• Wait until you are back home to post those awesome holiday pictures.
•Put a bar in your sliding glass doors. Sliding glass doors typically have ineffective locking mechanisms
Image: WILFRED NYANGERESI
The Christmas and New year holidays are here with us.
Shopping centers have already set the festive mood by decorating their premises using fairy lights and playing Christmas carols.
The Thika Road Mall, for instance, put up green, red and yellow lights in the shape of Christmas trees on its exterior at the beginning of the month.
A Christmas tree stands at the centre of the mall as live festive tunes play to entertain customers as they shop.
Kenyans have a unique way of celebrating these holidays, some travel to rural homes to reunite with relatives, others to holiday homes and vacations at the Coast while others spend it in church.
Imagine spending a glorious week on vacation with your family.
The sun is out the whole time, the food was good, the interaction was powerful but after you return home you realize something seems amiss.
The door into the house is ajar, and you’re sure you closed it on the way out.
You cautiously open the door, and Alas! All your electronics, jewelry, clothes amongst other household items are gone. Burglars made off with them.
The glee from your previous week is wiped away, and you’re left wondering, “Why me? What could I have done differently?”
It’s a scenario that plays out much often during the holidays.
Here's is what you can do to lower your home’s risk of being targeted and infiltrated by burglars.
Keep off social media
When city dwellers travel to upcountry they take pictures with every item, caption them and share it on social media.
"Milking a cow #Ushago manenos," some would caption.
Well, during this holiday skip the photo-posting, checking in, and status updates. You might just be informing a thief of your whereabouts.
Wait until you are back home to post those awesome holiday pictures.
By sharing your travel plans, you’re advertising that your house will be empty.
You can never be completely sure who sees that information, especially if you have many followers or a public profile.
Leave your compound groomed
You can't wait to go on vacation and take a break from work? That's a common feeling this festive season.
Remember to leave the outside of your house in tip-top shape, mow the grass, trim the hedges, sweep the compound, prune the shrubs.
Thieves may hide in untrimmed hedges.
If you keep your home compound neat, it hints that the home is occupied.
An unmowed yard could be a signal that no one is home and thieves would plot to break into the house.
Leave lights on
Darkness is another trademark of an empty house.
It also allows thieves to sneak in undetected. Avoid that vulnerability by leaving a few lights on.
Better yet, use motion detector lights to illuminate any intruders, or opt for smart lighting so you can set the lights to a timer and control them remotely.
Use shutters and curtains. Robbers will often “window shop” to figure out which home offers the most bang for the buck. To prevent snooping, use shutters and curtains liberally.
Lock everything
Seems like common sense right? Ensure you lock every single entry to your house, including the windows, the car garage.
Before you leave for a vacation though, go through the house and lock every window and every door.
Put a bar in your sliding glass doors.
Sliding glass doors typically have ineffective locking mechanisms, so they’re often a favored entry point for burglars. One thing you can do to buttress them is to add a lock that vertically bolts into the floor and the top frame.