Home Security Checklist 2024: Safeguarding Your Home
In addition to organizing our homes or decorating our spaces, caring for our homes also means ensuring that the places you live and sleep are safe. While people can't guarantee that emergencies will never happen, you can certainly be prepared and do your best to avoid certain situations.
We've summed up top 21 effective ways to prevent your home from break-ins. Check them out!
Indoor Home Security Assessment Checklist
The importance of indoor security as the closest and last security measure for those inside the house cannot be overstated. So how do you conduct a security assessment? Let's take a look.
1. Secure valuables inside your room
The idea is to think like a burglar or intruder. If you were a burglar, where would you put your money? The average occupant would be to put it inside a nightstand or closet. Then these two locations can be ruled out directly. Then we have to do the opposite.
Small valuables are the easiest targets for theft because they are easy to carry. Money, jewelry, small electronics, designer bags, and passports are the most accessible items for thieves to target. Then we can place these items where they wouldn't expect them, such as a child's room or the attic. Additionally, the protective casing makes it impossible for burglars to break. For example, a hard safe fixed to the wall can be effective against burglars.
2. Reinforce entry points with gadgets
You can use gadgets to enhance the security of house entry and become a vital assistant in house security. For example, you can install small sensors that can automatically monitor the movement of people at the door, thus sending information to the house owner to determine if there is any danger.
Or you can add a card or biometric access system to reduce security gaps caused by mechanical problems with the house equipment, increasing the intelligence and security of house entry.
3. Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Follow these recommendations to protect your home and family in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide emergency:
- Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in large numbers. They should be installed on every house level, covering all sleeping areas.
- Test alarms regularly. Replace malfunctioning alarms. In any case, replace alarm batteries every two years.
- Clean all detectors. Consult a professional or watch a video online to vacuum each grille and clean the surfaces with a non-corrosive cleaner.
- Demonstrate the sound of each detector. Family members need to know the differences and be able to respond in a pinch.
4. Inspect home heating
If you want to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, potential fires, or heat burns, remember to check your home's heating system.
- Check exterior vents. Ensure that all the external ducts are adequately sealed and free of obstructions. Choose the correct burning material. For fireplaces or wood stoves, choose dry, aged wood that does not produce large amounts of soot when burned.
- Inspect wood-burning stoves regularly. Ensure that doors are properly latched shut, smoke detectors in the room are working correctly, and children do not use the stove unsupervised.
- Check your water heater once in a while. Set the temperature to 120 degrees to avoid damaging the water heater.
5. Integrate security gadgets into the smart home system
Security gadgets to your smart home system can effectively tie these features together to protect your home from any security dead spots and provide 24/7 protection. These are devices such as smart outlets, smart door locks, and smart monitoring, to name a few.
6. Protect your children from potential danger
Families with small children should take extra safety precautions. These measures are essential to keep young children and families safe. Here are the steps to follow:
- Put locks on cabinets. Install safety pins and locks, small children can quickly get interested in such items, and they will climb on them and then be at risk of falling.
- Lock up hazardous items. Keep any toxic or unsafe products in locked cabinets. Children are curious about everything new, and it's essential to take steps to prevent them from subconsciously hurting themselves or accidentally swallowing them.
- Put away sharp knives. The same goes for scissors and makeup tools. Keep matches and plastic bags out of the reach of children.
- Lock up all firearms. Make sure guns are unloaded and separated from ammunition.
- Install padding on furniture with sharp edges. Install door handle gloves on entry doors so children can't go out unattended.
Exterior Home Security Checklist
In addition to the indoor security check, exterior home security inspection is paramount. This part of protection can be your home's first level of guard. The checklist is as follows.
7. Light your home's exterior properly
Keeping a home's exterior lit can be very effective in creating the illusion that someone is in the house, creating an atmosphere that psychologically deters burglars. In some cases, it can improve the quality of surveillance video by providing a bright environment for surveillance equipment around the neighborhood. Home exterior lights are equally as important as interior lighting. It also dramatically affects the whole look of your property. You can choose a motion-activated light and integrate into your exisiting home security system. This light will light up if it detects any movements inside its field of view.
8. Install a home security system
Here are several benefits of a home security system: protection, a deterrent to burglars, peace of mind, convenience and energy savings, and reduced home insurance premiums.
Installing security cameras, smart door locks, or alarms allows you to monitor the state of your home security. Alarm systems with visible signs such as stickers, yard signs, and outdoor cameras for video surveillance have proven to be a deterrent to burglars, whose crimes are often opportunistic.
9. Cut off landscaping around windows and doors
Removing landscaping around doorways and windows can effectively map out a house's guarded space to the extent that there is less cover for burglars to hide behind during a burglary, allowing for better surveillance of their movements.
10. Install window and door sensors
A sensor attached to the windows or doors can help safeguard the home. There are the following advantages:
- Used as a deterrent to criminals. With door and window sensors installed, your home security system will notify you when someone triggers the sensors.
- Check on Loved Ones. If you have elderly children at home, you can monitor their condition in real time as they go in and out of the house, giving you more peace of mind.
