Whether you have kids, you live alone or you’re somewhere in the middle — with pets or roommates — keeping your home safe should be a huge priority in your life. Your home is a place where you can go to relax and feel secure. It’s important to know that you can feel safe in your own home, whether that means your physical presence feels safe, your belongings feel safe or both. Everybody lives in different areas with different conditions, and that means that everyone will have different experiences with home safety. Regardless, there are a few things that you can do to keep your home safe.
From the big things to the little things, you can do lots to make sure that your home is safe and secure. Some of these tips will only take a few minutes like for example home insurance, while others might be a bit more involved. You can find the tips that will work best for you and your household. Here are just a few things that you can do to make sure that your home is safe and secure.
1. Lock Your Doors
Although it might seem a bit basic, you can never be too careful when it comes to making sure that you’ve locked all your doors before you leave the house, go to sleep at night or even kick back and relax in your home. While you might already be in the habit of making sure that your front door is locked, make sure you double check the other doors around your house too.
2. Lock Your Windows
Just like your doors, windows can be an opportunity for intruders to get in. Make sure that you keep your windows locked whenever you go out as well as when you are spending time at home. It can sometimes be easy to forget, but it is a highly important part of home safety. If you want a bit more security on your windows, you can always secure them with security film or glass-break sensors.
Also read: Home Security Beginner’s Guide
3. Replace Your Garage Door
Having an updated garage door can do a lot more than offer home security, but security is one of the benefits that comes along with updating your garage door. Specifically, if your garage door was manufactured before 1993, the technology will likely be outdated both in terms of security and motion sensors. Now, you can find garage doors that work with your home security system, function with their own safety protocols and even interact with your smart home devices. Garage doors can be a primary weak point for intruders, so make sure that you are keeping yours secure.
4. Fence Your Yard
Fencing your yard in can do so much more than you might expect. Not only can it offer an additional line of security between your home and the outside world, but it can also serve as a barrier of protection for pets, kids and even plants and belongings that you keep outside your home. Especially if you have pets or younger kids who play outside frequently, a fence could be a good decision.
5. Install an Alarm System
Many people choose not to have alarm systems in their home, or tend to turn off their alarm systems due to pets, kids or other small disturbances. While that may be a reasonable choice for some, setting up a home security system is one of the best ways to alert yourself to intruders. Security systems have evolved greatly in recent years, often with availabilities to link with smart home devices or even smartphones.
6. Keep Your Valuables In a Safe
On the off chance that someone does get into your home, it’s important to make sure that your most precious assets are protected. Having a safe and a fire safety box are both great ideas to make sure that your valuables are protected not just from intruders, but also from the elements. When it comes to a safe for valuables, make sure that anything a burglar might take gets locked in tightly, especially before you leave your house unattended. When it comes to fire safety boxes, you can stash any important documents in there.
7. Keep a Light On
Whether you are home all the time or you tend to go out a lot, keeping at least one light on in your home can ward off intruders. It’s important to look like you are home even when you’re not. That way, people will be less likely to infringe on your property.
8. Use a Smart Home System
This point was already touched on above, but smart home systems have so much to offer in addition to alarm system capabilities. Smart home systems allow you to control your lights, temperature, WiFi and even view security cameras if you have them in your home. The ability to do these things from anywhere can increase your presence in your home, no matter where you are physically.
Keeping Your Home Safe
Everybody’s home is different, but no matter what, making sure that you come home every day to a place where you can feel safe and secure is one of the most important things that you can do. There are so many ways that you can keep your home safe, from walking your doors to keeping the lights on. Do you do any of these things already?