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Jan4

Banish Black Mold In Your Home For Good!

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When the weather gets colder and wetter, many of us start to notice dreaded black mold appearing in our homes. Not only is this unsightly but it also poses some pretty serious health hazards too- respiratory problems, eye irritation, rashes, headaches, and even fatigue can be symptoms. Of course, if you have anyone who’s vulnerable due to their age (either old or young), have a weakened immune system, or allergy sufferers living in the property are going to be particularly affected. Here are some points to bear in mind about black mold and how you can go about getting rid of it for a healthier home.

What Causes Mold In The Home? Mold grows in damp areas in the home and so if you spot it, it’s a sign that you have some kind of moisture problem. This could be a result of a leak, or alternatively mold can accumulate due to condensation along with poor ventilation. Condensation is more of an issue in the colder months. If you notice it a lot in the bedroom, this is because when you sleep the warm air you breathe contains moisture and condenses on the cold walls and windows. The same applies if you take a hot bath or shower, or if you hang out damp washing in your home. When the area stays moist, it provides excellent growing conditions for mold.

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How To Get Rid of It? If you suspect a leak to be the cause of your mold problem, have a plumber come out and have a look. There are also countless step by step guides online to help you remove black mold on subfloor or ceilings. Some leaks can be very slow flowing so it might not be glaringly obvious that it’s because of this right away. Sometimes leaks can come from the roof or from outside, as a result of things like blocked guttering. A thorough check is essential. If a leak is discovered, you will need to remove any wood, carpeting, or other materials that is damaged to prevent rot and get rid of the mold spores. If the damage isn’t too bad, allowing everything to thoroughly dry and treating it with an anti-mold product might be enough. Regardless of the severity of the situation, it can bring peace of mind to call an expert in to take a look. To get started, simply enter a search for “Mold Removal Denver, Co” (or your local area) and get an appointment right away before the problem worsens.

Your second step is to ensure good ventilation, even in cold weather (in fact, especially in cold weather) you should ‘air out’ your home every day for at least thirty minutes. This helps any moisture to evaporate, and when the areas are dry mold won’t appear. Having an extractor fan fitted in kitchens and bathrooms can help to prevent moisture building up in these areas. Another thing you could try if you’ve noticed mold, especially in the vents of your home is to have your air ducts cleaned. These should be done every three to five years. You could look online for companies offering duct cleaning services locally to you.

How To Keep It Away: The first step after removing mold is to have verification that it’s truly gone with a trained eye and the right technology. You will want to enlist the help of home inspectors columbia sc (or your local area) to make sure that all of your efforts were successful. Once you pass your inspection, regularly airing out your home will help to prevent condensation and therefore keep mold away in many cases. If you notice a lot of condensation on windows that doesn’t evaporate when the window is left open for thirty minutes, you could buy a squeegee and manually clear and dry the windows yourself over the colder months. If any mold does start to grow, treat it right away with an anti-mold product. Painting areas prone to it in an anti-fungal paint can also keep it at bay.

Jan3

Healthy Home Changes for Long-Term Differences

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If you want to live a healthier life, you need to think about making long-term changes. You can choose to make adjustments that will help you be healthier in the long-run, without the need to keep up the willpower and motivation. With the right changes, you will hardly have to think about being healthier. Doing things around your home can help you to achieve this. You can create the right environment for a healthy lifestyle so that you can reduce illness and feel fitter. A healthier home is better for you and anyone else who lives with you, including children. Try these permanent changes to kick-start your healthy living.

Check for Air Leaks: Mold and mildew in your home can pose a health risk, as well as affect the structure of your property. It’s especially bad for anyone who might already have breathing issues or a skin condition. Air leaks can contribute to the problem, allowing moisture and cold air to get into your home. Eliminating them will help to make your home warmer and safer. You can look for them yourself or get a professional to do it. Try using a candle to see where spots around doors and windows cause the flame to move. Just be careful as you walk around with a naked flame.

