Minding Your Home from Afar

Now that my family is grown and flown, one of the great joys of life is that we get to vacation and travel when we want to, not when school schedules dictate. These days, I've taken to calling our home "base camp." But when you leave your home you need to make sure it'll survive your absence. Here are some of the low-cost tools I've found useful. Chime in with any long-distance house minders that you've used. Of course, none of these are going to replace the neighbor who'll hold your mail, water your plants, and keep an eye on things, but they sure help.

In Cold Country

Despite global warming, my plumbing is still capable of freezing. And yet I don't like to burn more fuel than we have to while we're away. A remote connection to our thermostat did the trick. Ours is from Commstat, but we bought it for less at Talking Thermostats ($230), where they also sell devices that monitor your home for flooding or freezing. Connect the device to your phone and to the thermostat. After a certain number of rings, an automated voice talks us through our desired temperature settings. This nifty device has more than paid for itself in fuel savings and peace of mind.

Keeping a Remote Eye on Things

Sometimes you just want to see the old homestead. (Mine is pictured here.) For this on-the-cheap solution, we took an old laptop and attached a webcam. Ours is just a simple, turn-it-on-and-take-a-look approach using a Logitech garden-variety camera ($79). Other more expensive cameras have better resolution and can be set to detect motion or sound and then start recording. Linksys has a wireless version with an optional add-on service called The SoloLink (trial sign-up included) to let you access your camera with an easy-to-remember "name" instead of an IP address when you log on.

You also need software to view the webcam image. We found an open source program called WebCam 2000 that simply displays the image onscreen. More full-featured, but still reasonably priced software comes from Blue Iris ($19 for one camera and $39 for multiple cameras). It will let you receive alerts and has motion control and audio-sensing features. Engadget makes this a DIY project, replete with instructions.

Free Remote Access

If you work while you're traveling like I do, you're bound to forget an important file. That's where LogMeIn comes in handy. You install it on the host machine you want to control and then simply visit the LogMeIn web site to take control of your PC. You'll be able to run your home PC as if it were sitting next to you.

Timer Lights

These have been around for years. You can go upscale and call in the professionals or you can install simple timers yourself. Home Depot explains timers versus some of the other alternatives. The X10 MiniTimer plugs into your AC outlet and lets you specify the time to turn your light on. Other devices get more complicated. They will randomly turn off and on lights in your home to make it seem as if you're home.

Canceling Subscriptions

There's no more telltale sign of an absentee homeowner than a stack of newspapers. The New York Times and others now have areas on their web sites where you can suspend and reactivate your delivery as often as you need.

Rerouting Calls

No need to let the world know that you're not home either. I haven't used this yet, but David Pogue's review of Grand Central, a unified phone system that rings all of your phones anytime you get a call on any of one them, may be the ticket for folks like me who like traveling but like to stay in touch, too.