Bryan Home Safety Tips for the Holidays

Beware of the Grinch and his co-horts this Christmas.  If you are like millions of other Americans this year, you are probably going to be traveling out of town for the holidays.  This could leave your home vulnerable to thieves.  You can avoid trouble by following these Bryan home safety tips for the holidays.

Bryan Home Safety Tips for the Holidays

The Bryan Police Department wants to help you do everything you can to keep your home and valuables safe while you're away.  They can't be everywhere at once.  That is why they put together their Bryan home safety tips for the holidays.

The absolute best way to avoid problems with most thieves is to look like you're home.  They want as little confrontation as possible.  Suspend mail or newspaper delivery service until after you come home.  Keep garbage cans out of sight.  Use a timer to automatically turn on and off your lights in different rooms of the house.  You can also use this timer to turn on the radio.  Talk radio is preferable because then it sounds like more than one person is home.

Another one of the Bryan home safety tips for the holidays is to befriend your neighbors.  Let them know how long you will be gone.  Leave a key to the house with a trusted neighbor in case of emergencies.  Ask them to park in your driveway to keep up appearances that someone is home.

Lock up your valuables in a safe or safety deposit box.  Make a list of your valuables (TV, stereo, computer, etc) as well as their serial numbers.  Leave this list in your safe, safety deposit box or keep a copy on you at all times.  It is also a good idea to take pictures of all your valuables and keep it with your list.  This will come in handy if there is a break-in and you need to provide your insurance company with the information.

The final one of the police department's Bryan home safety tips for the holidays is to lock everything up.  Lock all windows and doors, including the sliding glass doors.  Reinforce the locks on your windows with key locks.  They are cheap and you can pick these up at any hardware or home improvement store.  If you are leaving a vehicle in the driveway, make sure it is locked and the garage door openers are inside the house, not the car.  Lock all the fences and gates around your property.

They say "when the cat's away, the mice will play".  Follow these Bryan home safety tips for the holidays and keep the "mice" outside.  Do you have any tips you would like to pass along?  Please post them in the comments below.

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Stephanie Hansson, Living the Good Life in Bryan – College Station Real Estate 

Originally posted on my Bryan-College Station real estate blog here: http://stephanie.cortiersrealestate.com/blog/bryan-home-safety-tips-for-the-holidays.html.