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Soften Your Water: Drinking water instead of other drinks is one of the healthiest moves that you can make. Even fruit juices can contain a lot of sugar. However, many people shy away from drinking tap water because of the taste. The water in your area may be particularly hard, causing it to taste unpleasant or even have undesirable minerals in it. You can use a water filter jug, but it’s also a good idea to consider other solutions. For example, if you use plumbing services from a company like Davis Plumbing & Drain, you can install a water softening system. This is a more permanent and convenient solution.

Let Natural Light In: Many people like to use blackout curtains or blinds to help them get a better night’s sleep. But you could be doing your body a disservice by blocking out the light. If you let natural light into your home, you might find that you get into a healthier sleeping pattern. Natural light is good for you during the day, too, as it helps you get your vitamin D and improves your mood.

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Use Gentler Cleaning Products: Harsh cleaning products aren’t always the best choice for your home. They can do a good job, but you might not like their effect on your health or the environment. If you want an alternative, you can find gentler products that you might prefer. You can even take it a step further by making your own cleaning products. If you do this, you’ll know exactly what goes into everything that you use. Many everyday household items can be used for cleaning, including vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda.

It doesn’t take much to make some big changes to your home. A healthier lifestyle could be only moments away.

Jan3

Surrounded By Clutter? How To Carry Out A Post-Holiday Clean-Up Operation

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The holidays are done and gone, and before we know it, Christmas Day will be a distant memory, and we’ll be back to the grindstone. Although most of us love the festive period, it does have its downsides. With family and friends popping in, mounds of gifts and wrapping, and days running into one, it can be tough to keep on top of cleaning. It’s easy to get swamped and end up with piles of dishes on the counters, boxes and rolls of paper everywhere, and tons of laundry to get through. If you’re surrounded by clutter, and you have an endless list of jobs, here are some tips to help you conduct a post-holiday clean-up:

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De-Cluttering: Don’t even think about trying to vacuum the carpets or dust your furniture until you’ve got clear surfaces and floors. There’s no point in trying to clean around piles of laundry or navigate the hoover around new toys, games, or mounds of books and DVDs. Start your clean-up with a de-cluttering session. Before you start trying to find places for Christmas gifts, have a clear out, and throw away anything you don’t want to keep. Take new items out of their packaging, and create a pile for recycling. Make another mound for the trash. Get everyone to tidy their own rooms and you’ll get the job done in no time. Once you’ve got your piles sorted, load the car and take a trip to the nearest waste disposal site. If you’re throwing away items that are in good condition, you could host a yard sale or take a bag of stuff to a local thrift store.

Cleaning: Set aside an afternoon to get the house in order and you’ll feel much better afterwards. Allocate chores, such as doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, and vacuuming the entire house. If everybody pitches in, you’ll be finished before you know it. Once you’ve tackled the pots and pans and hoovered the carpets, wipe down the kitchen and bathroom surfaces with disinfectant spray. Then, you can move on to polishing wooden sideboards, tables, and chests. Mop the floors and light some scented candles. Open the windows or use a fan to circulate the air. If you don’t already have one, look out for bargains in the January sales. You’ll find a host of tower fan reviews online.

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Once you’ve got your home in tip top shape, the last thing you want is to let things slide and end up back at square one. Try and keep on top of tidying and cleaning. Don’t let dishes pile up or dust gather on the stairs. If you wash up every night and vacuum every couple of days, you’ll soon find that you spend a lot less time cleaning. Take the trash out and use diffusers and candles to give your home a fresh, clean smell. It may not seem like the most exciting way to spend the day, but you’ll feel much better after you’ve given your home a good spruce. There’s nothing worse than heading back to work on a miserable January morning knowing that you’ve got an endless list of chores to wade through on your return. -____-

Jan3

Two Awful Things You Don’t Want In Your Home, And What To Do About Them!

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There are always so many posts about what to do in our home, giving us advice on paint colors, decorations, and fabrics to create a wonderful living space. But sometimes this can mean that the things we don’t want in our home get overlooked when creating a perfect space. Just read the post below to find out more:

Pest Infestation: One thing that no one ever wants in their home is a pest infestation. Whether you are scared of bugs or not, having an excess of creepy crawlies wandering around in your house can be very distressing. As can having an issue with vermin like mice and rats.

