When I started this "gig" a year or so ago, I thought I had my reasons.  I would be lying if I said that financial gain wasn't one of them (there would be some folly in starting any business if it wasn't financially viable), but there was also the freedom that comes with autonomy.  I remember the first time I was driving back from a $30 job thinking this is it... this is my business.

And one year on, that feeling is still there.  In fact it's far more tangible now than it was then.  Before, I had a lot of doubts; now, I realize this could well be a successful (and, yes, profitable) business. My business. But delivering the one thousandth flyer today brought another realization; that I am overwhelmingly happy that perhaps I am bringing the community a little closer together. On my strolls to people's mailboxes in the last few weeks I have met some lovely neighbours that otherwise I would never have had the opportunity to meet. And all are just the friendliest of folk. And that goes also for my local clients who I can see easily becoming good friends. I do love animals and plants very much, but deep down I love people and strong relationships more, and I truly believe that that sense of community which we seem to have strayed from in the past few decades needs to be revitalized. We need to know the people in our communities for many reasons - security, peace of mind, growth, sense of belonging, personal success, acceptance and enlightenment.

I'm not trying to be pompous. Obviously one little house sitting business isn't going to bring an entire community together.  But there is a compounding effect, and if I can add to that large rolling ball of community spirit then this business will have been far more than I had ever hoped, whether it's financially successful or not. Although I'd rather it was.

It goes without saying that hanging a sign on your front door letting everyone know your home is vacant while you and your family are sunning yourselves down south is probably not the most sensible thing to do.  But as unwise as that sounds, there are other actions that you may take (or not take) which are almost as obvious to a would-be intruder.  Below are some clear signs that announce your home is empty, and what can be done to ensure those mistakes are avoided.

As close as you can get to putting a sign on your front door is announcing on social media that you're about to jet off into the sun for three unfettered weeks of margherita mayhem. You probably have hundreds of Facebook "friends", who in turn have hundreds more "friends". You've likely heard of the theory of six degrees of separation (also a decent Will Smith film, pre-slap, if you've not seen it), so you can safely assume that somewhere in that glorious web of social connectivity there is a spectrum of people who would take more or less interest in knowing about your family vacation. In fact, often a burglar is known to their victim (although not as often as some websites would have you believe, so don't always believe what you read - get to the source of the data, like this for example). Can you say "make yourself at home"? If you must post pictures of how great your life is, wait until your return and talk about it in the past tense: "Look where we've just been for three weeks, suckers!". And social media is not the only source of unintended public interest. Think who else you may have slipped the golden ticket to: work colleagues, cab drivers, garbage men, doctors, dentists, barbers - pretty much anyone who you chatted with in the last 6 months and couldn't hold back the exciting news. Basically, just try to keep schtum about things until you're back home safely.

We're creatures of habit; when we are home we have fairly consistent routines.  Every day, we wake up at about the same time, we leave the house at about the same time, we pick up the kids at about the same time, we go to bed at about the same time, we wish we had done something else with our lives at about the same time. But we're not robots; most days are slightly if not wildly different from others and generally (unless we are perhaps of German origin) our routines are NEVER completely the same, day in, day out.  When you're absent from your home, it doesn't take a PhD in Home Burglary to figure out the lights are on a timer (even if randomized by Alexa) and the curtains have remained unnaturally stationary over the course of a few days.  Along with other signs, this all adds up to easy pickings that can even be accomplished under the cover and comfort of darkness (unlike most burglaries which are carried out during the riskier daylight period while you're out earning a crust to pay for your home insurance and security system).  

Having a stuffed mailbox or a pile of parcels on the front doorstep is not normal "at home" behaviour. Not that they would stay there for too long anyway; after all, why would a thief risk entering a home when the goods are already waiting outside? At minimum, you need to make sure your "urgent" parcels are left at the back of the house (either have a small notice on the front door, or add a note to the delivery), and that either a neighbour collects your mail or the post office holds it securely for a fee and delivers it to you when you return.
But while mail and parcels may be obvious items for the homeowner to deal with, there is also a trick used by nefarious types who are "casing" your house: flyers left on door handles can easily identify homes that have not been entered since the flyer was placed. So be be aware if there is a flurry of flyer activity in your neighbourhood, because it might mean criminals are on the prowl. And be a good citizen - look out for your neighbours who may be away and who may fall foul of this deceitful trickery, and remove the flyers for them.  I'm sure they didn't want really want 20% off their next eavestrough installation anyway.
Other exterior signs which help to paint a more complete picture of your absence include unshoveled/untrampled snow, cars that never move, missing garbage cans on garbage day or alternatively garbage cans left out for days after collection, disheveled flowerbeds and uncut lawns. 

