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 Thursday, July 05, 2007

1. Check every door including gates, garages and sheds to ensure they lock properly. Alert police or sheriff's department that you'll be away. They may have a program to check houses frequently while the owners are gone and call when you come back so you don't surpise each other when you accidentally cross paths.

2. Arrange for lawn care in you absence. An overgrown lawn is a tip-off that no one is at home. Keep the pool pump operating. You don't want to come home to a pool that looks like the black lagoon.

3. Turn off the water heater or flip the breaker at the electrical box if you plan to be gone more than three or four days. Never leave the house with the dishwasher running. Turn off ceiling fans.

4. Put lights on timers. Lights should turn on and off in various parts of the house at different times. Motion-detector lights are another food idea.

5. Trash-pickup. Arrange for someone to roll your garbage cans back into your yard.