You left for the office in the morning to give a presentation. Your son is at school to take a test. And while you’re giving the strong pitch, and winning that promotion, and your son is about to ace his exam, someone else is inside your house.
You don’t even have a clue. But you’re already losing your television and game consoles, your expensive watch collection, and that slice of cake you forgot to eat because you were going to be late for the 10AM appointment.
Bummer eh? You’ll probably let your son take your unmoved slice of cake to school next time instead of saving it for later.
But of course, there are ways to prevent this!
Here are five tips you can use to protect your house – and everything in it – from nasty burglars.
Ways to Keep Your House Away from Burglars
- Don’t help them out! That’s probably a silly piece of advice. But even in your absence, you might be giving the burglars a way to do a break-and-enter. Don’t leave any tools like shovels, rakes, or hammers outside. Take away the ladder, or anything that can be used as a ladder. You don’t want them using your own tools to get their “work” done. Also, consider trimming your bushes down and cut the branches of your trees up until someone of normal height can stand under it. This minimizes hiding space for burglars and your neighbours can somehow keep watch when you’re out.
- Protect your windows. Before leaving, make sure the windows are closed. Use a bar of wood or window locks so they can’t be easily opened from the outside. But also make sure that when you’re in, you can open them easily from the inside in case you need to.
- Don’t flaunt your boxes. The flat screen TVs, computing devices, and gaming consoles may begin losing their value once you start using them. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be sold. When you buy these kind of expensive electronics, don’t leave the boxes/bags outside. Displaying them helps burglars scout their next victim. If you have no use for them inside the house, break them up and take them out only on the day when the garbage truck arrives.
- Get a burglar alarm. It even makes sense for the burglars themselves. If they know you have an alarm set up, most of them won’t even consider going near your house.
- Turn on the night light. If the burglar suddenly decides to ransack the ground floor of your house while everyone’s out to dinner (or sleeping upstairs), he wants to make sure that the area he’s entering is empty. Just having bright lamps mounted on a pole or wall of your house can give a signal for robber that someone’s inside. Feeling a little more expert? Install motion detector lights so you’ll get a signal if there’s any activity outside.
Tips for Keeps
Remember to think the way a burglar does when considering the security of your home. Check the floor plan of your house or just go outside and look at the structure. If it’s easy for you to steal from your own home without using a spare key, then it’s probably a lot easier for a burglar who’s done it before. And speaking of keys, don’t forget the first step to securing your house from thieves. Lock the doors!
With all these tips in mind, one might turn paranoid for burglars and make the house too secure to actually live in. Don’t make yourself crazy thinking about it! Keeping your house safe should allow you to enjoy time outdoors (and indoors) more. Just take a few minutes each day to worry about home security and spend the rest of it living!
