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Community Outreach: students
Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services

Off-Campus Living Recess Tips

As always, we want to help ensure that your home and your belongings will be safe in your absence. Below you will find a list of safety tips to ensure your house will remain safe within the community while no one will be living there for an extended period of time.

When you leave be sure to:

-Lock all windows & doors.
-Remove all extra hidden keys you may have outside.
-Place a wood or metal rod in the track of sliding doors to avoid it from being forced open.
-Remove any valuable items that may be visible from the outside.
-Use deadbolt locks to avoid doors from being forced open.
-Activate your home alarm system if you should have one.
-DO NOT announce your travel plans in public or to anyone you cannot trust (including on Facebook or other social networks)
-Avoid packing your car the night before you leave; you don’t want any of your belongings to be stolen or to tip people off that you will be gone.
-Remove all valuables (including GPS and EZ pass) and set your car alarm if you will be leaving your car behind.

Make your house appear as though someone is living there:

-Have a neighbor take the mail and newspapers.
-Ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway.
-Use a timed light switch so lights will come on in the later part of the afternoon.
-Have motion detector lights on the outside of the house.
-Ask a neighbor to put out trash from your house.

To avoid fires & floods be sure to:

-Turn off and unplug any electronic appliances, including but not limited: toasters, hair dryers, curling irons, portable heaters, etc.
-Lower heat to 60º to ensure pipes won’t freeze, but that the boiler won’t be working in excess to provide heat.
-Turn off all faucets and fix any leaking ones.
-Dispose of any oily rags or other flammable items in a proper container.


Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services