How to Make Your Home Safer – 9 Easy Upgrades

Safety should be one of your primary concerns at home. We spend a lot of time and money creating homes that we love. We work hard to fill them with possessions. We want our homes to make us feel safe from the world. But we so often neglect safety. We improve the décor. We spend money on appliances and accessories, and we forget to update the safety features and add new security elements to keep us safe. If your home still has the same locks, and security that it did ten years ago, it might be time to make some easy upgrades to keep your home safe.

Add a Smart Doorbell

A smart doorbell camera is one of the best modern safety features you can add to your home. Not only does it mean that you’ll never have to answer the door without knowing who is outside (and have a much better view than a spy hole could ever offer), but it also means that you can keep an eye on your home from your smartphone even when you’re not in it. Many cameras also allow you to record footage and offer night vision for extra safety.

Upgrade Locks

Older locks give criminals an easy way into your home. Updating your locks, and adding a modern deadlock with a smart code can make it much harder for people to get in.

Check Seals and Frames

Criminals are always looking for an easy opportunity to get into a home. Old doors with cracked frames and windows that are damaged can be very tempting to someone who wants to get into your house. Repairing frames, taking care of seals and windows, and upgrading to a heavier, thicker door can put people off.

Get an Alarm

If you don’t have a house alarm, adding one is one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep your house and family safe.  Also consider options like a ghost camera system as well.

Don’t Make it Easy

Leaving windows open, placing things like large planters underneath them, leaving keys under plant pots and shouting your alarm code out or announcing when you are going to be away from home are all things that make a potential burglar’s job much easier.

Don’t be Too Tempting

Advertising expensive possessions by leaving them close to the window, bragging about them, or sharing photos on social media makes your home a tempting prospect for criminals. Try to keep expensive goods hidden to reduce temptation.

Add Security Lights

Security lights that come on when they sense movement in front of your home, or that are set on a timer to make it look as though someone is at home, can be great ways to put people off trying to enter your home.

Create Barriers

Natural barriers, like large hedges, trees and shrubs can hide your home, and make it harder for people to enter your house.

Get to Know Your Neighbors

One of the most effective ways to keep your home safe is to build a strong local community. Creating friendships with neighbors means that there’s always someone to look out for you and your home.

Some safety features can be expensive. But some of the most effective ways to protect your home, like getting to know your neighbors and creating natural barriers, aren’t costly at all. It’s a good idea to spend a little time once a year assessing the safety of your home, looking at new safety features, and making a few changes to offer you and your possessions more protection.