Admit it, you’re a creature of habit. Every morning you hit the snooze button exactly twice before rolling blindly out of bed, stumbling to the coffee maker and pushing start. You take the same train, road or bus into the office. At the end of the day you leave the office exactly at 5:15, put your bag down and kick off your shoes in the same spot, then wash, rinse and repeat for the next day.
While having routines can make life more efficient, when it comes to home security your predictable actions may have big impacts on yours and your family’s safety. How is your everyday humdrum creating potential security risks? Read on to find out.
1. Who Doesn’t Love a Good Routine
Do you leave the house at the same time, every day? Come home every night at 6 o’clock, on the dot? Maybe you go for that weekend run like clockwork every Saturday or attend church religiously in Sundays? While routine is excellent for planning, it can also lead to predictability for criminals. Consider changing things up on occasion to appear less of an easy target for a crime of opportunity.
2. Knock, Knock, Anybody Home?
It’s a well-known fact that burglars and thieves are less likely to strike when they know someone is home. If your home is being cased for potential thievery, would-be robbers will be turned off if it appears someone is always home. Not answering the door can also create a personal safety issue if burglars break in while you’re in residence.
3. Newspapers, What Newspapers
Subscription or not, chances are if you look out at your driveway now you’ll see one or more errant newspapers littering the drive. From local newsletters to free copies, maybe even your paid morning news, all probably sit for days or more, clearly indicating you aren’t home to retrieve them. Want to stop advertising that your house is vacant? Collect those papers on the regular.
4. Shredding Documents is For the Birds
We get it, you hate junk mail. We do too. We also hate bills and paper credit card and mortgage statements and wonder why the heck everything just isn’t electronically delivered any more. But just because you can’t be bothered to open these sensitive, info containing documents doesn’t mean you should just toss them in the trash. Don’t give identity thieves a free shot at stealing your credit and personal info.
5. You’ll Get Around to Replacing Those Lights Eventually
Out of sight, out of mind is a popular saying. Turns out its also applicable to your home security as burned out lights give thieves and intruders the cover of darkness. A well-lit yard, preferably with motion sensing lights installed, will deter mischief makers (and ensure you catch your kids sneaking back into the house passed their curfew).
6. Nobody Locks Their Door in Our Neighborhood
One of the worst habits security experts see is born in good intentions. If you’re a suburban resident you’ve probably caught yourself rushing out of the house more than once without turning that lock. “It’s a safe neighborhood.” “I’ve lived here all my life.” “We’ve never had problems in the past.” Always lock and secure your doors and don’t give fate a chance to test your faith in your community, or assume that no one other than your neighbors will be popping in to say hello while you’re gone.
7. Who’d Want to Break into My Garage Anyways?
Perhaps the most common habit that makes homeowners prime crime targets is an unsecured garage. Even the most attentive of us routinely forget to latch that side door or bolt the lock on the main entrance. You may think there’s nothing of value stored on the inside, but hand and power tools are prime targets and easy flipping for thieves. Secure your garage and replace old and malfunctioning garage doors with newer secure models.
Each of the above habits not only expose you to a higher risk of being a target of a crime, they are also easily preventable. At A-1 locksmith we’re here to provide you with a complete security screening of your home. We’ll expose vulnerabilities and help design a plan to keep you and your family safe and secure. Call A-1 today to find out how we can help.
