Sneaky Ways to Maintain Privacy and Safety in Your Home

These days, the number of victims of home burglary is quite alarming. According to FBI data American homes are robbed every 15 seconds. In any given time, especially if you live in a high-density area, your house may be next.

Burglars don't just take your belongings and walk away quietly, leaving you and your family unscathed. In many cases, a burglary often leads to other more dangerous crimes that can physically hurt you and your kids. That is why it is very important to make sure that you protect your family from any potential break-in.

No matter where you live, the safety of your family must be of utmost priority. The best way to ensure family safety is to apply effective security methods that can prevent a potential break-in. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to burglar-proof your home. Making simple adjustments in your lifestyle, rearranging certain things in your house, and investing in affordable yet efficient alarm systems are a few simple techniques you can use to guarantee the safety of your family.

Read on below for some tips on how you can keep burglars away.

Make your house a chore to break into.

Burglars go for houses with easy access. That is why it is very important that you make your house so hard to break into, that burglars simply won’t even dare to come close to it. Here are a few ways you can make your home unappealing to burglars:
- Use heavy-duty locks for all your doors. Consider using deadbolt locks with long horizontal bolts—these are the hardest locks to open. Remember, relying on doorknob locks are usually not enough, since burglars are experts in opening locked doorknobs with improvised keys.
- Make sure to lock your windows before going to bed, or whenever you go out. Even small windows, if left open, can allow a burglar to access some items within reach, or even allow them to open a locked door from inside.
- Never leave ladders outside the house that can help a burglar climb your roof or access a second story window.
Invest in multiple types of alarm systems.

If there is one thing burglars hate the most, it’s an alarm going off during a planned break-in. Take advantage of the different kinds of alarm systems available in the market that can easily scare burglars away, or even get you catch them in the act. Here are some ways to incorporate security devices in your home:
- Place a hidden security camera in any part of your home that is most likely to serve as an entry point for burglars, to help you ensure added safety for your family. This way, you can monitor these parts of your home even from a remote area, and detect any suspicious activity right away.
- Install alarm systems on all your windows and doors. This will allow you to catch any unwanted entrance to your home right before a burglar even gets inside.
- Another thing that rarely fails to ward off burglars: dogs. If you have a pet, make his home or “territory” near your gate or front door.
- 3 Make your house look occupied all the time.
  - Invest in automatic light timers that turn your lights on and off in normal patterns—the way they normally would if someone was in the house. This will create an illusion that someone is moving inside the house.
  - Always close the garage door so that burglars have no way of knowing if your car is parked or not.
  - If you’ll be out for a relatively long period of time—2 days or more—ask a trusted neighbor to get your mail or pick up deliveries to your house. You can also ask them to use your trash bin from time to time. This gives burglars the idea that someone is watching over the house.
  - Have your calls forwarded to your mobile phone so that you can answer them even when you’re away. Some burglars call to see if anyone’s home before breaking in.
  - Never leave a note indicating that you’re not home. This is tantamount to sending an invitation to a potential burglar.
Even when you’re out, don’t make it appear like nobody’s home. Here are some simple tricks you can use to make burglars think that someone is home even if nobody really is:
Maintain the privacy of your home.Oftentimes, burglars are tricky, they check the interiors of your house from afar. This way, they will know where certain items are placed; making it faster and easier for them to access these things once they successfully break into your home. Follow these tips to ensure the privacy and security of your home.
- Use shades, drapes, and other means of covering the larger windows of your house. This will prevent any “window shopping” tactics of most burglars.
- Strategically place eye-catching or expensive furniture, gadgets, or equipment away from windows, or glass walls (if any). Make sure that there are certain things blocking the view of any expensive property you must have inside your house.
- • Rooms should have extra cover, as this is where most important belongings are kept. Make sure your room curtains are thick and cover your windows from end to end.

These are a just a few tips you can use to keep your home safe from burglars. You can research more about this so that you can be more creative in making up your own techniques.

Being vigilant of your surroundings and applying the necessary methods to ensure family safety are the two most important things you need in order to lead a peaceful life. During these times, when there is danger on every corner and in every street, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Christopher Britton is an Interior Architect by day and a Freelance Writer by night. He writes for PlanItDIY.com

Other useful resources:

Sold Out After Crisis (Best 37 Items To Hoard For A Long Term Crisis)

Family Self Defense (Best Self Defense Strategies For You And Your Family)

Blackout USA (EMP survival and preparedness)
Conquering the coming collapse (Financial advice and preparedness )
Liberty Generator (Easy DIY to build your own off-grid energy source)
Backyard Liberty (Easy and cheap DIY Aquaponic system to grow your organic and living food bank)
Bullet Proof Home (A Prepper’s Guide in Safeguarding a Home )