More people are burglarized when they are not at home for a few days than are ever broken into when they are home regularly. This statement holds true for the United States, for Canada, and also for the United Kingdom. The statistics tell us that people who are away are burglarized twice as often as those who are still in town during the event.

There are some steps you can take to assure that your home doesn’t look like you’re away. If you use common sense you can at least minimize the likelihood that you will be burglarized when you’re gone.

Make sure that your house looks like someone is there. Keep a lighting timer on, or get a visitor in nightly to turn lights off and on. Keep your doorways and window areas well lighted. Don’t let newspapers and mail pile up. Get a neighbor or someone to take in the newspaper or the mail at least every other day.

If you can’t stop deliveries and other events from taking place, ask a friend or family member to attend to them. Services such as UPS tend to knock once and then just leave a parcel by the door. If you have something coming at any time while you are away, get someone to go and check for it. Nothing says not home like a stack of deliveries at your door.

Keeping outside lights on over a period of several days tells people you’re not at home. Many people think that leaving a light on outside discourages burglars. If it stays on for several days with no noted activity, it also says that you’re not there to turn it off. Lights that remain on for a few days are a dead giveaway.

The key to keeping your house as secure as it can be is to make it look like its got residents. If you can’t pay a house sitter, then get a friend or family member in there daily to offer a few comings and goings to the house.