Both types of infestation can cause health issues, as some bugs like wasps sting and others spread disease like flies or cockroaches. Of course, vermin are well known to get into your food stores and walk their filthy little feet all over your counters, too, so they need to be rid of as soon as possible.

So how can you deal with an unwelcome infestation? Well, there are lots of pest specific advice on the internet. For example, you can help to stop pests gaining access to your home by sealing up any cracks in walls or vents. You can also help to prevent any infestations by ensuring that you keep your kitchen and waste areas clean and store any rubbish in proper bins that are well away from living quarters. But that is not much help if you already have a problem, is it? If an infestation is happening, then you will need to call a professional exterminator. They will have the tools and skill to identify the issue and treat it specifically as well as to help prevent it from reoccurring.

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He’s so wittle!!!

Damp and Mold: Have you ever lived in a home or visited one that is suffering from a damp problem? If so, you will know just how unpleasant it can be. There is often a funny smell and the air inside never quite feels dry enough. In fact, if you have breathing difficulties like asthma it can really exacerbate them. That is why you don’t want damp or mold in your home.

Of course, damp is the perfect condition for mold to grow, as well. Mold is actually a fungus that grows on the walls of your home. Not only is it (very!) unsightly but it can pose a risk to your health, as well, and it really means that you aren’t living in the best conditions. But what can you do about problems such as mold and damp? Well, first of all, you will need to identify where the damp is coming from. If it is due to a flat roof or a crack in the walls it may be fairly easy to fix. But if it is rising damp, it is caused by the foundation of your home sucking up water from the land surrounding it. This is a lot more costly and time-consuming to deal with and needs to be addressed by a professional.

Dec30

Let There Be Light: How To Fight Dark Rooms In Winter

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The winter months are famously cold and dark, but this is no reason to let your house turn into a dark cave, too! It’s never easy to make the most of your home decor when the weather outside makes you feel miserable and trapped inside the walls, but there are a few tips to keep your house full of light and freshness. Remember, that natural sunlight is directly related to your mood, so the more light and fresh air there is, the better you will feel! Here are some of the tips that come from our Nordic friends in Sweden, Norway, and Finland where sunlight is very precious throughout the cold months.

Trim All The Plants: Plants, in your garden and your home will generally be trimmed in the winter so that they will come back stronger and healthier when spring arrives. While you may not be an expert gardener, it is important to know that your plants find their energy in the sunlight, and that by pruning them during the cold months you actively help them save their energy to keep growing and blooming when the temperatures rise again. Additionally, garden bushes and trees often block the sun warmth and light from reaching your house. As sunlight is precious and limited in winter, it is important to make sure that your windows are not hidden by garden vegetation.

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Take Care Of Your Windows: Your windows are where natural light enters your house. Consequently, in winter they will be your main access to sunlight, as it is not uncommon to stay inside when the streets are cold outside. First of all, a thorough cleaning of your window glass will make sure that you can let the maximum amount of light in. Additionally, while it may seem more comfortable to keep the windows shut throughout winter, it is essential that you renew the air in your house regularly by opening the windows at least once a week for a few minutes to refresh the atmosphere inside the house and avoid the apparition of mold.

It is not odd for many homeowners to discover that the house becomes more difficult to heat after you’ve refreshed the air. This can be caused by old windows that cannot provide a quality insulation anymore. You can test the insulation of your windows quickly: A cold breeze around the window area is a dead giveaway that you need to investigate replacement window brands for hermetic alternatives!

Use Light-Colored Interior Decor: A dark interior will naturally give the impression a dark room, which often has a gloomy impact on your mood. Making sure that you don’t use dark wall paint is essential. But this is not all! If you have a dark-colored sofa, an arrangement of light and natural colored cushions will immediately lighten up the atmosphere, for example.

Additionally, the use of mirrors will help to create a playful game of light in the room which can maximize the access of natural sunlight. Last, but not least, it is recommended to remove heavy curtains from your windows to guarantee that the light can easily get in. If you want to keep curtains around your windows, make sure to use light material for these so that they don’t occult the sunlight. Fairy light curtains are a nice alternative for dark rooms with limited sunlight. And they sound so pretty, too!

