10 Low-cost Ways to Keep Your Home Safe

Lindsay ~ 7 July 2006

Want to keep your home safe? Of course, you do. Even if you–like me–probably don’t spend as much time thinking about safety and home security as you should. The ironic thing is that you don’t necessarily need to spend a lot on fancy alarm systems and high-tech video surveillance. Some very basic home improvements can go a long ways in keeping your family safe and protecting your belongings. Here’s a look at 10 low-cost solutions:

Install new locks on your doors and windows. Many older locks are flimsy, and sometimes people assume that burglars can’t get in second story windows, so they don’t even have locks there (here’s a tip: burglars are nimble climbers). Even if your locks are in good shape, it may be worth replacing them just for peace of mind. Remember, everyone who’s lived in your house previously had an opportunity to make copies of the keys…
Install motion- or heat-sensing floodlights in your front- and backyard to eliminate dark shadows where burglars could hide.
Install self-charging smoke detectors, such as the model we looked at from Dupont a few months ago. These alarms screw into your light fixtures and recharge whenever the light is on. It means no more dead batteries.
Don’t leave ladders or tools in your yard on in an unlocked shed. This just helps burglars, by giving them tools to get into your house.
Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen (even better if you have one on every floor), and make sure everybody in the house knows how to use it.
If mail theft is a problem in your neighborhood, consider a locking mailbox. (If someone gets your mail, it’s more than an inconvenience. They can use the information for identity theft.)
Join the neighborhood watch (or start one). This is absolutely free, and sometimes a neighborhood watch sign can be enough to convince a thief to go elsewhere.
If you have hollow-core outside doors, replace them with solid wood or steel doors. If there are windows in or beside your door, consider applying shatter-proof laminate to them, so burglars can’t break them to get at the door lock.
Check your landscaping: if bushes obscure doors, suffocate walkways, or otherwise provide nooks where burglars could hide, trim them back. (If you want to plant something, try thorny bushes under bedroom windows–an excellent deterrent to entry.)
Lastly, update your homeowner’s insurance, especially if your house has gone up in value or you’ve made improvements since you created the policy. If something does happen, you want to make sure you get the money you deserve to replace everything. You can use home inventory software to create a list of your belongings to help prove what you had to your insurer.