How To: Holiday Security Tips

As November starts to wind down, the holidays are that much closer. As you enjoy the holidays, make sure you take extra precautions to keep your home safe this season. Did you know that according to the FBI, over 400,000 home robberies are reported during the months of November and December? That’s why it’s important to make sure to be extra careful and pay extra attention to your home’s security during the holidays. Our crew at Handyman Connection of Lexington has put together a few tips and recommendations to help you do that. Check them out, and let us know if you have any more to add to the list!

Update Your Locks and Install a Home Alarm System

Do a thorough check of all of your exterior locks on all doors and windows of your home. If the locks are loose, tighten them up with a screwdriver. If they are old, replace them with updated locks. The efficiency and quality of the locks are crucial to keeping your home safe during the holidays. As you are leaving your home, even if it’s only to run a quick errand, always lock up your doors and windows to have peace of mind that you’ve done your job to help protect your home. Make sure to turn on your alarm system as well, each time you leave. If you don’t have one, now may be a really good time to make that investment.

Coordinate with Your Neighbors

If you’re going out of town and expect to be away for longer than 2 or 3 days, take proactive measures and coordinate your absence with a trusted neighbor. Ask them to keep an eye on your house and to report any suspicious activity. Communicate any people who may be by while you are away, and if they notice anything they are not anticipating, ask them to call and report it. Also ask them to grab your mail and newspapers as it can indicate nobody is home, making your house a potential target for a robbery.

Keep Gift Displays Away From the Windows

Make sure to put your gift displays in a place that cannot be seen from the front windows of your home, or from the backyard. If a potential burglar is scoping out homes to potentially rob from, and notices the gift display at your house, that may entice the burglar(s) to select your home to rob. Try to keep the gifts displayed in a centralized part of your home.

Activate Automated Timers for Lights and Displays

Activate, and/or install if you don’t have them already, automated timers for your light displays and your exterior lights at your house. If you’re out of town and the lights are on or off at strange times of the day, it can indicate that you are away and a potential burglar could notice. It will also help save on your energy bills, so why not?

At Handyman Connection of Lexington, our goal is to help make your house a home, and to keep your home as safe as possible during the holidays. Give us a call for any last minute home maintenance projects that you’d like to get in before the holidays begin, or if you have any questions about other ways to keep your home safe this holiday season.