![]() (Wirecutter recommends several in our guide to plug-in smart switches.)Ī smoke alarm is useful only if someone is there to hear it. Better yet, get a three-pack, put them in Away mode, and your lights will randomly turn on and off to better simulate an occupied home. As a failsafe, I've placed a set of keys in a combination lockbox that hangs from a doorknob-in an emergency, anyone with the combination can get in.įor $10 or $15, you can use a smart plug with a lamp connected to it that will then turn on and off on a set or varied schedule. Above all, ensure that a neighbor is on board to check on things and has a set of spare keys-including for your cars. Turn off the water-supply valves to the clothes washer and dishwasher, and even the toilets. And if your drapery isn’t normally closed, it shouldn’t be while you’re away either.” For stretches longer than a week, hire someone to mow the yard and put out and collect your garbage cans on schedule. “Don’t leave a note on the door for the mailman or deliveries-stop your mail or get someone to pick it up. Deputy inspector Jessica Corey, commanding officer of the NYPD’s Crime Prevention Division, says that you have to minimize the appearance that no one is home. Last-minute quick fixesīefore breaking out tools and tech, the first step in vacation-proofing is to check off the basics. Here are several ways you can protect your home while you’re away, from the quick and cheap to the more involved and costly. ![]() What I find particularly appealing is that I can pick and choose the devices that work best for my needs, and I like not being on the hook for yet another monthly fee. And overall I like being able to drop in from anywhere in the world to have remote control of all my devices-a lock, an array of lights, the thermostat, and more-to make sure all is well. Others are automated to make it less evident we’re away. Some of these devices keep an eye on our place and send me an alert whenever something seems amiss. I’ve since outfitted our home with a range of smart-home gear that has eased (if not fully eliminated) my FOGA. ![]() Siri did so instantly, I was a hero, and everything was glorious in the world. Soon after, when a frantic call came from guests who couldn’t get our front door open, I was redeemed: Brandishing my iPhone, I commanded Siri to trigger my new smart lock. So one day I finally got it together to go smart. ![]() There’s been a puddle under the dishwasher and the discovery that the cellar door had been left open during a rainy week. During various trips away, we’ve enjoyed visits from porch pirates, who twice nabbed packages, and a bike thief. Such unwelcome discoveries quickly became the norm. It was 27 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and I was a three-hour drive away. The lesson was reaffirmed over a Presidents’ Day trip when I received The Call: Our rental tenant had pulled the battery from a chirping smoke alarm that connected to the boiler and water heater, causing them to shut down. As with the wisdom about liberty, it seemed the price of home ownership would be eternal vigilance. Apparently, when they vacated the house, a couple of running toilets and a leaky faucet had gone undetected, draining more than 47,000 gallons in a single month-about eight times more than normal. It was a few years ago at our mortgage closing, when the seller received an eye-popping $900 final water bill, that I first developed FOGA. But that FOMO is tempered by an equally pressing FOGA: Fear of Going Away. There’s an overwhelming fear of missing out any longer. Like so many others I’m eager to venture out and enjoy the company of humans and the thrill of far flung places.
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