Let's be honest: you don't have to be the brightest spark to figure out if someone is away for any extended period of time, but try not to make it any easier than it is. Installing a security system is one great way to protect yourself, although when convicted criminals were asked if it was a deterrent, some said they could easily disarm one or that it didn't faze them since they are generally in and out before you can say "hey, didn't we used to have a TV?". The presence of security cameras is typically a decent deterrent, and an alarm going off during the crime will usually ensure a quick exit stage left. Getting a large dog is another option, although obviously quite the commitment, and remember what they say: large dogs are for life, not just for Christmas or home security. OK, I added the last bit myself.
Really though, non repetitive change is key to sewing seeds of doubt and keeping intruders out in the first place.  If the curtains are partially open one day, fully open the next, with different lights, radio and TV on at different times, mail collected, garbage put out and taken in on time, pathways shovelled, lawns mowed, cars moved - it's a pretty good sign someone is ostensibly home.  And as yet, both Alexa and Google won't get the job done; the only way to accomplish that when you're not home is to have someone else home, be it a neighbour, a friend, a relative - or dare I say it, a professional house sitter who won't let you down!

​For some lighter relief, the Onion also has a say on the matter.

It's the happy chap on the beach, of course! Although I do rather like the other two types of snowbird (a Canadair CT-114 Tutor and a Dark-Eyed Junco), it's the flightless Canadian sun-worshipping retiree I'll be focusing on in this post, discussing the whys of having someone visit your home regularly while you are away, whether it be a professional, a relative, a friend or a neighbour.  As you'll see, it's important that the details are arranged with whomever you choose well before you depart for sunnier climes in order to relieve many of the worries of being away for a long period of time, and while it may seem obvious to call on a family member, there are some very good reasons that hiring a professional to do the job will be a much wiser option.

​If you are an old hand at this travelling south business, you will know already that making preparations for the trip is almost a full time job in itself.  Lucky you're already retired! On the other hand, if this is your first time, you may be in for a shock.  There's no need to panic (as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wisely advises), but there is a need to be highly organized.  The number of things to "check off" is daunting, and includes items such as managing travel medical insurance, medicines and prescriptions, vaccinations, making travel plans, arranging pet care, carrying out home maintenance and security, snow removal, vehicle maintenance, finances, documentation, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ... (King of Siam.  Don't ask)

The CSA's Travellers' Checklist (at time of writing on its 5th edition), is a comprehensive to do list that pretty much covers it all, but there are many other such lists on the internet if you care to search for them.  You will find most, if not all, recommend ensuring a reliable person visits your home regularly because if you don't, winterizing your home becomes far more complicated and far more worrisome.  Not having peace of mind that you will come back to your home just the way you left it may well put a dampener on your fun in the sun, and play havoc with your short game.

This article from travellers.com takes a laser focus at what's needed to winterize your home while you're away. It is extremely detailed.  Let's look at a couple of the key points and how having someone visit regularly can help.

If you want to receive your mail at your winter address, then you can have it forwarded by Canada Post. The service costs around $100 for three months if you're travelling across the border, which is the minimum you can purchase.  After that it's an additional $35 or so per month.  The question is, do you really want all your mail forwarded when you're lying on the beach or playing a round of golf, trying to forget things like mail for a while? If not, then you need someone to regularly collect your mail for you, perhaps organize it (get rid of all the junk mail), and forward anything specific to your new home from home (like that parcel for Christmas you ordered at the last minute).

On a par with keeping a full mailbox to announce your home is now empty and ready to be ransacked is the pristine layer upon pristine layer of untouched snow blanketing your path, driveway and car.  A snow removal service including paths will typically range from $1000 to $2000 depending on your situation, and even then your snow covered vehicle will still announce to all concerned (not in the right way) that you are conspicuously absent.  Not only that, but even once your snow is clear, you also have to be cautious of the safety of others who amble onto your property from time to time, for fear of ending up being sued for a broken arm or two.  Indeed, you could end up paying damages to the person whose only intent was to rob you in the first place!

Coupled with these two huge indicators that you are away are other small things that all contribute to the bigger picture - lights on the same on/off cycle, unmoving curtains, a full answering machine, and a distinct lack of curbside garbage.  

