Going anywhere nice this year? Admittedly, that somewhere nice might not be too far away, given that the pandemic has made overseas travel rather less appetising than before.

In any case, though, if you will be out of the house for a while, you should be careful to leave that property secure. Here are just a few relatively simple ways you can do that.

Don’t leave your curtains or blinds drawn

Leaving those curtains or blinds closed during daytime essentially signals to a would-be burglar that the property is empty.

Therefore, you should make sure those window coverings are open as you set foot outside, though it would still be wise to turn your home’s lights off. Otherwise, as night falls, people could easily see right into your home and realise that no-one is there.

Tidy up your home from the outside

When you leave your home unattended for days or weeks on end, milk bottles could accumulate just outside your door, a newspaper could be seen jutting outside your letterbox and your garden could fall into a state of messy disrepair… unless, of course, you act to prevent all of this happening.

To that end, you could temporarily cancel regular deliveries – like, yes, milk and newspapers – and ask a neighbour to look after your garden while you are away. 

Hide your valuables from sight

Naturally, you don’t want those valuables to be visible through any of your home’s windows – but you might need to act even more diligently than simply putting those valuables in your sock drawer.

That’s because it’s the kind of place where a burglar is likely to look first when poring through your home. Ideally, you should try not to leave jewellery in your home at all. If you do, at least distribute the items around several hard-to-reach locations inside it.

Don’t advertise that you are on holiday

Well, not to anyone outside your immediate circle of family and friends, anyway. That’s likely to mean not immediately taking to social media to, say, share photos of that gorgeous stately home you have just visited or a selfie of your newly-bronzed self after a day at the beach.

You can save all of that for when you are back home – and when, even on a very public platform like social media, you can safely reveal that you are back home.

Implement smart lighting

It’s now possible to control various home appliances, including lighting, remotely – but it has to be the right type of lighting. We can install that smart lighting in your home for you, allowing you to control your residence’s lighting simply by making a few taps on your smartphone.

With that system in place as you leave the house, you can look forward to occasionally switching the lighting on and off from afar to create the illusion that your humble abode is occupied.