Dec30

Winter-Proof Your Home And Save Yourself A Fortune

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Christmas is over and the new year is here, and so it seems that we are heading into the coldest months of the year as we are in the depths of the winter season. But what we sometimes forget is that our homes are exposed to all of the elements day in day out, so it’s worth spending time protecting your home. You don’t have to be an expert in DIY or any drastic home improvements, because preparing your home for winter is easier to achieve than you think. Here are some tips to share that will help protect your home this season and they could even save you a hefty price tag for repair!

Let’s Think About the Exterior: One of the first jobs you can start to think about is clearing the gutters and drains. During the fall, we know that leaves disperse from the tree branches at an alarming rate. They tend to gather wherever they can, and the gutters and drains are just some of the places that can get clogged up easily. As there is an increasing chance of rain and snow, blocked drains could cause leaks and further damage to your home if not taken care of. Ensuring that there is good drainage for when the weather begins to turn may be last on your list of things to do, but it’s one of those tasks that you’d be silly to ignore.

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Clean those gutters!

Avoid Potential Disasters: Naturally, during the winter we will be cranking up our boilers and furnaces to provide much-needed heat to the home. However, as they may not have been used during the summer months, you may find that they are a little hesitant to fire up. The last thing anyone wants on a cold day is no heating. Getting your heating system checked over before the colder weather hits is a great tip to avoid future disasters.

Think About Your Walls: One of the easiest ways a home can lose heat is through the walls and roof. The reason may be down to the walls not being insulated correctly. It tends to be a more regular occurrence on older properties, as newer ones should have had insulation installed when being built. If you feel that your home just never seems to retain heat, this could be your problem. Insulation isn’t a huge job; you could consider it in the walls but also just lining your roof and attic space could save you a fortune in heating bills.

Protect Your Pipework: Pipes in and out of your home can be one of the biggest problems you face during the winter months. Pipes can freeze on the coldest days, and then burst as the temperature warms up. Burst pipes can cause huge problems with your plumbing system. Even pipes in your home like those in the attic can cause you issues when not protected well. So don’t let your attic pipes freeze and protect them. If you live in an area that is prone to those icey and snowy days, this could save you a lot of heartache in the future.

Plumbing problems are not the time to try and DIY it. This could end up causing more damage and costing even more money. You should always hire a licensed plumber when working with San Diego plumbers (or your local area) for check ups and repair.

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Stay warm and let’s get those homes ready for the cold months ahead! 🙂

Dec28

Update Your Home! Five Appliances That Will Make Your Life Easier

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These days, most of us are obsessed with convenience. We want things to be easy and to take as little time as possible – but at the same time, many of us are concerned with being thought of as lazy by other people. Luckily, there is a middle ground. There are a number of appliances that were once thought to be luxuries that have become necessities in the home over the last ten years – read on to find out more…

Dishwasher: Is there a bigger time waster than having to wash dishes? It’s one of those household chores that will always be done with resentment – especially because with every next meal you’ll just end up with another load of dirty dishes to wash. There’s no need to martyr yourself by doing washing up that you hate. Invest in a dishwasher so you don’t have to waste any more time or energy on your dirty dishes. Or have the possibility of touching wet food in the sink!! YUCK!

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Heated Towel Rail: Throughout the winter, showering becomes a problem. Of course, we all like to stay clean through the whole year – but no one enjoys that feeling of stripping off their pajamas in the cold air on a winter morning before stepping into the shower! Even worse is the coldness of climbing out again before you have your towel wrapped around you. It’s important, then, to make sure that you have a warm, cozy towel to heat you up when you get out of the shower. It’ll also dry your towel when you’re done, stopping it from smelling like a combination of damp and bath soap!

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 I think I need a heated towel rack!

Microwave: A lot of people think of microwaves as the epitome of laziness but that is absolutely and categorically untrue. They promote convenience, but there’s no reason that that is a bad thing. Not only can you make cakes in microwaves these days, but you can also heat up leftovers from the previous day and use them quickly when you don’t want to have to clean up any pans or utensils. Check out Oven Shopper to find out which microwave is the best one for you and your family.

