In this series, we’ve taken on topics of Food Storage, Personal
Safety, Water Storage, and Sanitation. Today, we have yet another
topic. When many people start preparing, they either are convinced that
the world is going to end or they are looking into how to protect their
family from the winter power outage or maybe from the potential of
losing a job. It’s the same with home security. People either think
the world is going to end and their house should be more secure than the
FBI headquarters or they simply want to deter current potential
burglars.
If you, like so many people, just want to provide your family with
security against “everyday” potential problems, then this article is for
you. And if that is the case, I just want to point out that you don’t
have to make your home a veritable Fort Knox. Believe it or not, all
you need to do is to make your house look like a less attractive option
than houses around you. Why would a burglar try for an apple in the
middle of the tree when you can grab one off the bottom branch.
So let’s jump right into how to do that. How do we make our houses
less appealing to the burglars? Here are simple steps to put our houses
at least up to the middle of the tree.
In research for this article, I found information on what burglars said actually deterred them from hitting a house.
(1) A Barking Dog
When we moved to this house and we were no longer renting, we got a
dog for this very reason. Burglars say that for many of them if they
hear a dog, that’s a no-go for them.
(2) Closed Circuit TV
The cool thing about this is that, if you do it right, you don’t
actually have to have a CCTV. It simply needs to look like you have
one. You can buy the real thing for about $130. OR you could buy a
look-alike for about $25. Someone who worked in the security business,
when asked about this type of camera, said that the difference between a
real and a fake camera like this is no longer distinguishable by
looking at it. The only way someone would know that this type of camera
is fake is if you picked it up. If it’s attached to the outside of
your house, they can’t pick it up, so they would never know the
difference.
(3) Television
Burglars have said that having a TV that is on or at least sounds
like it’s on is a deterrent. It makes them believe that people are
actually home. Most burglars don’t want trouble. They want in and out
(usually) in less than 5 minutes.
(4) Visibility
You want the space around your windows and doors to be clear. You
don’t want shrubs under your windows. A burglar can hide in the shrubs
while trying to jimmy a window open. If your windows and doors are
well-lit, this will also deter burglars. You can install something as
simple as solar power motion activated lights. If there is movement
within a certain area, the motion light will go on, but you don’t have
to worry about hooking it up to electricity or about changing a battery.
(5) Door Security
Having a solid front door goes far in the way of deterring burglars.
Having a solid wood door is the best by far. If you can’t have that,
at least have a solid wood core to your door.
Deadbolt
With your regular door knob lock, install a deadbolt. While a
deadbolt isn’t a 100% deterrent, it does give you two lines of defense
against your door being easily opened. Remember that our job isn’t to
make our home into a fortress as much as it to make it hard to get into.
Securing your door jamb
Other ways to secure your door is to use 3-4″ long screws on the door
jamb. Now, if you’re like me, you may not know what a door jamb is.
Go to your door. Open it. Take a look at the wall where your lock fits
into the wall. This is called the strike plate. UNDER the strike
plate is your door jamb. In order to install longer screws into your
door jamb, you’ll have to remove the strike plate. If you have a strong
door jamb, your door will be so much more secure.
Nightlock
If you are looking for an additional way to secure your door, or if
you, like us, have glass on either side of our door and can’t install
longer screws into your door jamb, there are other ways to secure your
door. One of the things I’ve been looking into until we can replace
our front door is called Nightlock. Nightlock is made up of three
pieces. The first attaches to the back of your door. The second
attaches to the floor, and the last one secures the one in the door to
the one on the floor.
Your Sliding Glass Door
Do you have a sliding glass door? If you do, then you want to make
sure that you also secure them. You can purchase something “fancy” like
this. Honestly though, if you find the right length of 1″x2″, you can
slide it in the door so that no one can open the door. It’s just as
effective.
(6) Window Security
Now for securing windows, there are several things you can do. If
you are concerned about someone breaking a window to get into your
house, there is a way to reinforce your windows. There is something
called reinforced window film. You can purchase from 3M or from
Amazon. This film takes any impact to the window, or door and spreads
it out over a much greater surface area making it much harder to break
into windows.
Now if you do not want to install this film, but you still want to
protect your windows, you can install window glass break alarms. If
glass breaks, an alarm will sound. This will either alert someone that
something is happening or it will scare off an intruder.
Another way to secure your windows is to make sure they can’t be
opened if you haven’t locked them. There is something called Window
Bully which works to a window as a doorstop works to your door.
(7) Activity on Your Street
Believe it or not, being outside, having your kids outside, having
people who work in their yards and walk their dogs is a huge step toward
security not only in your house but for your entire neighborhood. Know
your neighbors. Talk to them! Interact with them. On one news
program that I watched where a former burglar took a member of the news
around with him in a vehicle. When they drove through a neighborhood
where people were out and about, working in their yards, walking,
talking with neighbors, etc.; the burglar said that he would never go
into a neighborhood like that. It would be hard to do that and to not
be seen.
So we can love our neighbors AND keep them safe by getting to know
them and being happy to be seen outside talking with them. That’s one
of the most exciting things that I learned researching for this article.
Other tips
So, things that I listed above have been noted as being deterrents to
theft in your house. I found some other helpful tips that I also want
to pass along.
If you have locks on your doors, actually USE them. About 1/3 of burglaries are not committed by forced entry!
Have a burglar decoy box with some cash, fake jewelry, and important
looking papers planted in a dresser drawer could get someone one out
fairly quickly with really nothing of value.
Shut your blinds at night or everyone can see into your house and know exactly what is where.
And What About You?
What steps have you taken or do you plan on taking to secure your
home. Is there anything in the article that surprised you? I’d love to
hear. Leave me a comment below.
Together lets Love, Learn, Practice, Overcome
Link to the article:
https://ayearwithoutthegrocerystore.com/start-prepping-security-home/
