Safeguard Your Nest While Honeymooning With These 6 Smart Security Tips

You can’t wait for your honeymoon escape. There’s only one nagging worry — will your happy homestead be safe in your absence? How can you increase your sense of security while away?

Fortunately, a few savvy, proactive steps protect your home and belongings. The following six tips will safeguard your nest during your honeymoon.

1. Contact the Post Office

An overflowing mailbox is a sure sign that nobody’s home. So is your unkempt lawn and that Sunday edition of the New York Times sitting in your driveway on Wednesday morning.

Fortunately, you can erase such signs of your absence with a few phone calls. Before you depart, contact the following:

• The post office: Request that they hold your mail temporarily until your return.

• Weekly delivery services:Postpone items received at your address for work or personal purposes, such as the toilet paper you’ve purchased from a wholesale club since the pandemic or newspapers.

• A landscaping company: Hire one to tend to lawn care in your absence.

2. Secure the Premises

Test your window locks a week or so before your departure to ensure they work and secure those you won’t need to open before leaving. Lock your screen door, too — most thieves want a quick in-and-out hit and will move on to the next property if breaking in takes too long.

Use an inside locking device that pushes a bar through a hole in your garage door’s tracking to prevent thieves from lifting it manually. Ensure you lock the door between the garage and the main home. What if you must admit a pet sitter or housekeeper in your absence? Consider a coded lock for your main entry door. You can program a temporary code to let in only authorized individuals and revoke their access upon your return. 

3. Put a Timer on It

Appliance timers are the next best thing to hiring Kevin McCallister of “Home Alone” fame to make your vacant property look lived in during your absence. Those with smart home systems may be able to randomize turning on lights and televisions in various rooms from their smartphones. However, even lower-tech folks can quickly install simple devices so their living room lights up at dusk.

Additionally, window and door screechers that blare a siren when opened can deter thieves. Most intruders won’t hang around when the noise starts and don’t know whether the device automatically alerts the authorities or not. You can pick up timers and screechers for less than $10 at hardware stores, and the investment is well worth the added peace of mind.

4. Observe From a Safe Distance

Smart home systems often come with cameras that let you monitor what’s going on at home from anywhere in the world via your cellphone. However, even those who lack a huge budget or hope to avoid monthly subscription fees can use this approach.

You can find inexpensive security cameras for less than $20 that run on your home’s Wi-Fi and let you sneak a peek at your kitty. Those with recording capabilities provide evidence to authorities in case of a break-in.

5. Maintain a Low Profile

You can’t wait to show off the pictures of you and your new mate having a blast at the beach. However, wait to share those pictures of your Jamaican honeymoon on social media until you return. You don’t want to clue would-be burglars in that you’re away from home.

Likewise, keep your prenuptial planning low-key to everyone but invitees. Minimize what you share on traditional social media platforms, setting up private gift registries and using direct messaging to communicate plans instead of posting them on your feed.

6. Accept a Little Help From Your Friends

Accept the help your friends and family may offer to look after your homestead in your absence. Taking care of your property can even serve as a substitute gift from a cash-strapped relative who doesn’t mind picking up your mail, watering your houseplants and trimming your lawn.

Although not always available, contacting your local police department may result in extra help keeping an eye on your property in your absence. Some jurisdictions offer a vacation watch where the folks in blue will check on your home to ensure all remains well.

Keep Your Home Safe While Honeymooning

Your honeymoon is for romance, not worrying about your house. Taking proactive steps before you leave can protect your property in your absence. Enjoy a secure start to married life with the peace of mind of knowing a safe home awaits your return.