Home Protection While Traveling
This post is sponsored by Homie. A great way to buy or sell your home without a realtor and keeping
extra money in your pocket.
If you are thinking about leaving for the holidays or any other extended trip, here are some ways to
save money and keep your house safe while you are away from your home base. Your beloved castle.
Your fortress.
House Breaker - Turn off or unplug devices that won’t be needed while you are out of town. You can
flip switches to certain areas of your house to save power from the breaker box. Beware of doing this
though, we had some friends do it in the past and they accidentally turned off the power going to their
fridge/freezer and they lost so much food.
flip switches to certain areas of your house to save power from the breaker box. Beware of doing this
though, we had some friends do it in the past and they accidentally turned off the power going to their
fridge/freezer and they lost so much food.
Thermostat - Readjust thermostat. I would not recommend turning your thermostat all the way off
because you don’t want your house getting too cold. I also had friends (may or not be the same ones
in my previous story) that turned off the heat to their house because it was going to be just a few days
and when they came back, there fishtank was frozen! Even if you don't have pets its nice to keep your
home at an even 40 or 50* anyways.
because you don’t want your house getting too cold. I also had friends (may or not be the same ones
in my previous story) that turned off the heat to their house because it was going to be just a few days
and when they came back, there fishtank was frozen! Even if you don't have pets its nice to keep your
home at an even 40 or 50* anyways.
Water & Waterheater - Turn the water temperature down on the water heater when you leave the
house. This will help save on your power/gas bill. Just don’t forget to turn it back up when you arrive
home. There’s nothing quite worse than a pipe bursting while you’re away and having it ruin ceilings,
furniture, carpet, possessions and more. If you are going to be gone for a bit, consider leaving a faucet
on to drip. This will keep the water circulating through the pipes and help prevent it from freezing.
house. This will help save on your power/gas bill. Just don’t forget to turn it back up when you arrive
home. There’s nothing quite worse than a pipe bursting while you’re away and having it ruin ceilings,
furniture, carpet, possessions and more. If you are going to be gone for a bit, consider leaving a faucet
on to drip. This will keep the water circulating through the pipes and help prevent it from freezing.
Smart Bulb - I’ve talked about this in the past but I really do love my smart bulb so much. I can
schedule lights and even light colors to come on at certain times of day or night to help make it look
like someone is home.
schedule lights and even light colors to come on at certain times of day or night to help make it look
like someone is home.
Mail Stop - This is pretty easy to do on the usps.com website. You do have to have an account but
once you set that up, you just select the date range you want the hold for, you can include any notes
to the mail carrier and lastly, if you want to pick up all your mail when the hold is over or if you want the
mail carrier to deliver it. If you have a newspaper that gets delivered, put that on hold as well or have
a neighbor come pick them up so they don’t stack up outside.
once you set that up, you just select the date range you want the hold for, you can include any notes
to the mail carrier and lastly, if you want to pick up all your mail when the hold is over or if you want the
mail carrier to deliver it. If you have a newspaper that gets delivered, put that on hold as well or have
a neighbor come pick them up so they don’t stack up outside.
Neighbors - If you can, it’s great to have a trusted neighbor or friend even as an emergency contact in
case anything happens while you are away. We have a few people we can trust on our street to help us
case anything happens while you are away. We have a few people we can trust on our street to help us
out if we are away from home and there are any issues. When Ridgecrest got big earthquakes in July,
we were able to have someone come over and check our house for damage and turn off the electricity.
I have a friend in northern California who got alerted when water was coming out from the garage of a
mutual friend who was away. He was able to get in and discover a pipe had burst and was able to stop
the water and fix the problem.
we were able to have someone come over and check our house for damage and turn off the electricity.
I have a friend in northern California who got alerted when water was coming out from the garage of a
mutual friend who was away. He was able to get in and discover a pipe had burst and was able to stop
the water and fix the problem.
Trusted Housesitter - This is actually the name of a website so you could go through and go that
route or ask a trusted friend or neighbor to keep an eye on things while you are away. If nothing needs
to be done in the house, just have them keep an eye on the outside. Gates that blow open, water
coming from places it shouldn’t, packages left on the porch, etc. Maybe ask them to keep an eye on
who comes and goes or stay parked out front for unusually long periods of time.
route or ask a trusted friend or neighbor to keep an eye on things while you are away. If nothing needs
to be done in the house, just have them keep an eye on the outside. Gates that blow open, water
coming from places it shouldn’t, packages left on the porch, etc. Maybe ask them to keep an eye on
who comes and goes or stay parked out front for unusually long periods of time.
I hope these tips are helpful and encourage you to keep your home protected and safe during
the holiday season and all year round.
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