Key Takeaways
- Make the house look lived in: hold mail, pause deliveries, and put lights on a varied schedule.
- Lock every entry, bring in spare keys, and secure the garage and sliding doors.
- Arm your alarm and confirm your cameras and phone alerts work before you leave.
- Post vacation photos after you get home, not during the trip.
- Long trip? Check your insurance policy's vacancy rules, commonly 30 to 60 days.
A Week Before You Leave
Most of what keeps a home safe while you travel is set up in advance. Give yourself a week, because some of these take a few days to start.
- Hold your mail
Request USPS Hold Mail. It is free, covers 3 to 30 days, and can be scheduled up to 30 days ahead. A full mailbox is the most visible sign that nobody is home.
- Pause deliveries and reroute packages
Hold Mail does not cover individual packages. Pause newspaper and subscription deliveries, and either delay online orders or have them sent to a trusted neighbor, a locker, or a pickup point.
- Sign up for a police vacation house check
Many departments run a free program where officers check on homes while owners travel, as time allows. Call the non-emergency line or check your department's website.
- Pick a trusted neighbor or friend
Ask someone to collect stray packages and flyers, glance at the house, and know how to reach you. Give them a key directly instead of hiding one outside.
- Arrange outdoor upkeep
Book a lawn mow for longer trips in summer, and line up someone to shovel and salt the walk if snow is possible during winter travel. An untouched lawn or unshoveled driveway says the house is empty.
- Check your alarm and cameras
Test your security system, confirm your cameras are online and recording, replace any low batteries, and make sure the app alerts actually reach your phone.
The Day You Leave
On travel day, the goal is simple: every entry locked, nothing hidden outside, and a house that looks like it does on any other evening.
- Set lights on a schedule
Use lamp timers or smart bulbs so lights turn on and off in the evening the way they would if you were home, with some variety night to night.
- Lock every entry, including the easy-to-forget ones
Check every exterior door, ground-floor windows, the door from the garage, and sliding doors, which benefit from a security bar in the track.
- Bring in spare keys
Remove the key under the mat or in the flowerpot. Those are the first places anyone looks.
- Secure the garage
Close and lock the garage door, unplug or lock out the opener if you will be gone a long time, and do not leave a remote in a car parked outside.
- Unplug and turn down
Unplug small appliances and electronics you will not need, and set the thermostat to a safe away temperature. In winter, keep the heat high enough to protect pipes from freezing.
- Arm the system
Arm your alarm in away mode as you leave, and confirm on your phone that it armed.
If your locks are older, our guide to improving home security with better locks covers which upgrades make the biggest difference.
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Get a Free QuoteMake It Look Lived In
An empty house usually gives itself away from the street. Piled-up mail, packages on the step, the same single light on all week, or a snowy driveway with no tire tracks all send the same message. Fix those, and your home looks like every other home on the block.
Smart home devices make this easier than it used to be. Lights can follow a schedule from your phone, and a keyless smart lock lets you give a neighbor or pet sitter their own code, then turn it off when you get back, instead of handing out a physical key. Our guide to smart home automation explains how these devices work together.
While You Are Away
- Watch your alerts
Keep notifications on for your alarm and cameras, and know in advance who will respond locally if something needs checking.
- Stay quiet online
Hold vacation photos and location check-ins until you are home. Real-time posts announce an empty house.
- Check the cameras once a day
A quick look at your doorstep and driveway catches package pileups or an open gate before they become a problem.
This is where a monitored system earns its keep. A camera tells you something happened; professional monitoring makes sure someone responds when you cannot. With an ADT-powered system, alarms go to ADT's professional monitoring centers 24/7, and monitored smoke and carbon monoxide sensors are covered too, which matters when nobody is home to hear an alarm. For whether cameras actually discourage break-ins, see do security cameras deter crime? and our camera options.
Holiday Travel: Extra Steps for Winter Trips
Trips around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year come with a few risks summer vacations do not:
- Package pileups. Holiday shopping means more deliveries. Time orders to arrive after you return, or have them held for pickup.
- Gifts in view. Keep wrapped gifts and new electronics out of sight from the windows, and break down boxes from big purchases instead of leaving them at the curb.
