Living alone in a house or apartment is quite scary and dangerous. No one would help you if there’s an emergency and definitely no one is going to help you protect your home while you’re away. Here are some tips you could use when you’re living alone so that you can sleep soundly at night without worrying that someone might break into your home and cause you or your property harm.
- Adopt a dog
Like people say: “dogs are man’s best friend”. Dogs can act as your personal security alarm since most dogs would bark at people that they don’t know. It is also much better having a dog since most security systems, no matter how advanced, can easily be deactivated unlike dogs which are trainable and unpredictable, making it a hard time for burglars to break into your house. Aside from being a security guard, you also have a companion around the house, reducing the feeling of isolation and making you feel better. Once you adopt a dog, make sure that you are capable in handling the responsibilities of taking care of it.
- Be aware who has a spare copy of your locks
When moving into a new home, you should be aware if your landlord or super has a spare copy of your house. If so, ask him the terms of usage of their copy of the key. Whether or not the last tenant had returned their copy of the key to the house, if your house’s lock hasn’t been changed, you should consider rekeying your lock or completely changing your lock. This ensures that there’s nobody you don’t know has a spare copy of your house’s lock.
- Always close your curtains and blinds
Shutting your curtains and blinds makes it harder for other people to take a peek inside your home. This is quite important since it makes it easier for burglars and other people to spy on you especially when you’re gone. Always stick to a scheduled routine when to open your curtains and when to close them. With a scheduled routine, it shows to other people that there’s someone living in that house therefore making it harder to break into. Do not open and close your curtains in such a way that lets other people know when you’re at home or not. They may use this as a pattern to know when to break into your house.
- Consider getting a house sitter
House sitters are someone who stays at your home when you are away from your home. They can usually stay for a few several hours to several days. They may also do some chores while you’re away like cleaning the house, doing the dishes and feeding your pets. Getting a house sitter reduces the possibility of break-ins in your house. Just make sure that the person you’re hiring is someone you trust so you can be sure that they aren’t going to steal anything from you while you’re away
- Learn self-defense maneuvers
Though unlikely, there are times when break-ins become violent confrontations. Without proper self-defense training, you are at risk of being harmed by criminals. You can either buy self-defense weapons or learn self-defense techniques. Do not consider buying guns as they require heavy maintenance, expensive, and are very deadly and can cause harm in the wrong hands. If you’re considering buying a weapon, you should consider buying a taser gun or a pepper spray. These weapons are easy to use yet effective in protecting you. Consider taking up martial arts lessons so you can protect yourself and others anywhere you go.
- Don’t announce to the world you’re living alone
As much as possible, avoid telling people that you live alone. Giving out this information makes you an easy target for burglars and criminals. The more people who know you live alone, the greater your risk is for being robbed. You should also avoid showing any signs that you’re living alone such as in the mailbox, instead of placing your first name, you may want to use your last name as to create an illusion that there’s more than one person living on your house.