Skip To Content

    21 Cheap And Effective Tricks To Keep Your Home Safe

    You don't need to invest in an expensive home alarm system or install an unsightly barbed wire fence to keep out burglars. Sometimes a couple easy steps are all you need to secure your home.

    1. Install some dummy surveillance cameras.

    2. Always remember to remove flyers from your doorstep.

    3. Put bumper stickers on your car.

    4. Keep your landscaping neat and trimmed.

    5. Buy light timers for your indoor and outdoor lights.

    6. Pretend like you're saying good-bye to someone inside when you leave your home.

    7. Don't leave your electronics boxes out on the curb.

    8. Don't leave a ladder just hanging out in your backyard.

    9. Make sure that your mirrors don't reflect your home alarm.

    10. Mow your lawn!

    11. Don't leave status updates broadcasting that you're away.

    12. Fake a TV glow.

    13. If you go out of town, have a neighbor leave tracks in the snow.

    14. Buy some fake alarm system decals if you can't afford a real one.

    15. When loading a car with suitcases, keep it quick and hidden if possible.

    16. Reinforce your door jambs if you have weak door frames.

    17. Cancel your newspaper subscriptions and ask the post office to hold your mail while you're out of town.

    18. Use a wooden dowel or metal bar for sliding doors and windows so they can't be pried open.

    19. Invest in double glazed or toughened glass windows.

    20. Get a motion-sensor home security system that lets you monitor your home with your smartphone.

    21. Build a secret hiding place for your valuables.