Scott Wagner gives some great tips for keeping your home safe this holiday season:
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/4-holiday-home-security-tips/
One thing Scott talks about is making sure your house is lit. I’ve got a number of smart outlets and timers on my lights so that they turn on at different times and my house looks lived in if I’m away. One extra bonus for me is I never come home to a dark house.
While not a tip to make your home look lived in, it is germane to the season.
Following Christmas day DO NOT put all the empty boxes from all the cool stuff you got out on the street for garbage day, you just gave every petty crook an inventory of what is under your tree. I have gone so far as to turn boxes inside out but generally run them up to whatever “Dipsty Dumpster” I know of to throw the whole load away.
The garbage day after Christmas take a mental note of all the boxes you see lining the streets. I have casually inquired to neighbors how they liked their XYZ device. They all asked how do I know they had one. I replied “The box for it sat in front of your house all day waiting for the trash men to come take it.”
Cheers,
Craig6
The best is to use smart outlets or switches.
I have GPS based switches for outside lamps, so I don’t need to worry about changing anything all year (they go on and off depending on your position which has to be setup once ).
For inside I use small LED lamps with smart outlets which randomly turn on and off the lamps.