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 Dream kitchen!

White Noise Machine: If you don’t sleep well at night, then a white noise machine is an absolutely essential investment. A lot of people can’t sleep in silence and are woken up by sudden small noises. A white noise machine will cover them up and enable you to sleep well in near-silence without the low hum of the TV disturbing your partner. So cool!

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 Zzzzzz…

E-Reader: One of the best ways to expand your mind and open yourself up to the world around you is to read. Not only can you explore fictional worlds a million miles away from where you are, but you can also consider new ideas that will challenge you and force you to re-evaluate yourself – which is always a good thing! E-readers are useful because you can keep your entire library with you at all times. That means that you’ll never have to worry about what book to read next – and because of their size and weight, they’re much easier to take on vacation than a huge stack of paperbacks. The Kindle that I got from my boyfriend is one of my absolute favorites and I cannot recommend investing in an E-Reader enough!

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 Bragging rights for whoever can name that book!

Dec22

How To Get The Most Out Of Your New Tech

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How To Get The Most Out Of Your New Tech

If you’ve shelled out on an expensive gadget just in time for Christmas, then you’re going to want to get the most out of it. That means everything from optimizing it to protecting it. The first thing you must do when you purchase a new gadget is to buy a good case for it. There are plenty of options on the market but don’t just go for style. It won’t matter how good your new iPad case looks if it disintegrates on contact with the floor. Buy the case that will give your iPad the best protection from the elements and the occasional drop. A good case is going to save you a lot of money in the long run. If you’ve spent a lot on a gadget, you’re going to want to protect it like it is your home.

If your gadget has a huge screen area in comparison to its chassis, that means that it is mostly glass. You should know exactly how fragile glass is! Along with a good case, investing in a screen protector won’t only protect your phone or tablet from the oils that your skin leaves behind and smudges from swiping, but it could stop your screen from shattering upon contact with the ground. Invest in a tempered glass screen protector if you dislike the feel of the plastic versions.

A power bank is a modern essential. Phones seem to run out of juice more quickly than ever before. A good power bank will not only give your phone a new charge to full from zero, but it will also do it again and again. Most power banks will work with a wide range of portable gadgets, so if your Kindle runs out just before the end of the chapter, you’ve now got your answer. As with cases, there are plenty of options on the market. Just do your research on a site like IThingum before you lay down the cash.

A good SD card is a lifesaver if your gadget allows it. Most Apple products won’t, but if you’re an Android head, then you’re in luck. An SD card will upgrade the storage of your device to levels that you’ll be able to appreciate if you take too many photos! A 32gb upgrade will do the trick for most and it won’t set you back too much. It might even increase the lifespan of your device.

You should also download anti-virus software for your new device. Mobile devices, as well as laptops, are increasingly becoming targeted by cyber-criminals. Scan your systems and ensure that you are protected from the get-go. The consequences of this are disastrous and could leave you in a bad place. Don’t take the risk!

If you’ve got a new gadget, you’re going to need to look after it to get the most out of it. With portable devices, there’s not much more that you need to do as most are already optimized for performance. Just give your gadgets a boost and the occasional clean, and they will serve you well. IF you choose to neglect them, they are going to fail sooner than you could have prepared for.

Featured Image By: Flickr

Dec22

Becoming An Audiophile Without Breaking The Bank

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Becoming An Audiophile Without Breaking The Bank

If you’re a music lover, then a pair of headphones and a cheap mini speaker in the corner of the room isn’t enough for you. An audiophile wants real quality. In the past, that might have been super expensive, between all of the hardware and the music collection your heart desires. Nowadays, however, it doesn’t have to have anywhere near that kind of impact on your wallet. Here, we’ll look at how you can tune into your inner music lover for a lot less.

