A house key.

Making sure your home stays secure is one of the most important and stressful things to stay on top of. With advances in technology, it is becoming easier and easier for burglars to enter your home, as well as it becoming more expensive for you to recover from such a traumatic event financially and physically. We know how necessary it is to make sure your home is safe, so we have compiled a list of 5 easy ways to improve your household security.

Lock Everything

This is an obvious tip, but also the most important one. Making sure all the main entryways to your home are locked and secured will prevent people from being able to get into your home in the first place. A good place to start is ensuring your front, back, and garage doors are all secured, and can withstand someone trying to break their locks. Kicking down doors or forcing locks are some of the most common ways thieves enter your home, so starting here is a good way to cross that option off the less.

 

Keep your keys hidden

If a thief can reach your keys, it’s an open invitation for them to break into your home. Keep your keys out of reach, or out of sight, and they won’t have the option to use them and get into your house. If you have a key bowl or a hanging rack, make sure it is kept far away from your doors or windows, and take your keys (especially car keys) to bed with you at night.

 

Get an alarm system

If the worst happens and someone does get into your home, you want to make sure that everyone knows about it. An alarm system is the easiest way to alert your neighbours and the police that there is an intruder in your home, letting out a very loud noise when a sensor is set off within your home. Some alarm systems can also include CCTV cameras, so they can capture a high-quality image of the intruder in your home.

 

Hide your Holidays

If you’re travelling or going on holiday, make sure to plan ahead so that your home doesn’t appear empty. Try asking a family member or friend to house sit for you, or if that doesn’t work, try your best to make your home look occupied. Pausing deliveries of things like milk and newspapers will stop a burglar from noticing that no one may be home. Ask a neighbour to collect your post, or if they’re nice, ask them to park over your driveway or in front of your house – seeing a car outside will make any potential thieves think twice before breaking and entering. Make sure not to post anything about your holiday on social media, like Facebook. This is a sure-fire way to advertise to the world that you are not at home, and that your home is unoccupied!

 

Video Doorbells

Our last tip is to get a video doorbell. The way that a lot of burglars assess if someone is home or not is by knocking on the door – these video doorbells allow you to see who is at the door, as well as talk to them like you’re in the house itself. This can act as a major deterrent to burglars and can stop any unwanted junk mail or door to door sales too!