Back in the day my other life as I called it, the restaurant business was how I made my living. It didnt take too long to learn there were only three groups of people trying to steal from you: employees, customers and suppliers.

As far as employees were concerned, being the nave bumpkin, I thought they were all honest until given the opportunity to take something. In other words put some obstacles in their way and chances are honesty will prevail. Dont make it easy!

The same notion applies to protecting your home whether you are out of town or not. Put some obstacles in the way-DONT MAKE IT EASY!

Here are some simple easy steps to take to protect your home.

1. Make sure your home always looks like someones there and not vacated. Little things like leave your curtains open but dont have valuables like TVs etc. in plain sight. Stop the newspaper, have someone mow the lawn, stop deliveries if you are away. Leave lights on. Dont be so obvious that no one is at home.

2. Always secure your house.

If you have a burglar alarm set it. Lock windows and doors-even upper level windows. Lock the garage and make sure your tools are locked in a secure place and any ladders are secured as well. Many homes have been broken into with tools and ladders from the garage.

3. Let your neighbors and police know if youre gone The value of neighborhood watch groups is enormous. Ask them to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Your neighbors will appreciate it when you return the favor for them. If police have knowledge of your absence it doesnt mean they will patrol, but at least they are aware.

With just a little bit of effort and some advance planning you can take three simple steps to make your house safer so that when you return from an extended vacation or a trip to the store everything will still be there.