Easy Home Security Improvements (24 things you can do now!)

Improving your home’s security is something that everyone should be interested in. Many of us are concerned about the safety and security of our families and homes.

The good thing is it doesn’t take a lot of work, money, or time to make your home a lot more secure than it is already! Accomplishing just a few of the home security improvements on this list will make your home much more secure than it currently is.

These are the best ways to improve home security:

  • Don’t let your mailbox fill up
  • Add a security company sign
  • Install motion sensor lights
  • External doors should be kick proof
  • Install window and door stops
  • Don’t store ladders outside
  • Don’t let your trash pile up
  • Secure A/C units
  • Eliminate hiding spots
  • Never store spare keys outside
  • Be smart about social media
  • Use light timers
  • Use safes
  • Start a neighborhood watch program
  • Get a dog
  • Block sliding doors
  • Add a peephole
  • Install a one-way deadbolt
  • Plant thorny plants under windows
  • Keep doors and windows locked all the time
  • If you lose a key, replace the locks
  • Don’t leave valuables in view
  • Install cameras
  • Have a trusted neighbor

Some of the more involved tasks may be out of your reach if you live in an apartment or rent. The good thing is the most accessible (and often most effective) home security improvements apply regardless of if you own your home or rent.

The Best Home Security Improvements

Don’t Let Your Mailbox Fill Up

If you’re leaving on vacation or just going away for a few days, make sure someone is emptying your mailbox. One of the easiest ways for a burglar to tell if you’re home is by seeing a mailbox overflowing with several days’ worth of mail.

Try to make arrangements with friends or family to empty your mailbox before it gets full. If you’re going to be gone for a long period, you may way to have mail delivery stopped completely.

If you still have a paper delivered, ensure the person getting your mail also picks up the paper. This is another dead giveaway that you’re not there!

Add a Security Company Sign to the Outside of Your House

As we go through these steps to make your home more secure, you’ll notice that many revolve around deception. This is the first of many ways to deter would-be intruders for just a couple of dollars.

Most burglars are interested in finding a place that represents the easiest target. If there’s even a possibility that the house has an alarm system, they may move on to another home that doesn’t have one.

Adding a sticker to the front door or a sign in your yard can make your place look like a much harder target. Of course, this won’t warn you if someone decides to break into your house, so having an alarm is a much better idea if you can afford it.

Place Motion Sensor Lights Around the Perimeter of Your Home

When thieves try to approach a home at night, it’s usually for one reason. It’s dark! By adding motion sensor lights outside your home, you take that advantage away from them.

Try to make sure the lights are facing the direction the thieves would approach. Have as much of your yard covered and make sure the lights come on if someone pulls into the driveway.

You can place a light farther down and away from your house if you have a long driveway.

All of Your External Doors Should Be Kick Proof

All the doors in your house that are on an exterior wall should be solid wood, fiberglass, or metal. This includes your garage door.

Each door should also have a sturdy deadbolt and a metal strike box secured with 3″ screws. This keeps your door jamb from breaking easily when the door is kicked. (A persistent thief will still be able to get in!)

Install Window and Door Stops

Installing another physical block on your doors and windows is a great idea. These typically block the window or door from opening even if the lock is defeated.

These cover a range of products, from devices needing installation work to simple levers or screw-in devices that add in a physical block. Anything is better than nothing, but typically, the more work goes into the installation, the more secure they are in the long run.

Window security film is another way to strengthen your windows and help to prevent intruders. It doesn’t stop a determined intruder, but it’ll slow them down for a few minutes.

Don’t Store Ladders Outside

Don’t store ladders (or anything else that a burglar could use to climb) outside your house.

Most security systems only have sensors installed on the ground floor. It’s common for people to forget to lock upstairs windows or leave them open in the summertime. A ladder left on the side of the house or in an unlocked shed is a perfect tool for a burglar.

Don’t Let Your Trash Pile Up

If you’ve recently received a lot of packages, don’t leave the empty boxes piled up on the curb. Instead, flatten them and put them in the trash can.

Piled-up boxes could signal to thieves that you have something of value in the house and make you look like a potential target.

Secure Window Air Conditioner Units

Before ever placing the air conditioner, it’s good to consider what window you’ll put it in. Ideally, you’ll place it in a second-floor window, but that isn’t always possible.

If it has to go on the ground floor, consider putting it in a difficult-to-reach window or a visible area so neighbors can see anyone trying to climb through it.

When you install the air conditioner, use brackets to secure it in place, add plastic or metal flaps to the sides and install sliding locks on the window. If you secure the air conditioner in place well and install locks, it won’t be easy for someone to get in through that window.

Eliminate Hiding Spots

Trim any bushes that could provide a hiding spot for burglars, especially around your windows and doors. You don’t want to provide a place for anyone to hide while they try to access your house or to lie in wait for someone to come outside.

Untrimmed bushes can also be seen as a sign that you haven’t been around in a long time.

Never Hide Spare Keys Outside

You’d be surprised how many people still throw a key under the doormat or think they’re getting sneaky by putting a spare key under a potted plant or in a fake rock. Don’t think you’re getting one over on a burglar.

I suggest never leaving a spare key outside your house. If you need to do it, you can purchase locking key holders that you can hide outside. That way, the thief won’t be able to easily gain access to the key, even if they find it.

Be Smart About Social Media Posts

Posting on social media is a way of life for some people. If you need to broadcast every moment of your life on the web, you must understand that others can use that information against you.

I highly suggest you private all personal social media profiles so only friends can see what you post. This is a good general practice and goes well beyond helping stop a burglary.

