The holidays, Twinkling lights, sparkly tinsel, family gatherings, presents under the tree. An endless supply of love and laughter and cheer and of course no holiday is complete without The Big To Do List.
We all have one filled to the brim with “must do’s” and “have to do’s” and “might do’s” and “should probably”do’s”. Whether it’ s the traditional blue ink on the lined paper kind or the electronic kind or the mental kind it’s there and it holds everything you have to take care of for the upcoming holidays.
The presents you have to buy, the decorations you have to put up, the food you have to cook, the people you have to invite. But does The Big To Do List have any items about safety? Don’t forget the holiday season brings with it its own special security challenges thankfully a smart home security system will have you covered.
Here are some items you can cross off your Big To Do List (If you have a smart home security system):
Worry about fire
Twinkling lights is probably one of the most loved staples of the holidays there is nothing quite as beautiful as a house all decked in lights. Unfortunately, those long strings of lights that you take out year after year might present a fire hazard. That’s why it’s important to have smoke detectors connected to smart monitoring. If any smoke is detected your home alarm will sound, and an alert will be sent to your smartphone so you can know right away where the hazard is. If needed emergency services will be dispatched to your home right away.
Get out of bed to make sure the garage door is closed
The most vulnerable points in your home are the access points. It’s important to lock all your doors and windows and to make sure the garage door is closed but the last thing you want to do after coming home from that holiday party is stumbling back downstairs to check if you did. With smart access control, you can open and close the garage door remotely. It will even alert you if the door is opened when it shouldn’t be.
Don’t worry Santa will find his way in.
Leave a key for uncle Ben
Leaving a key outside your house is unsafe and not smart but uncle Ben and his family are due to arrive and you’re all out of marshmallows! What could you do?
serve your signature hot cocoa without any marshmallows? Run out to the store right now and come back to two cranky adults and three cranky kids who have been waiting outside for half an hour? With smart access codes, you can simply go out and get those marshmallows. Uncle Ben will be able to get in the house on his own and after the holidays it’s easy to remove the extra codes. No resetting necessary.
Run around closing doors and windows to keep heating costs low
The kids are home from school and you are constantly running in and out. It’s easy enough for one of you to leave the back door opened or forget to close a window. Don’t worry with smart temperature control you can easily get alerts of any sudden temperature change and go investigate.
Ask your neighbor to walk through your house when you’re gone
The holidays are prime time for traveling and when traveling you should always make it seem like your home. A straightforward way to do this is scheduled lighting. You might be away on that dream vacation but If lights go on and off in your home all weekend long all those unsavory characters will be sure your home. Having smart video monitoring will also help you keep an eye on your property while your away and who knows? You might even get a glimpse of Santa.
Your holiday to-do list seems like it’ll never end but it will and you’ll reach the holidays with (almost) everything done.
And now you’re list is just a little bit shorter.