11. Keep valuables away from the window
Keep items of value away from windows and doors, as burglars will likely open windows and quietly take them without you noticing. Then reduce the probability of this happening as much as possible by locking items of value in cabinets or other places out of reach.
12. Guarantee clear visibility of house address
It is critical to keep your home address clear. Especially if a burglary is reported, the police can locate your home more quickly to complete the case. Furthermore, it is a deterrent to burglars. It shows that the house is regularly occupied, so they will not dare to act rashly.
13. Display security signs
Provide an affordable visual deterrent to make vandals and criminals think twice! Prominent warnings to thieves, burglars, criminals, and vandals, these monitored security signs are the ideal deterrent for all areas of your home!
Ready Your Home for Vacation
Leaving your home unattended while on vacation makes it a target for burglars, so what kind of measures to take is an issue. Let's see the list that follows.
14. Plan for incoming mail and packages while on vacation
While traveling, once a courier or mail arrives at your home, but you cannot collect it in person, the mail and courier may pile up at your doorstep.
Not only are these items' security not guaranteed, but some items, for example, will have the homeowner's personal information, such as name and phone number, printed on them. If someone with ulterior motives uses this information, it can cause even more damage. Then it would help if you planned who will receive these items and where they will be placed once they are signed for.e
15. Collaborate with neighbors
"A close neighbor is better than a distant relative." While you're away on vacation, ask your trusted neighbors to help look after your house, to help sign for deliveries if there are any, and to help call the police if they see signs of a break-in or trespassing. This way, even in an emergency, you can minimize the damage within the limits of what is possible.
16. Use remote access and control on vacation
With a smart home system installed, you can monitor your home in real time and control your home's devices from far away. Home smart devices offer more possibilities for remote security. Once the smart device detects, a break-in activates an automatic alarm to protect indoor property.
17. Avoid oversharing vacation plans online
Avoid oversharing your travel schedule. This is a point that many travelers don't realize, and it could inadvertently create security holes and risk compromising personal privacy.
When you share your detailed plans on your network, those with ulterior motives will learn when you'll be home, and this is the time when they can start planning a break-in, and you'll be inadvertently helping them out. So sharing on social software or the internet must be done in moderation.
Emergency Considerations
Apart from the gadgets and precautious measures, considerations in emergency cases are equally important. Here are some tips that may be helpful.
18. Create an evacuation plan
Your family should familiarize themselves with a predetermined escape plan. This will help everyone be prepared to act in an emergency.
Develop an escape plan that includes two fire escape routes（in case of route blockade）. Practice it twice a year (once at night) with your entire family, and check the National Fire Protection Association website for more information.
19. Ensure convenient access to fire extinguishers
Fire extinguishers are a must-have in your home. They are inexpensive and life-saving tools that all families should have. A fire extinguisher should be stored in any place where danger may occur, it doesn't need to be large, but it must be there. In the event of a fire, an extinguisher within reach can be used to put it out at the source to prevent the fire from increasing and causing more damage.
20. Maintain constant availability of communication tools
Imagine you are stuck in a venue; what is most important? Water? Food? None of it. What matters is your connection and communication with the outside world. In the event of an emergency, ensuring that communications are smooth will allow you to seek help promptly and keep outsiders informed of what's going on and the safety of people. So make sure communication tools are maintained and available.
FAQs
What are the essential home security measures everyone should take?
All homes should take specific measures to protect the underlying home security. This is because your home security is tied to the safety of the family members in each household as well as the safety of your property. Here are a few basic measures:
- Don't open your door to strangers.
- Keep your yard neat, and don't create hiding places for possible intruders.
- Park your car in the driveway to show someone is home.
- install non-slip strips on sliding glass doors.
How do I set up security at home?
You can follow some simple steps, which can be used as a reference :
- Install motion detector lights outside of your home.
- Reinforce all of your windows and doors.
- Install locks on your windows and deadbolts on your doors.
- Set up a video doorbell.
- Consider installing fake security signs or a “beware of dog” sign.
What should I do if an intrusion occurs?
- Stay calm. You need to identify the presence by quick checking.
- Determine whether you can escape. Safety is the priority, so you need to find ways to leave that dangerous place. Therefore, you can take the following steps.
- Stay put. It would help if you didn't disturb the intruder in case of running away.
- Call the police. This measure is critical to protect your asset and personal safety.
- Take notes. In the chance they get away before the police arrive, you'll want to be able to give a detailed account of weight, sex, height, attire, vehicles, and direction of travel.
How can I make my home safer for senior citizens?
The most important safety precaution for seniors is to minimize the likelihood of a safety incident. It would be best if you considered the following measures to make the home safer for senior citizens:
To prevent trip hazards for seniors, address sliding rugs and small objects, and install bathroom grab bars. Additional safety measures include fixing flooring, adding a shower bench, upgrading to a walk-in tub, and improving stair lighting to ensure elderly safety and homeowner peace of mind.
Conclusion
This list of home security protections offers a full range of protection, from systems to products to planning, which can meet the needs of different people. Home safety should be considered. I wanted this article to present a fresh perspective on a list of home security products for homeowners. If you found this helpful article, please share it with your friends. All comments below this post are welcomed.
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