If you’re worried about your home security, you’re not alone. Someone breaking into the house is something many, if not all, homeowners worry about. Luckily, there’s plenty of ways to prevent this from happening. The most obvious step is to get an alarm system as well as a surveillance system. However, you can use a few extra methods to make your property even safer. These four ways to make your home safer will help you maximize security when you’re in the house sleeping and when you’re away on vacation.
Add Motion-Sensing Lights Outdoors
One of the best ways to improve home security is to add motion-sensing lights at all entrances. By adding bright, motion-sensing lights around your house, you can make it much harder for trespassers to sneak around undetected. Plus, that sudden flash of light is a good way to catch intruders off guard.
Install an Emergency Egress
Although you might want to go full action hero when someone breaks in, getting away from the house safely and calling the authorities is typically the better option. Installing an emergency egress will give you and your family an extra means of escape if intruders break into your home. In fact, when basements exceed a certain size, the IRC (International Residential Code) requires them to have an emergency egress. If you want to install an egress that’s also a beautiful home amenity, consider installing a window well. Just keep in mind that adding a window well as an egress will require you to ensure the design and size of your window well is up to code.
Ask Someone to Pick Up Your Mail During Vacations
An experienced burglar knows how to spot the signs that someone is on vacation. One of the easiest ways to do this is to monitor the newspapers and mail. If they see your mail and newspapers piling up outside, they’ll know you’re gone. Don’t worry—there’s a very easy way to combat this. Before going on vacation, ask a friend or family member to regularly stop by your house and collect all the mail until you return.
Keep Highly Valuable Items Away from Windows
As proud as you might be of that extravagant art piece, large TV, or other valuable item in your home, it shouldn’t be on display for any and all passersby to see. Doing this is like sending a beacon out to nearby burglars. There’s certainly nothing wrong with having nice stuff; just try to keep it away from the windows so that outsiders can’t see it. If you can’t avoid placing valuables near the window, keep them hidden with the help of blackout blinds. As long as you keep them closed, you should be in the clear.
Using any of these four ways to make your home safer will effectively boost your home security, but using them all will boost it even more. That said, you should use these tips in accordance with a functioning alarm or surveillance system if you really want to keep your home safe and secure from intruders at all times.
