We all want, and deserve, to keep our home safe. Our house should be our little sanctuary we can come back to and feel comfortable and safe, so ensuring that your home is safe and secure will give you the peace of mind to truly relax at night.
Keeping Your Home Safe DIY
Keeping your home safe doesn’t mean making sure you have all the latest gadgets and technology. Some things are truly just common sense that we easily miss or overlook thinking they would not make a difference. Take it from someone that has had her home robbed. Certain things were saved out of pure luck while others didn’t have the same fate.
A security system is great to have, but it’s not the only means to keep your home safe. There are much easier DIY tricks that you can put into place to keep your place secure.
Make Sure Your Doors Are Secure
It’s a good idea to install deadlocks on all exterior doors in your home.
Deadlocks help protect against burglary in two ways:
- It reduces the chance someone can get into your house in the first place; and
- Limiting their means of exiting your house if they happen to have gotten in through a window, makes sure you can catch them.
As well as deadlocks on your front and back doors, it’s a good idea to install screen security doors. These doors will act as an extra barrier for someone trying to get into your house when you’re not home, but will also help protect you whilst you are inside your home. By leaving your main door open to allow a breeze through, the screen door will protect against any unwanted intruders as well as bugs and stray creatures.
Check Your Windows
Intruders are going to get into your home either through a door, or through a window. For us, it was through the window. So check that your windows are secure against break-ins.
You can protect your windows with good quality window locks and screens. Putting bars on your windows is an extreme measure and will make you feel like you are in a prison, rather than safe and secure so avoid barring your windows by installing security screens and window locks. Quality screens will also allow you to leave windows open during the day or at night without reducing the security of your home.
However, adding a bar on the inside to safely lock your window will make the process of breaking in A LOT harder. It’s an easy fix to keep your home safe. You can screw one on the window casing or drop it on the slider so that when the burglar wants to open the window, they are blocked.
Rethink Your Spare Key
Having a spare key hidden around the outside of your home isn’t a bad idea and can save you a lot of hassle if you lose or forget your house key. However, the well-known hiding spot of under your doormat or in a pot plant right next to your front door is basically just inviting intruders into your home to take what they want.
If you are going to keep a spare key, then find a good hiding place for it around the back of your house, or consider installing a lock box for your key with a combination lock on it. That way you or a friend can easily access the spare key, but there’s no chance of anyone else getting their hands on it.
Change Your Locks
If you have just moved into a house, lost a key, or have recently had a break in, then it is highly recommended that you change your locks. This way you can be sure that the only person who has keys to your house is you and that you and your stuff is safe.
Burglaries can happen by people in your community that may of somehow gotten access to a house key that was misplaced by you or your child, and if someone has a house key it will be easy for them to enter your home and take whatever they want without raising suspicion in the neighbourhood.
The Gist of it
Keeping your home safe is an important aspect of being a homeowner. Sticking with the mind-set that it won’t happen to you won’t actually reduce your chances of getting broken into. To avoid that feeling of violation and unease, take the time to secure your house and do a thorough security check of all the entrances to your home. Be safe and secure and give you and your family peace of mind.
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Amy Arnold says
Good tips! We also have an alarm which has been helpful for us.
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
The Wardrobe Stylist says
Alarm is very important and many of the other small common sense things to ensure everyone remains safe, especially with kids around the house.