When on vacation, the last thing you want to do is worry about your home.

If you’re planning to travel this summer, use these steps to help ensure your home is secure while you’re away.

Safeguard against burglary

Discovering your home has been broken into is a sure way to ruin a vacation. But while an empty house is a vulnerable one, there are ways to help keep it and your belongings safe while you’re on your trip.

• Don’t post. As excited as you may be about your travel plans, don’t share them on social before or during your trip—you could alert possible intruders.
• Stop mail and deliveries. An overflowing mailbox or packages on a front porch can be a sign nobody’s home. You can go to USPS.com to hold your mail for the duration of your trip or ask a neighbor to take it and other deliveries in until you return.
• Ask for help. If you aren’t hiring a house sitter, you can recruit a neighbor to keep an eye on your place; you could also leave your cell number and a spare key with them in case of an emergency. You could also submit a security or vacation-watch request with your local police so they can do an extra patrol by your home during your excursion.
• Maintain your lawn. Uncut grass can signal an empty house, so arrange for your lawn to be mowed while you’re away.
• Secure your yard. If your property is fenced, lock the gate to protect items like your grill and patio furniture and prevent access to items that could cause injury to trespassers, such as your pool or trampoline.
• Put lights on timers. You can ward off burglars by giving the impression you’re home. Put lights like your bedroom lamps and porch light on timers to regularly switch them on and off. Solar lights are a great option for illuminating the outside of your home.
• Store valuables. Try placing items of value out of sight, such as in a safe-deposit box or in a locked safe in your home, to protect them from theft.
• Ready your alarms. Check that your security and smoke alarms are in working order. For any smart alarms you may have, make sure they’re synced with your phone before departing. Also consider telling your alarm system’s monitoring company you’ll be away so they can be on the alert.
• Lock all windows and doors. Don’t forget to check that your garage door and less frequently used entrances to your home are secure.
• Take your garage-door opener out of the car. Otherwise, a trespasser could use it to enter and burglarize your home.

Prevent accidents and damage

It’s hard to know when accidents and emergencies may happen—which is a big reason why you should secure insurance for your home. Luckily, much of the damage that may occur while you’re on vacation is preventable. Follow these tips to help lessen the chance you’ll come home to an unwelcome mess.

• Arrange pet sitting. If you won’t be taking your pet with you, arrange for someone to feed and care for them while you’re away so they’ll be less likely to harm your home in your absence.
• Clean out your fridge and empty the trash. Remove perishables from your refrigerator and empty all interior trash cans. Your home will be less likely to lure pests and will be more comfortable upon your return.
• Don’t run appliances while you’re away. You might be tempted to schedule a load of laundry or dishwashing cycle to run after you leave home. But doing so could be a recipe for disaster if something goes wrong, causing a water leak.
• Cut your main water supply. Consider turning off the primary water supply valve in your home to help prevent flooding during your trip.
• Turn off and unplug. Be sure all appliances that shouldn’t be kept on, such as a toaster oven, are switched off. Unplug anything that could be susceptible to a power surge, including computers, small appliances, and televisions, or plug them into a surge protector to help prevent a fire.

Unfortunately, you can’t prepare for everything. That’s why it’s important to make sure your home is well covered by insurance in case there’s a mishap while you’re away. Reach out to your insurance agent at least a few weeks before your trip to check or update your coverage. Doing so can ensure your home is best protected, giving you peace of mind to fully relax on your vacation.