Guest Author - Kimberly Button

When you're away from your home on vacation, you need to take extra precautions to ensure the safety and security of your home. No matter if you're gone for a weekend or a month, be sure to follow these guidelines in protecting your home while you're away.

Newspapers in the driveway and mail falling out of the mailbox are the biggest indicators that no one is at home. If you will be gone for several days, consider calling your newspaper company to stop delivery for a few days. You can often request this service on a newspaper's website or just call customer service. For mail delivery, fill out a form with the postal service to suspend mail delivery for the time that you will be gone.

Don't want to suspend your newspaper and mail delivery? Ask a neighbor that you trust to pick up your mail and keep it at their house. You could even pay a colleague or friend a few dollars to drive to your house and pick up the paper and the mail.

Tell a trusted neighbor or friend that you will be gone and when you are expected to return. Leave your cell phone number or the number of your hotel with them so that they can reach you in an emergency.

Buy a timer so that lights inside the house can be turned on automatically at night so that it appears that someone is inside your home.

Contact the police department to see if they can patrol your home while you're gone. Some police departments in smaller communities are able to provide this service. While you're talking with them, ask if they have any tips or suggestions on how to protect your home while you're gone.

Though it seems cliche, make sure you turn the iron off and unplug the curling iron before leaving. Burglaries aren't the only hazard to homes while you're away on vacation. Electrical problems and fires are valid concerns, as well.

Make copies of any important home-owners documents, such as insurance policies, etc., and always keep them in a second location outside of your home. Whether you give them to a family member or store them in a safe deposit box, you'll have documentation of your belongings and policies should damage occur to your home while you're gone.

Relax and enjoy your vacation! The chances of something happening to your home while you're gone are small and with these precautions, you can enjoy a stress-free vacation.



Kimberly Button is the author of The Disney Queue Line Survival Guidebook, the only Walt Disney World® Resort theme park guidebook that features scavenger hunts, trivia questions, word puzzles and hidden Mickey searches tailored to each attraction to alleviate boredom while standing in lines. For more information and to read an excerpt, visit www.disneysurvivalguide.com