My family accuses me of paranoia, but I'd always rather be safe than sorry. This mindset includes security precautions both while traveling and at home. Thanks to Reader's Digest Inc.'s book How to Be Safe, strategies are both easy and safe.
Use your child's bedroom to store any valuables you don't lock up, such as in a sock. Burglars normally don't ransack a kid's room. However, the absolute best place to keep your valuables is in a heavy, secure safe that's well hidden and well out of sight. Keep in mind if your safe isn't hard enough to move, it's likely to get stolen as well.
A mail slot (which I wish I had) goes against the wood grain. Because it makes the front door easier to kick in, install your slot near the bottom of your door.
Keep your car keys next to your bed. If something suspicious rouses you and you suspect someone is breaking in, hit the panic button on your key ring. The car alarm will sound, waking the neighbors, and giving Rob Robber the chance to flee.
Plant thorny shrubs beneath ground-floor windows. Not only will they add beauty to your flower beds but will deter a potential intruder.
A biggie: If a yard worker or a visitor uses the bathroom, go behind him or her to ensure the window is still latched tightly.
Lower the volume of your phone when you're away. This ensures a passerby won't hear the voice mail which indicates a home alone situation. (If you're like my husband and me, we often let ours go to voicemail when we're at home because of telemarketers.)
Ellen Phillips Be careful not to store wood near the side of the house. Ole' Rob may use it as a stepladder right up to a window. Keep logs and so forth either in the garage or at the edge of the yard in a stack.
Vary your movements. Believe me, burglars stake out a house and learn to recognize patterns. According to statistics, most robberies take only about 12 minutes so the more they learn your pattern, the more likely the break in. Thieves prefer to break in when the home is empty, which is usually during the middle of the day – between 9-11 a.m. before anyone's home for lunch or between 1-3 p.m. while the kids are still at school.
The absolutely best way to protect your home is with a security system. Homes without this safety feature are 300 times more likely to get robbed. I do know folks who place signs in their yards and on windows but who don't have the triggered alarm system itself; while this certainly might be a preventative, most serious burglars might know these are simply ploys.
Never load up your car the night before traveling and leave the car outside of the garage. Not only does this provide a temptation for the car to be broken into, but also it alerts Rob and Friends that you'll be gone for enough time for them to do some serious damage.
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com.