Planning a Family Vacation - 10 Tips to Protect Your Home While You\’re Away

It\'s great fun to begin planning for a family vacation, but don\'t forget to make a list of what you need to do to keep your home safe while you are away.

1. If you can, have a trustworthy neighbor pick up your newspaper and mail while you are gone, as there is nothing that signals \"family is away\" more than a pile of newspapers or an overflowing mailbox. If you don\'t know of anyone who can do this for you, just cancel your newspaper for the duration of your trip, and have your mail held for you at the post office. You might consider starting this a few days before you are leaving just to verify it does in fact get stopped.

2. Test the battery in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to be sure they are working before you depart.

3. Some people change their answering machine messages while they are away to let people know to call them at another number, but I don\'t recommend this as it is just advertising that no one is home.

4. If you are going on an extended trip for more than 2 weeks and it is during the spring or summer, have a lawn service keep up with your lawn. It will not be so crucial during the winter.

5. Make sure your neighbors know that you will be gone, and be sure to leave your contact information with them in case of emergency.

6. If you are leaving your car at the airport parking lot, you should not leave your registration information in the car just in case it gets broken into or stolen.

7. It\'s a good idea to unplug your garage door opener when you leave on your trip in case of accidental opening.

8. Turn off and unplug appliances such as toaster ovens, TVs, computers, microwave ovens, and DVRs, although you may want to leave a small radio plugged and playing at a low volume (or use a battery-powered radio).

9. If you don\'t have one, purchase a timer to have your lights come on and go off at certain times.

10. If a pet sitter is coming by to care for your animals, ensure they do not have any magnetic signs on their car advertising their business, as this is a clear advertisement to people that you are not at home.

Use these tips next time you are planning a family vacation, and you can have a stress-free holiday knowing your home is protected while you are away.

For fun vacation ideas and tips for the lowest airline fares visit the-cheap-traveler.com.

Home From Iraq - Going to WDW for Halloween
About a month ago I was contacted by a young man, J, who was in the army. He wanted to know how to set up a vacation to Disney World. The young man ...

Antarctica Cruises Are Truly Expeditions
When you are planning a cruise, you want it to be one that you will remember for the rest of your life. If this is the type of cruise that you are lo...

Hawaii Vacations - Is a Cruise the Best Way to Experience Hawaii?
Hawaii is an incredible vacation destination packed with pristine beaches, lush tropical rain forests, gorgeous waterfalls and spectacular volcanoes. ...

5 Things To Consider When Planning Your Cruise
A cruise vacation is one of the most exciting activities for adventurous people. They prefer to explore different regions of the world rather than sp...

Should Your Hawaii Vacation Package Include a Cruise?
So youre planning a vacation to Hawaii, eh? Maybe a little overwhelmed by the possibilities? After all, the Islands of Aloha offer so many exotic thin...

Planning Your Cruise For Maximum Enjoyment
There are many people who would love to take a cruise vacation but think that they cannot afford to do so. One thing to keep in mind is not to base i...

Home Security Tips For Holidays - Don’t Make Your Home Burglar Friendly
Considering a family vacation? Imagine returning home from a relaxing holiday to find you have been robbed, vandalized or in some cases totally cleane...

Disney Cruise Tips for Families
We wanted to share some tips on Disney cruises and how the whole family can have a blast, enjoy! We didn't realize that they are a great family vacati...

Security Camera System Buyers Guide
If this is your first system, think about the reasons you need a security camera systemWho/What do I need to protect? Who is taking that stuff from t...

Planning Your Cruise
Its easy for you to get into all of the excitement that youll find on your cruise, but you may end up overlooking a lot of deals. You dont want to for...

Cruise Vacations Planning Tips
Cruise Vacations are one of the most exciting and fun vacations destinations you and your family can ever experience. Many people consider taking crui...

Vacation Cruises
Today more and more people are enjoying vacation cruises as they become more affordable and offer more amenities for families, couple, singles, senior...

The Best Alaska Cruise Season
Alaska is a seasonal, as opposed to year round, cruise vacation. Alaska cruising season generally runs from May through September, although some small...

Cruising Expedition
There are numerous locations where a cruising expedition could drop off land parties and then head off for a more central position to extract the maxi...

Home Security System Advice
Home security is about safeguarding your home, family and possessions and there is no better way to provide for the safety of your family than with a ...