- Holiday lights. Put outdoor and tree lights on a timer instead of leaving them on around the clock. It looks normal and reduces fire risk.
- Snow and cold. Arrange snow removal so the driveway shows normal activity, and keep the heat on to protect pipes. A smart thermostat you can check from your phone, or simply a neighbor who looks in, can catch a heating failure before it becomes a burst pipe.
Pets, Pet Sitters, and House Sitters
If someone will be coming and going, set them up before you leave. Give them their own smart lock or alarm code instead of yours, so you can turn it off when you are back. Walk them through arming and disarming the system once, write down who to call if the alarm goes off, and add them as a contact if your monitoring service allows it. For pets staying home alone, monitored smoke and carbon monoxide sensors matter even more, because nobody may be there to hear a local alarm.
Social Media: Wait Until You Are Home
It is tempting to share the beach or the ski slope in real time. The problem is that a live post with a location tag tells everyone who sees it that your home is empty right now. Post the photos after you return, or limit who can see your posts while you travel. The memories keep just as well for a few days.
Coming Home
- Look before you walk in
Glance at doors and windows from outside. If anything looks forced or open, do not go in; call 911 from a safe place.
- Restart the routine
End the mail hold, resume deliveries, reset lights and the thermostat, and thank the neighbor who kept an eye out.
- Note what you would change
If you worried during the trip, that worry is useful information for the next one.
Long Trip? Check Your Insurance
A one- or two-week vacation is normally no issue. Longer absences can be. Most standard homeowners policies limit coverage once a home sits unoccupied for an extended period, commonly 30 to 60 consecutive days, depending on the insurer and policy. If you are planning an extended trip, read the vacancy or occupancy section of your policy and ask your insurer what it needs from you. A professionally monitored system may also earn you a discount; see our home security insurance discount guide.
The Quick Checklist
| When | To Do |
|---|---|
| A week before | Hold mail, pause deliveries, police house check, pick a neighbor, arrange lawn or snow care, test alarm and cameras |
| Day you leave | Light schedules, lock every entry, bring in spare keys, secure garage, unplug, set thermostat, arm the alarm |
| While away | Keep alerts on, check cameras daily, no real-time posts |
| Coming home | Look before entering, end mail hold, reset routines |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make my house look lived in while on vacation?
Keep the outside looking normal and the inside looking active. Hold your mail, pause deliveries, and have someone collect packages. Put lamps on timers or smart bulbs on varied schedules instead of one light left on all week. Keep the lawn mowed or the walk shoveled, leave blinds as you normally do, and ask a neighbor to park in your driveway now and then.
Should I leave a light on while on vacation?
Not one light on all week. A single light burning day and night looks staged and wastes power. Instead, use timers or smart bulbs to turn a few lights on and off on a schedule that matches how your household normally lives, with some variation from night to night.
How long will USPS hold my mail?
USPS Hold Mail is free and holds your mail at your local Post Office for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. You can request it online up to 30 days in advance. For trips longer than 30 days, USPS recommends a forwarding service instead. Hold Mail does not cover a single package, so arrange package pickups separately.
Will the police check on my house while I am on vacation?
Many local police departments offer a free vacation house check program, where officers drive by or walk the property while you are away, as time allows. Rules vary: some cap the program at 14 or 30 days, and most cannot guarantee a set number of checks. Call your department's non-emergency line or check its website to sign up.
Is it safe to post vacation photos on social media?
It is safer to wait until you are home. Real-time posts and location tags tell anyone who sees them that your house is empty right now. Share the photos after you return, or limit the audience on your accounts while you are away.
Does homeowners insurance cover my home while I am on vacation?
A normal vacation is usually fine, but most standard policies limit coverage once a home sits unoccupied for an extended stretch, commonly 30 to 60 consecutive days. If you will be away longer, read the vacancy or occupancy section of your policy and ask your insurer about options before you leave.
Sources
- USPS: Hold Mail, The Basics
- Example police vacation house check program (Waukegan, IL)
- Example police vacation house check program (Whittier, CA)
- MoneyGeek: Unoccupied home insurance and vacancy limits
Travel Knowing Someone Is Watching
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