has a bolt on it, I would bolt that.  One of the easiest methods to enter a house.

Put water in the pool if you own one.  Don't want to lose the pump due to running dry.

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  • 2 months later...

I am often concerned about "have I locked the deadbolt as well as the door knob lock".  I have been known to return home before leaving my vicinity "just to check and be sure".

 

Thermostat setting during the Winter season is also a concern.  If I see a Polar Vortex approaching my area, I will call my house sitter to enter my condo and raise the temperature.  

 

Yes, I am a worry wort.  

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On 11/9/2020 at 8:00 PM, rkacruiser said:

I am often concerned about "have I locked the deadbolt as well as the door knob lock".  I have been known to return home before leaving my vicinity "just to check and be sure".

 

Thermostat setting during the Winter season is also a concern.  If I see a Polar Vortex approaching my area, I will call my house sitter to enter my condo and raise the temperature.  

 

Yes, I am a worry wort.  

Hi rkacruiser,

Had an instance while on the way on a land base vacation.

 

We were heading for a vacation in the Hudson Valley in NY when half way up I remembered that I didn't turn off the Clock Radio Alarm. It would go off the next morning and doesn't turn off without touching it. And my neighbor doesn't have a copy of the key.

 

So we turned around and went back home to pull the plug out. No problem since we were only half way there. Imagine if we were on a cruise and the alarm went off the next morning. WOW will the neighbor go crazy with going off. Glad it wasn't a cruise this happened on. Oh Well.....

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  • 1 month later...

I thought about this recently because I heard that someone had a battery for a fish finder cause a fire in a garage.  I would unplug all battery chargers, like the one we have for our electric Lawn Mower and any tech we aren't taking with us (laptop).

 

PM

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/4/2021 at 1:17 AM, getting older slowly said:

Beside lock the door

Depends on the amount of time away  two week or more

Turn off     stove, aircon, HWS  and water   

and nothing on stand by, all A/V gear unplugged  from mains

only things on fridge, clock and power to lights

Cheers Don

We always check if we have any fruit no refrig and we give them to our neighbors for their use.

 

We always check to turn off the alarm clock that won't on off the next morning and ring till we come home.

 

Always notify the postman to give mail to our neighbor. Neighbor always get a great gift from the trip for watching out for us.

 

Hope to soon practice these tasks and return to sailing.

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Make a list of important phone numbers, print it to have handy.  These include all credit card companies.  Norwegian Cruise Line, and probably all others, have a number to call in case of an unforeseen delay in getting to the ship.  The American Embassy in each country you're visiting.  I print this out rather than store it in the phone because a phone can be stolen or lose battery power.  Maybe it's all overkill, but better to be safe than sorry.

Make two copies of the front page of your passport.  Have one with you, leave one with a trusted friend or relative.

Don't post anything about being away on social media until you come back.  No need to alert the thieves trolling Facebook that you'll be away.

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  • 9 months later...

Not to secure the house. But I always make sure that the house is clean, bed freshly made, dishwasher run/emptied, perishables disposed of, etc. -  because it is so much nicer to come home to a clean house vs. one that might be messy from packing for the cruise 😉 

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On 10/19/2021 at 8:41 PM, Dolcevita Diva said:

dishwasher run/emptied,

 

I will sometimes leave the last day's dinner and/or breakfast dishes in the dishwasher before I leave.  When I have returned, there has been no "green stuff" growing on them and I feel I have saved just a bit of water, detergent, and energy by doing so.  

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