Go Digital: You no longer have to fuss about setting up a huge system including a CD player, all of the connectors, and loads of speakers. Nowadays, you only need the power of your digital devices like your laptop, smartphone, tablet, and the right musical devices to connect to it. To that end, you want to look at high-quality Bluetooth speakers from places like Speaker Digital. Not only are Bluetooth speakers easily connected to all of those digital devices, but they require minimal wiring so you can transport that music setup of yours around the home for when you want to jam to your favorite tunes in a different setting. Some of the best Bluetooth speakers are backward compatible, too. So if you do have a vinyl player or CD system you want to hook up, you’re perfectly welcome to.

Get Smart With Your Placement: You don’t have to go buy hundreds of speakers to get the best room-filling sound, either. One can be enough. It’s all about where you place it and how you equalize it. This might require a bit of testing, but if you’re diligent, you can find the right setting. Just make sure that your speaker is placed in the best position in the room, where it’s not being cut off by corners of bookshelves or furniture. You want the sound to have as clear of a path of travel as possible. To make sure you’re calibrated to all of the highs and lows of the music so that nothing overlaps or drowns out the other parts of your music, it’s a good idea to use a bit of classical music as you equalize. Most famous pieces are diverse enough to give you an idea of how clear you can hear the individual parts of the music.

Stream, Don’t Buy: If you haven’t started using digital streaming methods of listening to music now, then you truly are missing out. Services like Spotify can offer you a library of thousands of your favorite songs. Nowadays, there’s a diverse market of different streaming services, so it’s true that you might not find some of your favorites all together on any one service. But if you don’t mind mixing and matching, it’s way cheaper than collecting CDs and even digital albums. You might want to spend a bit to get the ads out of the way, but that’s a small price to pay in comparison to purchasing every CD that you want to own.

Between cutting down on those once monumental hardware costs to getting all of your favorite tracks for less, it’s significantly easier to get your perfect audio setup. Just keep in mind the rules of speaker placement for the best possible quality with no distortion or blockages.

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Dec20

Get The Most From Your Vacation By Ensuring Your Home Stays Safe While You’re Away

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Get The Most From Your Vacation By Ensuring Your Home Stays Safe While You’re Away

Going on vacation is the perfect chance to get away from all of your everyday stressers. You may want to forget everything for the time you’re away, and that’s fine, but taking a few steps before you go will ensure that you don’t return to disaster. Coming home to find that you’ve had a break in would ruin that relaxed vacation feeling straight away. Avoid that eventuality by ensuring you do everything possible to keep your home safe. Following these tips will allow you to escape entirely during your time away:

Don’t Announce Your Vacation on Social Media: In a world where we live on social media, it’s tempting to plaster your page with news of your vacation. You want your friends to know where you’re going, right? Call them up and tell them! Putting the fact that you’re on vacation online is as bad as sticking a sign on your door saying that the house is empty. Don’t invite a break-in into your life. You may think it’s safe, but you never know who’s watching your page. Even people you don’t have as friends can see what you’re putting online a lot of the time. You may trust everyone on your friend’s list, but it’s those other people you need to be careful with.

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Tell Your Neighbors: Letting a few neighbors know that you’re going away will allow them to keep an eye on the house. Knowing that someone is watching over your place will allow you to stop stressing. Leave a contact number and ask them to call you if they see anything suspicious. It might be worth asking a family member or friend to pop in while you’re away, too. If a thief is watching the house, seeing people coming and going will put them off. Not to mention that your guest can do a quick check around the house. They can collect your mail, as well, so there’s not a pile right in front of the door for anyone to see. Make sure you let those neighbors know that this will be happening to avoid confusion!

Take Precautions: Taking a few home defense precautions is always a good idea, especially if you’re away. Keep your valuables locked up. If you haven’t got a home security system in place, you should consider one. It’s possible to buy alarms which send a notification to your phone when triggered. That way, you’ll know what’s happening straight away. This method is much more reliable than asking people to keep an eye on things. After all, they can’t be watching all of the time.

Leave a Light On: Leaving a light on when you go away is an old trick, but it works. Don’t worry about the cost of the electricity, either. Think how much more you would lose from a break in. Leaving a light on will fool any potential thieves that the house is occupied. This, paired with the person you have popping in every now and again, is sure to work as a deterrent.

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Featured Image By: Flickr