Keep your place safe this Christmas

We'll all be in a bit of a mad rush to make sure we have everything to travel home this Christmas -

Phone charger: check

Laptop charger: check

Christmas presents: check

Favourite mug: check

Keys...

Check out our helpful hints below on how to make sure you keep your student home safe this Christmas!

Lock your bedroom windows, your door (if you can), and double check the communal spaces (more windows!). Speak to your housemates about who will be the last one to leave and get them to double check any windows, the backdoor and the bathroom window (it's an easy one to forget!) before they go - and triple check the front door lock too!

If you’re leaving any valuables behind, make sure you put them out of sight. If the worst happens and someone does break in, don’t have all the best bits on display for them to choose from. Maybe think about taking home anything you’d be especially devastated about losing. You won't be back for a while, so think ahead for what you'll need!

Being in Portsmouth, it’s rare that it gets to really freezing temperatures - but it does happen! If you can, set your heating really low and use the timer for it to come on for an hour every day. This will stop your pipes freezing and the house being too much like an icebox when you get back!

Don’t post too much on social media when you’re heading home, especially if your profiles aren't private. If your posts are geo-tagged then they’ll know where your house is, and that no one is home!

Now would be a great time to clean out your fridge and cupboards. Remember that bag of potatoes you bought during freshers week, ate one and realised freezer chips were much easier? They’re now at the back of your cupboard starting a family all of their own. You also don’t want to be coming home to yoghurt in your fridge that’s a good month out of date. Trust me, it’s not worth it. And if you have anything in your cupboards that you realised you probably won’t eat, why not donate it to a food bank?

No, not the brightly coloured flashing ones. Why not get timed switches? This way, when it gets dark out, a couple of lamps will come on for a few hours, making people think you’re home. This can deter burglars if they think someone might still be in the house. Or, if you have a smart home device, use that to turn your lights on from afar!

Here is a quick checklist for the last housemate to leave to go through to be as safe and secure as possible:

• That the fridge is empty of perishables.
• The bins are put out.
• All plugs turned off at the socket.
• The gas is turned off and heating adjusted.
• The water is shut off.
• Lights are set on a timer.
• All valuables are hidden away safely.
• All doors and windows are securely locked.

Stay safe this Christmas!