This post is presented in partnership with Esurance
As the school winds down, no doubt everyone’s attention is summer vacations. And whether you’re planning to getaway for a few weeks, or just a really fun road trip, making sure you and your house is safe while you’re way is always incredibly important.
Here at our house, we’ve become obsessed with smart home technology. Seriously, I can talk to my lights. It’s great for when you’re hands are full, but also when you’re feeling a bit lonesome. Of course, staying smart, both figuratively and literally makes travelling that much easier.
Esurance happens to be a fan of technology too. They have innovative technology and great people to give our customers a rewarding, hassle-free experience, competitive prices, and amazing claims service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (because that’s when life happens). It’s perfect for travelers who want the convenience of managing their claims and policy online or by phone.
So with safety and travel and mind, we teamed up to share some of our tips for staying safe and smart this summer.
Nest
If you don’t have Nest, I really recommend it. All of its accessories talk to each other, meaning that the other day when I tried to burn the house down cooking chicken nuggets, the fire alarm went off and the camera turned on and sent our phones a video of the smoke coming out of the oven. Let’s just say that while we ended up going out to eat, we felt a lot of relief knowing that if something worse had happened, technology has our back.
Cameras
If you’re looking to keep an extra eye on your house while you’re away, you should out special cameras like the Ring Video Doorbell and the Kuna Light. Both look like you’re regular ol’ doorbell and light, but are actually cameras. You can set them to record when they sense motion. And in the case of the Kuna light, you can actually talk through it.
The Great Outdoors
Of course long grass is always a sign that someone might not be home. Although our grass is incredibly long right now, but that’s more of a case of being lazy than being away. If you don’t have a friendly-neighbourhood teen to help mow your lawn, there’s services such as the MowSnowPros app, which is on-demand lawn maintenance and snow removal. Let’s hope you don’t need snow removal while you’re away on your summer vacation, but it’s Calgary so you never know.
Hue lights
Smart lights for your house really are a must have. If for nothing else because they are fun. Seriously, at Halloween parents told us our house was too scary so kids weren’t walking up to it. But we love the smart lights because even if we’re out for the nights, the low wattage lights can make it look like someone is home, without wasting a ton of energy. Plus, when you burn those aforementioned chicken nuggets, they all turn red when the fire alarm goes off, just to really drive home the point that you can’t cook.
Clean up the place:
Remember the weather may be great when you drive away, but weather changes. Have a look around your house and yard with the thought that it could rain, or hail or be seriously windy – Are items put away? Don’t leave lawn furniture and other items where they can be caught by the wind and tossed around, or damaged by hail.
Don’t post your travel plans on social media
I know this one might be tough, but if you talk about being away too much, it’s pretty much inviting people to walk right into your house. I know I post about being away, but that’s why I always invite the Calgary Stampeders to use my house when I’m away.
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Whatever you do, don’t let the stress of leaving your home take away from having an amazing and well-deserved vacation. Afterall, Esurance has got you covered.