Even after you make your profiles private, you need to be careful about what you post. Save all those vacation pictures and post them on social media after you get home.

If you’re broadcasting that you’re gone on vacation, then would-be thieves know that your house is an easy target.

Use a Safe

Keep your valuables and firearms in a safe—preferably in a fireproof safe.

This will at least keep your most prized items secure if someone breaks into your house, and locking up your firearms will keep unarmed intruders unarmed.

Use Timers to Turn Your Lights and Television On

Today’s modern homes are becoming more and more automated. In the past, timers were your only option to automate your lights and TV to make it look like you were home.

These days there are a whole host of products that allow you to automate your lights, TV or even control them from your phone in case you decide to stay out late one night but still want it to look like you made it home on time.

Even fake TV devices project light onto your walls so it looks like your TV is on but only uses a fraction of the power that your TV would.

Taking advantage of these devices allows you to trick potential burglars.

Join or Start a Neighborhood Watch Program

This is a really interesting idea that has a lot of positives beyond just making your home more secure. By joining a neighborhood watch program, you take the security of your neighborhood into your own hands. It adds a sense of personal responsibility that people often lack it.

A neighborhood watch program brings the community together, reduces crime, forms a bond between the neighborhood and law enforcement, and improves the overall quality of life for everyone in the area.

Many online resources can guide you through the process if you’re interested in forming a neighborhood watch. www.nnw.org and safewise.com are both good resources to get you started.

Get a Dog or Make it Look Like You Have One

This is yet another time when deception can be used to throw off a potential thief. Something as simple as a beware of dog sign can cause someone to look for an easier target.

Even better than the sign is having a dog alerting you to a possible intruder. Even little dogs have been shown to deter burglars.

Block Sliding Doors with a Dowel, Pipe, or Broom Handle

Sliding doors are one of the weakest areas in most people’s homes. They’re typically on the backside of the house, out of the view of neighbors and passing vehicles, the locks are easy to force open, and they’re made of GLASS.

We can’t do anything about them being made of glass, but we can reinforce the lock with a dowel, pipe or even a broom handle cut to the correct length to prevent the door from sliding open. Drop the doorstop when you’re not using the door, and it’ll be much more secure.

I see this tip as one of the best. It’s cheap to implement and forces burglars to smash the window or try another way.

Add a Peephole

If you don’t already have a peephole installed in your door, you should add one. Never open the door before you check who is on the other side.

Make sure family members, especially children, know not to open the door to anyone they don’t recognize.

Install One Way Deadbolts

Single-sided deadbolts only have a key on the inside of the door. This means that the lock can only be opened or closed from the inside.

Because they only have a keyhole inside, they can’t be picked. They make a great second deadbolt for your external doors and give you an added layer of security while you’re at home.

Plant Thorny Bushes and Shrubs Under Windows

When planning your landscaping, try to put thorny shrubs and bushes under windows and other places where an intruder may decide to hide. These will add a layer of defense while not making your place look like a fortress.

Blackberry bushes are fast-growing and can reach heights of 5 feet tall. Their thorns are likely to deter anyone looking to hide in them.

Oregon grape is another ideal bush to defend your home. The leaves are surrounded by spiky thorns and can pierce clothing with ease.

These plants are good for more things than just improving security! They also have medicinal qualities and are edible.

Roses are another obvious choice when you’re thinking about thorny plants.

Pyracantha, aka Firethorn, makes a great barrier as well. It can grow to 10 feet tall and is known for its heartiness.

If You Lose a Key, Replace the Locks Immediately

People lose things all the time. If you lose a house key, you should replace the locks immediately.

It may seem like overkill for something that you may find in a couple of days, but when it comes to the security of your home, you can’t be too careful.

I find this to be one of the least followed home security tips. People lose keys all the and then never replace the locks. There’s no telling who has that key!

Keep Your Doors and Windows Locked When You’re Home and When You’re Gone

You may think that you live in a good neighborhood and no one would ever break into your house, but that doesn’t mean you should leave your doors or windows unlocked. This even goes for windows on the second floor.

Some people think their house is safe when they’re home and leave the doors unlocked during the day. Leaving the door unlocked while you’re home is a bad habit to get into.

Remember to lock the door behind you when you come through the door.

Don’t Place Valuable Items In View of the Windows

Don’t put things like keys in plain view of the windows. Try to keep things like jewelry from being visible in first-floor bedrooms.

Large items like TVs and computers may be difficult to hide. In this case, we recommend closing the blinds at night, so they’re less conspicuous.

Install Surveillance Cameras

Doorbell cameras are all the rage these days. They record and notify you when someone is approaching your door and can even allow you to talk with them through your phone from across the country.

Other surveillance cameras are out there too, and wireless technology makes them easier to install than ever before. If you believe someone has been sneaking around your home, or you want the peace of mind from seeing what’s going on outside when you’re not around, I highly suggest you look into these.

Have a Trusted Neighbor

Hopefully, you’ve interacted with your neighbors and made a few friends in the area. Having someone to check in on your home while you’re gone makes many previous suggestions easier.

Being involved with your neighbors is one of the most powerful home security tips you can take from this lineup!

If you trust them, agree to look after each other’s houses while you’re away and consider giving them a spare key just in case. You gain a lot of peace of mind when you know you have a friend looking after your home.

Conclusion

Even though all of these home security tips probably won’t work for your situation. I’m sure there are a lot of them that can. Adding just a few of them to your current home or apartment will make it much more secure than before!

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