Pre-holiday precautions are a best practice

Discipline of closing up a home securely for holidays is as important as meticulous vacation planning

The last thing on many people’s minds while going on a holiday is to complete a to-do list of how to keep their home safe while they are away. The excitement of a vacation is real only if you return to an undisturbed, undamaged home where nothing is leaking, broken, or worse, broken into. The discipline of closing up a home properly for the holidays is as important as the meticulous planning of a vacation itinerary.

From big decisions such as having a home contents insurance to small issues such as fixing leaks and creaks before heading off to a dream destination, every detail matters. For instance, the Dubai Police’s Home Safety programme is an excellent service for residents to sign up for pre-vacation. The police patrols for apartments and villas is an effective peremptory measure that assures peace of mind for holiday-goers. The safety programme’s efficacy is also bolstered by numbers: 289 burglaries in 2015 as compared to 333 in 2014.

Other prudent moves before going on a holiday, such as unplugging electrical appliances, temporarily suspending newspaper delivery, etc., are common-sense precautions that ought to be instinctual for individuals and families, but the fact that they bear repetition every year during the holiday seasons tells its own story. There is also an old adage at work here: Penny wise and pound foolish. While spending thousands of dirhams on a holiday, many people are reluctant to spend money on creating a safety barrier for their homes, and this lapse can end up costing them dearly. After all, holidays are only a great escape whereas the home is where you want to return safely to. It should not be too difficult to see how the priorities stack up.