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Do the slow jobs first. Escondido’s police checklist puts the longest-lead tasks a month before departure, San Mateo asks for house check requests at least two weeks ahead, and the rest of the list fits into the last day or two. A holiday trip does not need special gear. It needs a set of small steps done in the right order, mostly to make the house look occupied and to make sure someone is watching it.
The advice below comes from two police departments, the US Postal Service and a US Army advisory on posting travel plans. It is arranged as a timeline so you can work down it.
Four weeks out: people and paperwork
The Escondido Police Department checklist starts a month ahead. Repair broken doors and windows, install good locking devices on all exterior doors and windows, and ask for a vacation house check. It also asks you to line up a neighbor or friend to pick up mail, mow and water the lawn on a long trip, collect newspapers and circulars, feed pets, and turn lights on and off if they are not on a timer or photoelectric sensor.
A vacation house check is a police service, and the details vary by city. Escondido’s volunteer patrol checks the perimeter of the home, meaning locked doors and windows, closed garage doors and the backyard if it is accessible, and does so periodically, as staffing allows. It will not pick up your mail or newspapers or feed animals, and houses with a house sitter are not eligible. San Mateo’s police department asks for the request at least two weeks before you leave. Search for your own department’s non-emergency page, because some places run a program and some do not.
Escondido’s request form is also a decent to-do list in its own right. It asks whether you have an alarm and which company monitors it, whether a gardener or maid will be coming, whether mail and deliveries have been stopped, whether a dog is on the property, whether a radio and lights are left on, and who holds a key. Fill those in for yourself even if your town has no program.
Mail, packages and deliveries
A pile of mail on the porch is the oldest signal that nobody is home. The USPS Hold Mail service keeps your mail at your local Post Office until you return, for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. You can submit a request up to 30 days ahead, or as soon as the next scheduled delivery day, and the start date has to be requested by 3 AM ET (2 AM CT or 12 AM PT) on the day you want it to begin, Monday through Saturday. USPS requires you to create or sign in to a USPS.com account and verify your identity before submitting an online request. For a hold longer than 30 days, USPS points customers to its forwarding service.
The USPS page does not say how packages are handled during a hold, and it only covers USPS. If you order gifts online around the holidays, check the shipping dates, ask other carriers about their own hold options, or have the neighbor on your list bring parcels in. Escondido’s form asks the same question, whether deliveries have been stopped and, if not, who is responsible for them.
What not to post
An advisory from the US Army Criminal Investigation Command, issued in December 2015, is still the plainest statement of the problem. Its computer crime unit director said posting your location while you are there is equivalent to telling a would-be burglar you are not home. The guidance: skip real-time posts, hold your photos until you are back, remove GPS data and avoid geotagging, do not check in at airports or destinations, tighten privacy settings before you leave, and make sure everyone in the household understands the risk before they post.
San Mateo’s police department makes a related point about quieter channels. It advises against putting vacation plans on the internet, and that includes automatic email responses. Escondido’s list says not to leave an answering machine message saying you will be out of town. An out-of-office reply that names your return date is the modern version of that message.
A day or two before, and the day you leave
Most of the physical work lands in the last 48 hours. This table collects the Escondido items so you can print or copy it.
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| A day or two before | Trim shrubs and hedges below windowsill height and trees to six feet above the ground, so neighbors can see the house. Store ladders, tools and lawn equipment in a locked shed or garage. Take valuables such as expensive jewelry and important documents to a bank safe deposit box. |
| Day of departure, inside | Turn down the phone ringer so it cannot be heard outside. Unplug small appliances such as fans, toasters and coffee pots. Set timers for evening lights. Turn off water to the washer and turn the water heater down to a low or vacation setting. Close and lock every door and window, including on the second story. |
| Day of departure, outside | Park any car in the driveway against the garage door, locked, with valuables out of sight. Bolt the garage door from the inside, then unplug the opener or switch it to vacation mode. Leave a key and your contact number with an emergency contact. Walk the outside of the house one more time and remove large items that could help someone reach a second story window. |
The garage deserves its own attention, because it is both an entrance and a place where tools and ladders sit. We cover that door in more detail in our garage door security guide.
Lights, timers and cameras
San Mateo recommends variable automatic timers on a few lights and a radio to give the impression someone is home, and says the goal is for the house to look lived in and cared for. Escondido suggests timers in the living room or family room and in one or more bedrooms, switching on and off through the evening. The US Army advisory also lists variable light timers, keeping valuables out of sight, not leaving spare keys outside, arranging for mail and newspaper pickup, and considering security or video systems.
If you are deciding between a camera and a motion-activated light for the front of the house, our comparison of security cameras and motion lights walks through the difference, and our outdoor lighting guide covers fixtures. Neither replaces the human checks above. A camera tells you what happened, while a neighbor, a hold on the mail and a lived-in look are what make the house a less attractive target to begin with.
Our take
The most effective steps are the dull ones: stop the mail, ask a neighbor to watch the house, put lights and a radio on variable timers, lock and bolt every door including the garage, and keep your plans off social media until you are home. Start two to four weeks ahead, because police requests and the USPS hold both have lead times.
Common questions about holiday travel home security
How far ahead should I request a vacation house check?
San Mateo’s police department asks for requests at least two weeks before departure. Escondido’s checklist puts the request about a month out. Check your own department’s page for its lead time and whether it runs a program at all.
How long can USPS hold my mail?
USPS says Hold Mail runs for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. For longer absences it directs customers to forwarding. You need a USPS.com account and identity verification to submit an online request.
Is it safe to post vacation photos while I am away?
The US Army Criminal Investigation Command advises waiting until you are home, removing GPS data from photos, avoiding geotags and not checking in at airports or destinations. It also suggests restricting your privacy settings before you travel.
Should I leave a light on the whole time?
Both police departments recommend timers rather than a fixed light. San Mateo specifies variable automatic timers on a few lights and a radio, and Escondido suggests timers in the living room and one or more bedrooms that go on and off during the evening.
Who should have a key?
Escondido’s checklist says to leave a key and the phone number where you can be reached with an emergency contact, and the US Army advisory says not to leave spare keys outside.
Who checked this
True Security Gear does not run a test lab and does not take units apart. One half of the work is documents: manufacturer specs, certifications, and seller claims checked against the paperwork. The other half is the record owners leave behind, in verified-buyer reviews, owner forums, and warranty complaints. Where that evidence is thin we say it is thin, rather than filling the gap with an adjective. The criteria are on How we evaluate.
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