This guest post was written by Madison Parker who is a security expert whose interests range from personal to home security systems. Get more tips and advice on her Home Security blog!
Keeping your family and your home safe is always a priority. But at bedtime, there are a few simple steps you can take to make sure that your home is secure from potential intruders and hazards of all kinds.
- It’s a good idea to routinely check your fire and smoke detectors to be sure the batteries are fresh and the alarm itself is in working condition. Add this ritual to your nightly routine for added safety.
- If you have a central alarm system that monitors for intruders, fire, carbon monoxide, and more, be sure to check that it is turned on, and that motion sensors are set, before bedtime.
- Be sure that your garage door, your front and back door are closed and locked, and remember to lock windows, sliding glass or porch doors and more. For example, double check locks on doors between your garage and the interior of your home, even if your garage door is down.
- If you do sleep with a window open, keep a metal or wooden bar in place to prevent the window from being opened any wider than you is necessary for air circulation.
- If you park your car outside, be sure to lock it, and remove your garage door opener from view. Would-be intruders could easily use a garage door opener to access your garage first, and home second. Similarly, potential intruders could make use of ladders, hammers, or other tools that you may be using for maintenance or gardening to break into your home. Be sure all these hardware items are put away for the night. And, if you are storing your tools in a shed or separate garage area, be sure to keep this storage area securely locked, too.
- Also, draw your blinds. Don’t leave valuables such as flat screen televisions, computers, or purses or wallets in alluring view from the street.
- Use appropriate outside lighting, too. Motion sensor lights will activate if any unexpected “visitors” should approach your home. You can also simply leave back porch or other area lights on after dark. Burglars will not choose a well-lighted home over a darkened one. You can even install a floodlight with a motion sensor. The brightness of a flood light coming on will be an excellent deterrent.
- You might also consider a driveway alarm sensor. This type of alarm will be triggered by any vehicle approaching your driveway, alerting you instantly should someone approach your home.
- If you’re going to sleep before all members of your family are home, make sure whoever is entering the home last knows to shut off the alarm system when they enter so as not to trigger sensors and create a false alarm. And, make sure they know how to turn the system on again.
- If you have double cylinder deadbolt locks, be sure to utilize them by locking the inside bolt. In case of an emergency, such as fire, be sure the key to any double cylinder deadbolts are near the door for easy access.
- For your continued nighttime safety, consider starting or joining a neighborhood watch program in your neighborhood. Having more than one set of eyes keeping a watch on your street is always a good idea, and you can take turns patrolling your neighborhood. Streets with neighborhood watch signs are also much less attractive to would-be intruders. In regard to hazards such as fire, you’ll feel safer at bedtime if you have an evacuation plan and escape route in mind. Should a hazard emerge, your family should know the quickest access route out of your house.
This was a guest post- I have not received any compensation for this post, I just like sharing content from other bloggers.
Woah, it has been a while since my last update on here. Sometimes life gets in the way of the simple living. I never meant to step away for so long but I am glad to be back!
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was 
which helped me work through my first two quilts.
does a great job giving directions for the basic quilt and then hinting that there might be more advanced techniques to learn down the line. For example, the author lays out methods for both binding by machine, and by hand, but goes into the most detail about hand binding. She makes it clear that there are many methods for binding a quilt, but lays out one simple technique in great detail to get you started.
Welcome! This place is the home to my adventures in keeping life simple, frugal, and lighthearted.