And one more thing on the topic of the unoccupied home.  Don't announce that you're away on social media.  It may seem obvious, but sometimes those holiday restaurant snaps are too hard to resist.  Nefarious individuals are much cleverer than you or I at trawling the internet for clues, and showing a picture of you and your loved one in front of the temple-pyramid of El Castillo in Chichen Itza with the caption "Maya we have 6 months of beautiful sunshine", while hilariously witty, is not the most difficult clue to decipher.  Do yourself a favour, and take a well earned break from it all.  It'll (probably) still be there when you return home again.

It is fairly simple to prevent pipes freezing and bursting when they thaw.  All you have to do is leave your house at the recommended 16°C, drain external pipes and hoses, and leave a slow trickle of water running through the system.  That's the great part about the laws of physics; at least they are consistent. We know this tried and tested routine will work like a charm ... until the same laws of physics result in your home heating system failing, or, as we have just experienced in Ottawa after a vicious storm (termed a derecho no less - look it up if you want), a lengthy power outage. Then things can get a bit iffy. It is even worse if you have set your thermostat to the minimum recommended temperature since there are now only a few hours until the ice hits the fan, or rather, the pipes. And burst pipes are the worst home catastrophe you can experience with the exception of fire. Possible solutions are to drain your pipes entirely before you leave which sounds easy but isn't (hire a plumber), leave the heat up high enough at additional expense (but how high is high enough?), or install a fancy monitoring system including leak, temperature and flow detectors (which may not be much good when the power goes out). It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that you should perform regular (professional) maintenance on your home heating and plumbing systems to give them the best chance of keeping the laws of physics on your side.  It also should be obvious that having someone reliable visit your home frequently (a few times a week at minimum, if not once a day), while providing reassuring updates, and who is there should the worst happen is an option that will guarantee you a peaceful slumber under the Mexican stars.

Not having someone enter your home every now and again means more chance of critters, the possibility of mold or mildew, higher risk of intrusion, increased probability of system failure, and smaller issues turning into much bigger ones.  But the biggest thing of all, and the final word on the matter is this:

Because should anything go wrong and you have not met your insurance obligations for having someone come into your house, you are **** out of luck. 

They simply will. not. pay.  Insurance companies are extremely clever at statistics - they know that if someone visits the house frequently, the chances of any of the above situations occurring are reduced significantly.  They are also extremely good at finding out if you didn't do what the policy says you MUST do.  Because statistically, you then made yourself a liability.  And that's not a pleasant place to be.

​All this adds up to a lot of risk.  Are you going to put that burden on a family member, friend or a neighbour?  Are you even going to find someone who is not only free for the entire time, but also who is reliable enough to make sure it all gets done (especially when there's nothing in it for them)?  Hiring a professional (at a reasonable price) relieves much if not all of the worry.  Even if you forget something entirely, or need something checked or sent your way, a reliable professional is there for you.  Frequent updates will keep your anxiety in check and allow you to kick back, relax, and sink that 20 footer like The Great One.​

In conclusion for today's blog post : get in touch.  I promise you won't regret it. Unless of course you don't like dodgy senses of humour, then there might be a little twang of remorse.

As Canadian citizens, we are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which allows us to live in a free and democratic society. Along with these rights and freedoms, however, come certain responsibilities, one of which is helping others in the community. The Government of Canada website has this to say on the subject:
 
“Millions of volunteers freely donate their time to help others without pay—helping people in need, assisting at your child’s school, volunteering at a food bank or other charity, or encouraging newcomers to integrate. Volunteering is an excellent way to gain useful skills and develop friends and contacts.”
 
I know this because, although not born in Canada, I have been through the process of ‘naturalization’ (don’t worry, it wasn’t painful). A few years ago I was honoured to be accepted as one of your own - despite my preference for driving on the left - and in turn now have two of my own who think I speak funny and mock me for drinking excessive amounts of tea.
 
During the citizenship ceremony I was thus reminded that as a Canadian citizen, in exchange for my rights, I have a responsibility to be an active member of my community (how those who have not been through the naturalization process know this I am not sure; perhaps it is assumed to be common sense?). I remember it well because I was very proud that I was entering into a society that places so much emphasis on ‘paying it forward’. There were about sixty people in the ceremony that day, and each year about two hundred thousand more immigrants like me are granted the privilege of Canadian citizenship. And yet so often, when ferrying the entourage between scouting events, baseball games, school barbecues and charity fundraisers, it is the same people in charge, taking fees, cooking burgers and setting up tents. It is no secret that in today’s self indulgent society, full of personal gadgetry, we are becoming more secluded and less social. The community, in essence, is struggling to survive, and is being propped up by a minority who give their time freely and without any expectation.