When time is running out and the projects keep adding up, many harried homeowners – and maybe you're one of them – have been heard to mutter, “I can't do everything!”
But many smart homeowners – and you're probably one of them – always seem to make time for tasks and projects that will make their home more secure.
If you do nothing else this weekend or next, put these 10 home security tasks and projects on your “to-do” list, courtesy of Experts in Your Home. If you're pressed for time, issue a call for “all hands on deck” and make it a family project. Either way, you'll breathe easier. You'll sleep easier. And you and your family will be safer, too:
Prevent Life-Safety Accidents
Secure hazardous areas
Check the veracity of the fence around the perimeter of your pool or spa. And if you can't put sharp tools and toxic cleaners under lock and key, put them out of the reach of children by placing them on a tall shelf.
Protect your home from fire
Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and check the condition of your fire extinguishers, replacing them if they look worn or damaged.
Deter burglars
Fortify doors
Replace hollow doors with solid-core (wood or metal) or metal-clad doors – a project tailor-made to Experts in Your Home. Insert a heavy dowel in the track of sliding doors.
Install grade 1 or grade 2 dead-bolt locks on doors
Choose heavy-duty locks, made of solid metal or brass, with 3- or 4-inch-long screws that will grab both the door jamb and frame. Secure side and back doors, too; only about one-third of burglars prefer the front door, the FBI says.
Strengthen windows
There are more ways than you may think to toughen up a window, from installing laminated windows (which are stronger than glass) to installing locks that still allow you to keep a window open several inches. Let the Experts help show you the options; every window in your home may present a different security challenge.
Cast light on the subject
You can create a classy lighting scheme with porch lights, floodlights with motion-activated sensors, downlights, uplights and walkway lights. The Experts have lots of subtle and illuminating ideas.
Consider installing an alarm system
Burglars are 60 percent more likely to skip over a home equipped with a security system – provided, of course, that a sign or sticker alerts him or her to its presence.
Install timers
Homeowners are mindful of using light timers before they leave on vacation. But it's a good home security practice to adopt on a daily basis, too, especially because the FBI reports that a home burglary occurs every 18 seconds in America, usually when residents are not at home.
Eliminate hiding spots
This is a time to think like a kid, especially one who is playing hide-and-seek. Burglars sometimes crouch behind bushes and shrubs to “case” a home before deciding whether to break into it. While you don't want to decimate your landscaping, you can thin it out and create open spots that will be inhospitable to burglars.
Keep window treatments closed when you're not home
Keeping them open is the equivalent of hanging a sign outdoors that says, “Take a peek!” And burglars gladly will, looking for expensive items they can grab in a hurry, such as TVs, computers and phones. Make their “job” more difficult by blocking their view.
These home security steps will go a long way toward protecting you, your family, your home and your possessions, when you're home as well as when you're not.
Like many projects, though, this one may trigger some questions. If you find yourself wondering how to solve a home security dilemma, call Experts in Your Home for a consultation. We'll inspect your home from top to bottom, inside and out, because we know as well as anybody that nobody can “do everything” and everyone can benefit from a helping hand.
